The day after. It's the realization that one of our family is gone. Jason Richardson gave everything he had to this organization and probably deserved better. Whether it was the right move or not, it still hurts. Hurts because he was one of my favorite players. Hurts because he worked hard to get better each year. Hurts because he apologized to us for not making the playoffs when there were plenty of other places to lay the blame. Standing from afar, as a person, he seemed real and seemed to truly care about making us fans happy. You could see that in the way he celebrated when we made the playoffs and then beat the Mavericks. He is one of the only guys that Warriors fans could be proud of when times were tough. Now he's gone, right when we're tasting the first sweet bites of success. It just doesn't seem right to do your family like that. Best of luck to him in Charlotte. They need a 2-guard and he fits the bill. He will become a better player under MJ, no doubt.

Now, there are now two absolutely can't miss home games, albeit for different reasons. The first is the Indiana game so we can all tell Mike Dunleavy how much we miss him (I'm cheering for Murphy by the way). The second is the Charlotte Bobcat game so we can all tell Jason Richardson how much we appreciated everything he gave to this organization. He will be missed, JRich or Die Flying.

A couple of random thoughts about the draft:

Pray for a trade

Milwaukee, are you serious?!
Drafting Yi was puzzling to me. They basically said "screw you" to the entire country of China. The guy doesn't want to play for you. He wants to play in a metropolitain area and a place with more Chinese people than cheese types. Like Atma was saying to me yesterday, why leave China for Milwaukee? He could just stay home. Drafting a Chinese player isn't about just taking the best player available. It's bigger than financial reasons, bigger than basketball reasons. You have to respect the culture he's coming from, respect the Chinese government, and respect the his wishes of where he'll be comfortable living. The best way to stunt a guy's growth is to put him in an uncomfortable situation. Good job guys, you did just that.

On top of all that, the Bucks NEED wing players to complement Michael Redd, Andrew Bogut and Charlie Villanueva. They could have taken one of the best in the draft in Corey Brewer. Now what are they going to do? Play Bogut, Villanueva and Yi at the same time? Doubtful. Okay I'll stop ranting and raving, but before I do, I hope Yi forces a trade and the Bucks get pennies on the dollar.

This just in: Portland has traded for another player
Seriously, I think Portland just drafted and traded for an entire new team. Everytime I looked up the Blazers had made a trade to pick up an extra draft pick. They have some great young talent there, but they'll need a solid veteran to show them the ropes out there. 12 young guys learning the NBA on their own isn't going to work as well as having someone to mentor them on and off the court. I hope they pick someone up because that team could be very good in a short couple of years.

Jesus Shuttleworth is going to Beantown

Danny Ainge and the Celtics.
Huge risk to trade for Ray Allen. Paul Pierce needs a complementary player, not a guy with similar skills. There were no big men available? No point guards available? P-squared wanted this team to contend in the East. I think they're a playoff team but certainly not good enough to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. Unless Ainge makes a trade for a decent point guard or center, this team will be one and done. I hope trading away Jeff Green was worth it.

Please turn off Dickie V and Stephen A. Smith
Could these two be any more annoying? You have microphones on. I CAN HEAR YOU. People speak louder to emphasize a point. People do not speak loud the entire time they talk. It makes me want to put the tv on mute. Go away please.

Exciting Draft Day Trades
Yesterday was a very exciting draft, more so than the last few. Outside of the top two picks, a lot went down including three stars moving from West to East: Ray Allen to the Celtics, Zach Randolph to the Knicks and our own Jason Richardson to the Bobcats. This helps even out the conferences for the short term, but the West just picked up two more bright young players.

What if the Sonics had moved to San Jose?
How crazy would that be now with Kevin Durant and Jeff Green going to that team? Man that would have been a lot of fun to watch. In a couple years that team could be sick.

On to the links:

• ESPN (Chad Ford) - Warriors Grade: A
  
  I think the Warriors made several excellent moves here. In exchange for Jason Richardson, they got a player with great upside in Wright, who will be at home given Golden State's up-tempo style. He also fits a need in the frontcourt.

  Belinelli also will thrive with Golden State. He loves to let it fly and Nellie will let him.

  But the biggest addition may have been one of subtraction. By sending Jason Richardson packing, the team created a whopping $10 million trade exception that they can use to lure a free agent via sign-and-trade or to help with a trade in the next year.

  Also check out norcaldevilasu's diary about Chad Ford's Draft Grade. Make sure to leave a comment.

• SLAM Winners and Losers
  Winners: Golden State Warriors - Marco Belinelli is supposed to be nice, but he's not the main reason GS cracks this list. The Warriors unloaded Jason Richardson's monster contract and managed to get Brandan Wright out of the deal, arguably the best player in the draft after Oden and Durant. And in the second round, the Warriors further addressed their frontcourt weaknesses by grabbing UMass eraser Stephane Lasme.
• Hoopsworld.com (Preetom Bhattacharya)
  ...decided that Richardson was not the best fit in Don Nelson's system. As much as Richardson has been a joy to watch in the open court throughout his tenure in Oakland, his body and game more fit a system where he can slash and create shots for himself in a motion offense. More regimented sets, like the ones that Richardson saw at Michigan state and under Mike Montgomery, seem to fit Richardson better... ...financial aspects of this deal certainly hold strong implications as to why it happened at all. The Warriors shed $11.1-million worth of payroll next season and saved $48-million over the next four years. In today's NBA, those are salary figures meant for the second option on any team - the argument can be made that behind Baron Davis, Richardson was that player for the Warriors, but with the continued growth of Monta Ellis and the addition of Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington, Richardson's status as another go-to guy on the faltered, raising questions as to whether he held value for the Warriors at his salary.
• The Wright Move (Janny Hu)
  "It was a long, busy day," Warriors vice president Chris Mullin said. "But we made some big moves and it's really going to help improve the team."
• Draft Day: Tough Choices and a Risky, Bright Future (Adam Lauridsen - Fast Break: A Warriors Fan Blog)
  By trading for Wright, the Warriors immediately move back their timeframe two or three years. We have a tremendously young core of three players in Wright, Andris, and Monta. We'll have the cap space to sign them comfortably and add pieces around them. As the era of Nash and Duncan ends in the West, we'll be hitting full strength. This trade is a concession that we are not - and were not going to be - good enough to compete for a championship now. If Wright lives up to the hype, however, we have a much higher ceiling for the future.
• Wrapping up a wild Warrior draft (Tim Kawakami)
  I'll get this out of the way first, so I don't bog the whole thing down again with the issue:

  The Warriors are trying to trade for Kevin Garnett. I don't know if I've typed it that directly, but they are.

  They've been trying for years, practically from the first day Chris Mullin took over, they tried a few days ago and they're trying now. That has been Priority No. 1 for a long time.

  A lot of what they do is done with an eye towards improving their position in Garnett talks, and some of the things they do are almost solely to upgrade that positioning.

• Are the Warriors Still Manuevering for KG? (Can't Stop the Bleeding)
  According to the LA Times’ Mark Heisler, the Warriors might not be finished wheeling and dealing, with Chris Mullin supposedly "offering Wright with center Andris Biedrins and guard Monta Ellis and enough salary to make the deal work to Minnesota for Kevin Garnett."

  Also check out Sgy Jimmy's diary, LA Times rumor regarding Dubs and KG.

• Update: For a little perspective from the Charlotte side of the trade, check out goldenboywarriors diary, What does Charlotte think of JRich?