Baron not likely to return to Warriors, but not because Rowell won't allow it

December 29, 12:11 PMGolden State Warriors ExaminerMatt Steinmetz

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Baron Davis: Once a Warrior 

Stephen Jackson stirred the pot on Sunday, saying that he had spent the previous evening with Baron Davis in Los Angeles, and that Davis said he wants to come back to the Warriors.

Marcus Thompson's story ...

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No doubt, there’s a “wow” factor there even if you consider that the whole notion of Davis returning is farfetched. But the Warriors are 9-23, and something as intriguing as Davis returning is at the very least a distraction from the reality of the season.

I think the reason Davis returning to the Bay Area is the longest of longshots has less to do with team president Robert Rowell than the realities of the situation.

I know I’m likely to be in the minority here, but I think Rowell would be open to having Davis return. In other words, I don’t think Rowell would write off Davis coming back just because of some perceived vendetta or acrimony or even his own ego.

I write that because owner Chris Cohan and Rowell have at least twice before proven they are capable of burying hatchets and putting past differences behind them.

How about Don Nelson and Chris Webber?

When Warriors executive vice president of basketball operations Chris Mullin decided a few seasons ago he wanted to replace Mike Montgomery with Nelson, he first ran the idea by Rowell.

From what I understand, at that point Rowell told Mullin that bringing this idea to Cohan was going to be an iffy prospect, at best, and Rowell made no assurances to Mullin the owner would go for it.

In fact, from what I understand Rowell wasn’t crazy about the idea of even bringing the Nelson idea to Cohan because the issue was still so sensitive, even more than a decade later.

But Rowell backed Mullin and helped convince Cohan that bringing Nelson back was a good idea.

Then, there was the whole Webber return last year, an idea that seemed to come straight from the mind of Nelson. You think Cohan wanted Webber back?

Doubtful. And Rowell wasn’t crazy about it, either.

Rowell joined the Warriors in the summer of 1995, so he saw firsthand the aftermath of what Nelson and Webber had wrought.

Still, Cohan and Rowell said OK to Webber returning, which was somewhat of an upset in and of itself.

And now, Davis says he wants to return to the Warriors. It’s probably not going to happen.

It’s probably not going to happen because Davis is sitting on a five-year, $65 million contract now, and the Warriors weren’t close to paying him that number when they were considering bringing him back this summer.

And it’s probably not going to happen because it’s tough to find a package the Clippers would agree to … and don’t give me the “Donald Sterling likesCorey Maggette” business.

Davis isn’t likely to return to the Warriors, but it’s not because Rowell is so inflexible he won’t allow it. After all, Rowell was open-minded enough to do the whole prodigal son thing with Nelson and Webber.

It will be other issues that prevent any kind of Baron Davis reunion.

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