Davis believes he's among NBA elite

Let’s get this out of the way first: Baron Davis insists he wants to play for the Cavaliers.

“There were a lot of doubters and people saying I don’t want to come here or I didn’t want to be here,” he said. “That is more motivation to put a sock in everyone’s mouth.”

He also agreed with coach Byron Scott, who called Davis one of the NBA’s top five point guards when healthy.

“I believe so,” Davis said from Thursday’s practice. “I love the game, I study the game, I see the game with a different set of eyes than a lot of other guys.”

“You can just see when he’s out there that he’s different than what we’ve had,” Scott said. “He’s a veteran guy who can cause a whole lot of problems for defenders. He has big shot capabilities, and he can guard people. We just want him to get out there and get to the point where he’s comfortable on both ends of the court.”

The biggest thing for Davis right now is getting completely healthy. He has a lingering knee issue and still isn’t 100 percent. Right now, he estimates he’s closer to 65 percent or 70 percent.

“If I get 100 percent, it’s gonna be problems for a lot of other people in the league,” Davis said, laughing.