...is that Randolph, unless he’s been running sprints every second since the end of last year, is massively overweight. I remember seeing a Knicks game last year and being unable to believe how heavy both he and Curry were. They were almost spilling out of the armpits of their jerseys. It doesn’t strike me as a good fit in that regard, and that’s without considering the drawbacks you yourself pointed out. When you consider that Randolph’s prime years would likely block Brandan Wright, who I suspect has a much higher ceiling than Randolph had/will continue to have… mark me down as skeptical. In all honesty, I might even rather see Richard Hendrix crashing around down low. Granted, you of all people know a hell of a lot more about the game than a fan like I might ever, but from an outsider’s perspective, a Randolph acquisition would force me to consider rescinding what I’ve maintained for a couple years now; that Mullin knows what he’s doing.

The Rasheed thing is an interesting thought (and I’m sure while he’s much older than Randolph, he’d be infinitely more useful). God knows I’m no number cruncher, but there are some interesting ways I think you could make a deal without stripping the team bare. I don’t have their salaries in front of me, but wouldn’t it seem reasonable that you might snag Rasheed for Harrington, Azubuike/Belinelli (whichever they prefer, though I don’t know if you’re allowed to trade Azubuike so soon after resigning) and CJ Watson? Azubuike can back up both at the 2 and the 3, playing behind Prince and coming in whenever Hamilton/Stuckey are off or injured. Harrington is basically a wash when it comes to three point shooting with Rasheed, albeit he’s a far less skilled player, he’s also younger on a team that’s getting long in the tooth. Watson probably won’t see minutes with us, even though I’d rather have him than Marcus Williams, and he might be able to vie for backup minutes against the jurassic Lindsay Hunter.

In return we’d get Sheed, which would leave us with this (let’s assume we have to give up Kelenna).

PG Ellis/Williams
SG Jackson/Belinelli (Morrow?)
SF Maggette/Randolph (Morrow?)
PF Wallace/Wright/Hendrix
C Biedrins/Turiaf

That’s eleven players, ten if we don’t resign Morrow, but our starting lineup begins to look like one that could actually play some defense. Depending on Rasheed’s conditioning and how many minutes he’d play, I think he could be a 15/8 guy on this team, getting open threes and working the post occasionally. That may sound a lot like what Al did, but Sheed’s got the D.

i read this post, walked around a bit, and then read it again, and was still not sure what i think about it.

then, i wrote a 7-8 line post about why i think al harrington will have a decent season, and that the trade will not be worth it because the “net gain” in randolph is not that large.

then, i realized that zach randolph really does bring an additional dimension to the warriors offense, highlighted by ruthless rebounding. and then i reminded myself that i think that marco and his trade value is overrated in the nba world.

so finally, i say do it. if marco turns into a superstar, we’ll kick ourselves for it, but i think he is still too much of a one-dimensional love-that-fadeaway player. because of that, i think he is still years away from a difference-maker (off the bench, even). as for perovic? ‘nuff said.

we have a deep enough bench right now that we can easily afford to lose bellinelli (i’m still high on anthony morrow). and i say that a worst case scenario is that randolph posts his career average of 16ppg and 8 rebounds, which is more like a best case scenario for al harrington.

i dont like saying it either, but this is a trade that will make the warriors a better team.

note some logistics that could change my mind, if i considered them more: randolph has 3 years/48 mil left on his contract (avg of 16mil/per, slightly backloaded), which kinda hurts us as far as ‘10 free agency is concerned (but i’m not sure that matters much right now, for the dubz).

ok so i just crunched some numbers… salaries for next year are:

Al Harrington: $9,226,250
Kosta Perovic: $1,634,000
Marco Belinelli: $1,446,720
TOTAL: $12,306,970

Zach Randolph: $14,666,667

so the warriors will be bringing in an additional 2.3 mil, roughly. again, i have limited understanding of all this cap/tax threshold business, but wouldn’t this trade put the warriors well over the luxury tax threshold? or is there some sort of clause that allows us to not pay it?

Any player would have had a problem playing on that Knicks team last year. I give Zach a free pass on that issue. He does give us a dimension we do not have and If we added him giving up who you suggested then we are a definite playoff team. Maybe a top 5 team in the west.

And then I stopped asking questions and starting to just take it for what it is. Zach Randolph had a really bad year with the Knicks, but he’s talented, versatile, productive and should be entering his prime ..

as for your description of his good qualities… how do you get “versatile”?

i dont think post makes you lose credibility or whatever. if anything, it shows how even in your more off-the-wall ideas, you present a well thought out and modest view.

a two way guy at the 4 would be great to have and maybe help hide some deficiencies that mags and monta have on d. but Zach Freaking Randolph NO thanks. i think there is one more deal left to be made and it should be made at this position but again Zach Freaking Randolph NO. i dont think that we are that desparate for a 4. it would be nice to get a more proven player but not Zach Freaking Randolph.

i would rather have AK47. i know this would never happen but he would be better hit for our style of play. so would amare or jsmith.

if it werent by pree….

but anyway, zach randolph has a rediculous contract. so i dont get why we would give anything up for a more expensive version of harrington

harrington had a bad year last year but the dude is not a good center. shit, hes only 6’9! now that we have turiaf, he should be able to primarily be a forward

can’t compare with the misunderstood raps against Baron or Stack. Talent aside, and his ain’t so great anyway, I’d take Artest’s craziness over Randolph’s ANY DAY. We don’t need him.

enough said…

I think our squad is going to be full of hungry, young, talented guys who are going to grow close as the year goes on. Watching all that joy and the potential for running other squads off the floor is going to be fun. Honestly, I am a bit nervous that unless maggette drinks the Nelson koolaid he may dampen the potential for this entertainment.
Randolph would seriously slow this down as well as have the “collect my paycheck journeyman” mentality. I worry about how it impacts the chemistry and how much it limits the growth of our younger players.

I am not sure of the logistics but he would be the player I would rather have and Utah would trade him.

I agree with the majority on this post. I don’t even think Zach Randolph can dunk a basketball! Our team is known for exciting basketball and we wouldn’t want a PF that can’t dunk! LOL. If I were to trade for a Knicks forward, I would much rather have David Lee at a lower salary. Or might as well sign and trade for Josh Smith if we’re gonna take on Randolph’s salary.

than you guys are giving credit for.

Zach Randolph is a much better player than Al Harrington. Zach is also very available because of his bad contract so he wouldn't cost very much. The Knicks would love to get rid of the 17 million they owe Randolph in 2010-2011 - meaning they would clear his salary for the infamous summer of 2010. 
   If we didn't have Don Nelson as coach I'd say no, because getting Zach, Jax, Maggette, and Monta to coexist would be no small task. But because we have the luxury of the Don, I would really be for any move that improves our team's talent level with little cost, and this move fits that description.

1. Marginal talent increase (no D, kills our style of play, not a likeable player, bad attitude)
2. Adds 2010 Salary. The whole reason the Knicks want to get rid of him is to make a FA run in 2010. Why would we give up our cap space in 2010? Adding a true superstar (IE NOT Randolph) in 2010 would make us legitimate contenders with a core of Player X, Monta, Maggette, and Beans. Throw in one of Wright and Anthony Randolph, and you’re seriously a c