NBA trade rumors 2016: Baron Davis takes long road back to the NBA

Baron DavisReuters

After being out of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for almost four years now, Baron Davis believes that he still has what it takes to compete in the league.

His intentions of making a return dates back to the offseason, although no team really signed him up and at least offered him a minimum salary. In short, no one believed that a 36-year-old could last against the young ones in the league right now.

But for Davis, he can still ball. And he intends to do that by taking the long route — the NBA Development League (D-League).

Word about his plans were revealed through his agent, Todd Ramasar via Yahoo Sports. Davis could be returning to the NBA D-League soon, although there is no official word on which team he would be hooking up with.

Davis is reportedly set to sign a D-League contract and may be entered into the player pool. Per the same report via Yahoo Sports, the Texas Legends worked out Davis last weekend.

Ramasar added that Davis had no preference on which team to play so it could all depend on which D-League team would be willing to take a chance at the former two-time NBA All-Star guard.

Aside from Davis, other players who have tossed their names in the player pool are John Lucas III and Russ Smith.

If he makes the grade, Smith stands to earn a monthly salary between $13,000 to $25,000, depending on the contract he is offered. The $25,000 is the maximum and classified as the "A" contract per dleaguedigest.com.

The earnings are a far cry from the $147 million payday he enjoyed while he was still in the NBA.

It may not be much, but it could be the start of a long journey back to the majors for Davis who has since been involved in acting and producing films.