"Baron Davis has traded in his sneakers for a notebook this summer. The Cavs' point guard is going back to school to complete his degree at UCLA.

At his day job, he is already a professor. Depending on what he chooses to teach his young teammates next season, it could be a very good thing. Or it could be terrifying.

At the center of the Cavaliers' rebuild, at least for now, isn't Kyrie Irving or Tristan Thompson. It is Davis, who will either be a vital asset to the plans or a giant obstacle blocking progress.

Davis is being entrusted as the mentor to Irving, who is the future of this franchise. The Cavs expect Davis to teach him how to be a pro, how to carry himself and how to run a team from the point guard position.

Given Davis' reputation as mercurial and a malcontent, it is certainly a risk. But management saw enough out of him last season to believe he is truly eager for the task.

To his credit, Davis was an asset last season. He immediately improved the culture within the Cavs, injecting life and even a little swagger into a team that had lost 26 games in a row and was limping to the finish.

He was willing to take pressure shots. He was accountable. He has always been blessed with incredible vision and the ability to see things develop on the court that others cannot. He used that to the good last season, always sitting next to a youngster and staying in his ear whenever he was on the bench.

In short, he was a really, really good teammate.

That might be surprising to the Los Angeles Clippers, who were so eager to get rid of him that they gave the Cavs an unprotected lottery pick just so he would go away.

The Cavs knew all the stories about Davis before they acquired him. Coach Byron Scott has plenty of his own from their time together in New Orleans.

But Scott believed in Davis, believed he had changed over the past few years and believed the unprotected pick was worth taking another chance on him. He was right."