Late last evening word got out that Baron Davis had agreed in principle to a 5-year, $65 million deal with the LA Clippers. And just like that, the Clippers suddenly went from being an afterthought to a Western Conference playoff squad. How so?

As you're probably well aware, both Elton Brand and Corey Maggette opted out of their Clippers deals. While Maggette is leaving for certain, Brand opted out because he said he wanted to see the team make a commitment to winning, and if they did that, he'd even take a slight pay cut.

Consider that commitment to winning achieved.

Now it appears all but certain that Davis and Brand will sign with the Clippers on July 9th, the first day that NBA teams can officially complete free-agent signings and trades after a leaguewide moratorium on roster moves is lifted.

That means the Clippers will have a fearsome lineup of Davis, Brand, Kaman, Al Thornton, rookie Eric Gordon, Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas. In addition to that, they'll probably be smart to try and resign Quinton Ross, sort of the poor man's Bruce Bowen.

On paper, this team looks like it could certainly be anywhere from the 4 to 8 seed in the Western Conference next season. But we'll have to wait and see. They are, after all, the Clippers.

As for Davis, I'm disappointed to see him go as a Warriors fan. He was beloved here in the Bay Area. But I don't fault him one bit. He wanted a long term deal from the Warriors, and they wouldn't give it to him. So while Davis turned down a one-year $17 million contract with the Warriors, he made himself a lot more in the long run by agreeing to a long term deal with the Clippers. Basketball is, after all, a business, and Davis unquestionably made the right business decision. Plus Davis is originally from LA, went to UCLA for college, and is involved in the movie industry. So it's not exactly like LA is going to be hell for him.

Davis' move is of course a killer for the Warriors, but it gives Monta Ellis an opportunity to truly come into his own now, provided the Warriors resign him (which they will). Of course the question now is, with the Clippers making a power move, who's going to get pushed out of the ridiculous Western Conference playoffs next year? We'll have to wait for the rest of the free agency signing period to finish up before we can answer that.