Rumor: Warriors willing to move 14th pick and interested in Villanueva + Yi

"There are also whispers both Washington — which has the 18th pick — and Golden State — which has the 14h pick — are more than willing to unload their picks.

Golden State has shown interest in Villanueva and Bucks power forward Yi Jianlian in the past. The Wizards apparently are looking for a player who can immediately fit into their rotation." [The Journal Times]

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Who knows? Draft day 2008 could be much more entertaining for Warriors fans than we originally thought. A shakeup of some type is very necessary for this team. The current front office mindset and roster just isn't good enough and it's doubtful that the #14 pick is going to make a big difference next season.

99% of rumors never happen, but 99% of them are fun to talk about!

2 months ago Atma Brother ONE Comment 20 comments 0 recs |

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you know,

i actually like both of these guys… both villanueva and yi will make the warriors a more dynamic team (that is, bigger without sacrificing too much mobility, a la biedrins). i would really welcome the addition of either villanueva or yi, and i don’t really have a particular preference over either (only think to note is villanueva can kinda stroke the 3, but yi could develop it in coming years)...

BBBUUUTTTT the dubz should not give up TOO much for either. That is, not a whole lot more than the 14th pick. I’m weary of any trade for the very reason that we will be giving up too much for too little in return (hopefully nellie and mullie are wise enough not to do that though)

by Run Dubz on Jun 15, 2008 9:47 AM PDT 0 recs

villanueva and yi will make the warriors a more dynamic team

They are tall but don’t play big so what’s the point? Who would we give up that is isn’t better than them? Al is not quite as tall but has better numbers and can shoot 3’s. Yi will be worn down from the olympics so won’t be much good till 2 years out so it doesn’t seem like it would be worth the trouble, we’ve got some real needs to fill which churning players won’t help.

by Skeptic con Urquell on Jun 15, 2008 10:40 AM PDT up 0 recs

LOL...!

Was saving this for next week! Here we go… rumors are great illustration concepts LOL!

by Tony.psd on Jun 15, 2008 10:32 AM PDT 1 recs

Was saving this for next week!

Eric Estrada? WTF?

by Skeptic con Urquell on Jun 15, 2008 10:34 AM PDT up 0 recs

No!

Yi is not the answer. Neither is villanueva. They are softies and do not belong on the dubz. Give us someone who will get down and dirty, who will fight for every lose ball, who will go all out during every game. I’m talking about a guy named Darrell Arthur. This guy never says never and will make us a tougher team. He’s a kind of guy that can beat up on a flashy lakers team. He’s a less dynamic KG, but he would be a great guy to have and he will better than either one of these bums for sure.

According to the comminsioner of the nfl, 104 people retired last year. 7 due to age, and the rest because of Patrick Willis

by montasmob69 on Jun 15, 2008 11:05 AM PDT 0 recs

Arthur is an interesting draft prospect. He was highly, highly regarded out of HS, but never dominated as he was expected to. He’s shorter than originally advertised (in shoes, he’s approximately the same height and gives up 40 lbs and several inches in standing reach to Diogu ). He apparently hurt his back on a plane ride. It could be minor, but back injuries in big men are a point of concern. Rarely, it seems, are they one-time deals and can lead to a number of other problems.

by jae on Jun 15, 2008 11:21 AM PDT up 0 recs

can you say chris taft?

by Hac Man on Jun 16, 2008 9:22 AM PDT up 0 recs

Yeah, no kidding. I have no idea if it’s that serious, but I’d be concerned, enough that if a call between Speights and Arthur was a near toss up on talent, I’d make a call against Arthur.

by jae on Jun 16, 2008 11:43 AM PDT up 0 recs

Darrell Arthur?

“someone who will get down and dirty, who will fight for every lose ball, who will go all out during every game”

How does this guy compare to Speights?

by Skeptic con Urquell on Jun 15, 2008 11:50 AM PDT 0 recs

Speights is taller and bulkier, but Arthur is considered the better overall athlete. Speights rebounded better and was ridiculously more efficient from the floor. This last point may be somewhat a product of the Florida offense vs. Arthur’s role at KU, as Speights is still supposedly somewhat unpolished offensively. Speights was glued to the bench behind Horford and Noah, so we’ve seen one year where he didn’t dominate but was rather impressive.

If picking between the two, I’d go with Speights. His rebounding should translate to the pros better and at the end of the day, we’re less likey to wind up with a player too short to play his natural position in the NBA. Either could be good NBA players but neither are certainties. Of course, late lottery, you never get certain things.

by jae on Jun 15, 2008 1:04 PM PDT up 0 recs

Last year

Yi was adjusting to the NBA and still did decent as a rookie. This might be his year to show that he belongs here. Plus, playing for the bucks might not have inspired him enough. With the dubs, Nelly and a new big man coach for our three lanks, (Wright, Biedrins and Yi), maybe they can dominate down low where they’ve been lacking.
I dont know if there would be anything to move him without giving up Wright, but I have changed my opinion and think that Yi will turn into a dominant player as a 7’ shooter.

Keep Monta Movement.

by danielholl on Jun 15, 2008 12:37 PM PDT 0 recs

theres only 2 players i like from both teams

Yi would be a pretty good fit i think. his athletic, his tall, he can spread the flow with his shooting. Brandon Haywood would be good with the warriors cuz his kind of an athletic big center who the warriors could use

by gswLLBatman on Jun 15, 2008 9:03 PM PDT 0 recs

Ummm...

Look at it again. Washington wants to get rid of their pick, not acquire one.

by Dubs fan in Boston on Jun 19, 2008 10:25 AM PDT up 0 recs

love the wording of rumors like this

take two separate items—Golden State looking to move the 14th pick and Golden State has been interested in Villanueva and Yi “in the past”, throw it into a pot, and what do you get? A half-baked draft rumor!

Its not clear from this whether the Warriors want to move up or down in the draft. If they want to move, one interesting clue to garner from this is that they don’t like the players that are projected to be available at 14 currently. So this means that our fan speculation for the projected talent around there (Speights, Rush, etc) may not be shared by Mullin—he may have his eyes on someone else.

The Yi interest is a rehash of the Yi Movement that was spawned in part by the owners of the blog here, and its not even clear how much it was shared by the Warriors front office (Marcus’ recent blog post in the CC Times makes it seem as if Yi was at best a distant 2nd option to trying to nab Garnett on draft day)

The Villanueva interest at the time it surfaced last season, sounded like more of a “hey, the Bucks don’t need him, and hey, Warriors always need front court help, let’s throw those two together.”

The other clue that seems to be coming out of these rumors being floated is that Yi is being placed on the block by the Bucks. As much as I like him as a player, you have to wonder if there is something else that is causing the Bucks to declare him expendable after only one season.

by Hac Man on Jun 16, 2008 9:30 AM PDT 0 recs

Villanueva

Since big men are always at a premium, I’d worry very much about one that two teams were willing to push out the door before his 4th season. Villanueva played better last year in many regards, but he’s certainly not shown that he’s a major force on the front line. Big man who likes to shoot the 3 but doesn’t really connect with many? Hasn’t shown an ability to get to the line or shoot for a high percentage inside? Not a dominant rebounder? No thanks.

by jae on Jun 16, 2008 11:47 AM PDT up 0 recs

I heard...

Last summer Nellie was a big Yi fan, but Mullin was just lukewarm. Mullin wasn’t all that happy that Yi’s agent was sending out messages that he was a big fan of Yi and stirring a lot of rumors about Mullin’s interest in him. Just what I’ve heard. Take it for what’s worth.

by Atma Brother ONE on Jun 16, 2008 11:59 AM PDT up 0 recs