Weighty issues: Baron Davis could be in better shape

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The candor was almost startling on Monday at media day.

New Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro wasn’t even five minutes into his first session with reporters when he expressed concern about the shape of veteran point guard Baron Davis.

So, how far off is Davis?

“Percentage-wise, I’d be guessing,” Del Negro said. “He’s put in a lot of work in the last month or so. He started a little bit later probably than he needed to. He’s in pretty good shape right now, but he’s not where he needs to be. He knows that.

“Obviously, you want everybody in perfect condition. You have to come in training camp in shape. And the job in training camp is to get into better shape.”

None of this was said in a harsh tone. Not at all.

But it is interesting the Clippers weren’t sugar-coating the situation. In fact, Del Negro and front-office executives told Davis exactly what they were going to say to the media.

So Davis was hardly ambushed by reporters.

Davis, in an upbeat mood, said he was not far off in terms of his shape, saying it was more of an issue of conditioning.

He did laugh when asked about an Internet report last month, putting his weight at a whopping 260 pounds.

“I don’t really pay much attention to a lot of things like that,” Davis said. “Because it doesn’t really affect me. A lot of people kept asking me, ‘Are you 260 pounds?” I’m like, ‘No, where did you hear that from?’

“That’s a lot of backing somebody down. I’d be backing somebody down the whole way down the floor. On second thought…I’d be the Charles Barkley of point guards.”

--Lisa Dillman