Warriors Say Goodbye to Chris Taft

by Atma Brother ONE on Oct 27, 2006 5:21 PM PDT in News Comment 18 comments

Nuthin' pretty about Taft's NBA career
Photo: Warriors.com

It isn't too surprising that the Warriors waived Chris Taft today. We knew there were going to be roster cuts to trim down to the magic number 15 and Taft missed the entire preseason because of injuries.

Taft has had a pretty depressing NBA story so far. Draft pundits widely predicted him to go in the lottery of the 2005 NBA Draft. Some even projected that the Warriors would take him with the #9 pick. The Warriors ended up passing on him twice (#9 Ike Diogu and #40 Monta Ellis) and then finally took him with the #42 pick in the 2nd round. It looked like a low risk-high reward situation. Taft was a big man with skill, but many questioned his drive. Absolutely nothing to lose with a 2nd round pick that late in the draft.

Taft only played in 17 games during his lone season with the Warriors (stats from Yahoo! Sports). With Ike Diogu's early injury and the charmin' soft Warriors interior, Taft had a golden opportunity to carve out a role for himself on the team. His play was decent and even excited some. But then as usual he went down with injuries.

I could never really get a good read on Taft- was he always out of shape because of all the nagging injuries or did he suffer from all those nagging injuries becaue he was constantly out of shape? It's a tough situation. We wish him the best though.

What do you think the future holds for Chris Taft? Is this the last time we'll see him on the Warriors? Is this the last time we'll see him in the NBA?

Props to loyal GSoM community member namjagerungbengi for spotting this news item and updating everyone so quickly. Head on over to namjagerungbengi's diary Warriors Waive Chris Taft for more great GSoM community discussion about Taft.

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Comments

If he was healthy...

He would be exactly what the Warriors need.

But if wishes were horses, then beggars would ride...

I agree with the cut, but it's a sad day. He had some good inside moves, and he was pretty big.

I hope he paid off a modest house and has some money stashed for the future. I think he's done, if he's that injured. I hope he makes a comeback and I hope he gets another chance with the Warriors if he's healthy. But I won't predict it.

by Gain on 10 on Oct 27, 2006 5:47 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

me too

this bums out cuz I thought he was kinda promising. oh well

by BRETTcuziaintthatcreative on Oct 27, 2006 7:35 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

too bad

chris would have been a nice big to have around. just what exactly is wrong with the back? is it a disc? hopefully he can take this time to get well finally and maybe get himself in shape. who knows maybe if he does that the dubs will invite him back to training camp next year.

by ruderu22 on Oct 27, 2006 7:24 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Taft's health

His back problem wasn't what was keeping him out, though young big men with bad backs rarely wind up as healthy big men in a few years. Back problems tend to be chronic and end careers. Taft was out due to a mysterious inflamation condition that robbed him of his strength.

Strength was a big part of his game. He had very good hands for a guy his size (which was comparable to an in-shape Foyle--undersized center/PF). Though he had the rep of an underachiever, in his limited time last year he came in, didn't do anything dumb, held his position and appeared willing to play defense and rebound and wait for opportunities to score when it was clear. He could have been very useful in that capacity as dirty work big men who don't turn the ball over because of their 36 thumbs are rare.

If healthy, I'd hope the Warriors would give him another look, though he's likely not going to be healthy. I have no idea what sort of contract deal they'd have if, should his condition improve, he was able to play again. They have to pay him for this season. If no one picks him up, would his contract still be valid?

by jae on Oct 28, 2006 10:52 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

he's free & gets paid

he's free to sign with anyone, and still gets paid by GS

by hardcore on Oct 28, 2006 11:12 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

in the unlikely event...

That wasn't what I was considering. He's free to sign with someone else, but what happens if he gets healthy and the Warriors want to sign him again? I'm assuming that he signs for the minimum whereever he goes, but if he were in some unlikely universe to sign with the Warriors, does he collect two NBA minimum paychecks?

by jae on Oct 29, 2006 10:08 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

ya, and ...

if he ever gets healthy, he'd likely command more than a minimum if he proved he was fully recovered

by hardcore on Oct 29, 2006 5:23 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Bright Overseas Future

Chris Taft showed some good moves early in his rookie season to spell relief for the frontcourt while Ike was out. He had a nice 10 foot turnaround. He has length; can jump, dunk, block, rebound well. He just doesn't act physical enough. Too bad he can't stay healthy. If he takes care of his back, he'll be invited to NBA camps for the next 8 years. Of course that never guarantees you a spot but the experience is enough for the inevitable. He should be an overseas mainstay at the least. I predict a nice overseas playing career as he should be snatched up in the Philippine Basketball Association as another intimidating import just like other Golden State Warriors alumni who are playing or have played the game they love in Metro Manila: Perry Moss, David Wood, Sean Lampley, Mark Davis, Chris Porter and don't forget current Warrior assistant coach Keith Smart.

by j richmark on Oct 27, 2006 11:02 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Good riddance!!

Get rid of him if he s just gonna occupy space on the pine, rather have Matt Barnes or Anthony Roberson.

by Puonpower on Oct 27, 2006 11:07 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

too bad

thats too bad i think he could have been a nice player if he wasnt hurt all the time. good luck to him. its funny tho if you click on the 2005 draft link and see what everyone was saying then at the time and what actually is going on.

by travisl212 on Oct 27, 2006 11:44 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

bigs

are so valued in the NBA, and his contract is so low that Taft's lack of a future playing career must not even be in doubt - and this signals GS making decisions to win immediately rather than 2-3 years down the road

Did anyone else notice that Seattle's loss of Swift may create opportunity to unload Foyle? one can always dream ...

and because I will never stop hoping -

Charlie Walters of twincities.com is predicting KG will be available by midseason trading deadline

let the roster churning begin!

by hardcore on Oct 28, 2006 8:52 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Seattle

Seattle has accumulated mediocre centers for a number of years. Swift won out over Sene and Johan Petro. Petro put up numbers comparable to Foyle last year but doesn't cost much and is only 20. Without Swift, they've still got those 2 7-footers plus Wilcox and Collison, both of whom have played some center and may be in games together. Seattle wasn't into spending money in the off season. No real reason to believe they'd have any interest in Foyle who wouldn't make them better but would cost them a bunch of money.

by jae on Oct 28, 2006 10:47 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

yup, just reading & dreaming

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sonics/2003327399_soni28.html

even with Nelson remixing the deck, we have the same cards and I'm dreaming of getting dealt a new hand, which only will come after discarding some heavy contracts away, anyway, someway, somewhere, somehow ... who knows what a new ownership in Seattle might be fooled into!

by hardcore on Oct 28, 2006 11:20 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs