SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Baron Davis made a sad discovery before his first trip this month with the Delaware 87ers of the N.B.A. Development League. It was just after dusk on a recent weekday at Philadelphia International Airport, and the team was bound for Des Moines, Iowa. A member of the coaching staff handed Davis two boarding passes.
“Wait,” Davis said, “we have a connection?”
Nearly four years since he tore up his right knee at Madison Square Garden in a playoff game for the Knicks, Davis has resurfaced on the basketball margins. Gone are the charter flights and, as he put it, “the luxurious amenities” that were a staple of his 13-year career as a point guard in the N.