RUMOR: Warriors have "strong interest" in Brandon Jennings, but trading for Baron Davis could change that

Give me Jennings over Baron every day of the week. I love Baron as much as the next Warriors fan, but he’s getting old and his contract is much bigger. Baron is a win now move, Jennings is a win down the line move.

by BacksThePack on May 25, 2009 11:15 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs

I agree with that.

The Ultimate Opportunist

by Rated-R Superstar on May 25, 2009 12:50 PM PDT up reply actions

I’m afraid both are don’t win anytime moves.

Thing A

by sam23 on May 25, 2009 12:58 PM PDT up reply actions

jennings has more upside potential :)

by mosdl on May 25, 2009 8:35 PM PDT up reply actions

Agreed

There hasn’t been a blog that has made me more nauseated. I loved Baron during the We Believe days. And I’d like him fine now for a reasonable $$. But that isn’t going to happen. I’d much rather give away Corey Maggette, or keep him, than have Baron back.

And Jennings has shown me nothing that I like.

Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.

by fotd on May 25, 2009 9:29 PM PDT up reply actions

ill take BD

if youve seen jenningsplay and hear him in intervews, hes like a weaker worse shooting BD

he doesnt like playing in structured offense just like BD but plays no D and has no jumpshot

ill take the bodyguard any day..

BD! remember what he did in the playoffs people

by gswfan2 on May 25, 2009 11:32 AM PDT reply actions

getting

baron back would be another knee jerk reaction.

however the worse case scenario would be getting jamal tinsley

by saintdee on May 25, 2009 12:02 PM PDT reply actions

I didn't vote because I'm in favor of doing both.

Do the Maggette for Baron, draft Jennings (Nelson isn’t going to play whoever we draft anyway) and let Jennings back up Baron with Monta going to 2. That’s pretty lousy defensively but we’re used to that anyway right?

Rafael Rodriguez: Your number 8 organizational prospect before stepping a foot on American soil and has "looked just super so far," according to Felipe Alou. "He has some bat speed and the ball comes off the bat pretty well" - K.Law.

by BrianBokake on May 25, 2009 12:10 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

+1 sounds like a good idea to me

by Butt Secks on May 26, 2009 11:14 AM PDT up reply actions

I'll take a proven veteran that can lead the team over a rookie project anyday

but I’ll still take Jennings if Baron doesn’t come back :]

We Believe

by RunNdGun on May 25, 2009 12:17 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

i vote BD

by GSW_fan on May 25, 2009 12:17 PM PDT reply actions

BD > BJ

BJ will NEVER be able to play along side monta…

BJ has proven NOTHING about his potential skill

Baron has proven that he can be an all star caliber PG (regardless of how you believe he is playing right now, he has been at all star level)

Baron is a decent defender! BJ is a terrible defender

imo….get baron….draft holiday for future

You know I spit technique to the freshest freak
Gimme a call you will see results in just a week
With the soul of a LOST HAWK
Is there a heaven for a Rap Cat, let's talk

by LostHawk on May 25, 2009 12:18 PM PDT reply actions

The verdict

Kid >>> Play (in both fade and rapping skills).

As for BD … I’m guessing a lot of the people here clamoring for the return of BD haven’t yet entered their age 30-something bodies. It’s a whole different ball of wax, even for people who take better care of their bodies than BD. Reports out of LA this year were worrisome to say the least: not just that he wasn’t motivated but also that he had lost a lot of his speed and explosiveness. The numbers bear out the observations: a pathetic 37% fg and 3.8 reb/36. It’s quite possible BD is, for all intents and purposes, toast. It happens with “big” guys in early 30s — see Ortiz, David. I mean, it’s possible he’ll regain his 2-years-ago form, but the odds don’t favor it. The odds do strongly favor a marked decline from where he is now. Almost all NBA players decline from age 30 onward — see Garnett, Shaq, Sheed, Vince, TMac, etc. etc. etc. And most of those guys are fitter than BD.

Factor in the 4 years $54 million remaining on his contract, and you’d have to be a little nutsy to want BD back, even if it allows us to dump Maggette — who’s only 7 months younger, but is in better shape, has shown no comparable signs of decline, is more suited to coming off the bench as a role player, and is due a not-insignificant $14M less.

I don’t even think acquiring BD is a “win now” move — more like “lose now, lose worse over the next four seasons.”

As for Jennings … I’m definitely intrigued (even with the fade gone), but I’m holding out for sam23’s prospect-a-palooza before making up my mind.

Thing 1

by Sleepy Freud on May 25, 2009 12:20 PM PDT reply actions 2 recs

ps

Off topic: is it just my imagination, or is this first GSoM diary that’s featured a left-aligned portrait-format image with a text wrap? I like the look … it’s just too bad so much of the rest of the SBNation graphic interface looks so cruddy (ugly, obtrusive ads, needlessly tiny webpins, “obnoxious-backwards-cap-wearing-white-skatepunk” default avatar, gratuitously capitalized “O” in Golden State of Mind, etc. etc.)

Thing 1

by Sleepy Freud on May 25, 2009 12:39 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs

I don’t think its your imagination, I was thinking the same thing, and I think Fooch over at ninersnation mentioned something about new SBN formatting this morning in a front page post with a right-aligned image and text wrap.

Thing A

by sam23 on May 25, 2009 1:12 PM PDT up reply actions

nope

clipsnation.com had it way before.

by saintdee on May 25, 2009 1:20 PM PDT up reply actions

Off topic: is it just my imagination, or is this first GSoM diary that’s featured a left-aligned portrait-format image with a text wrap? I like the look

It’s been around for awhile, but we haven’t used it. It’s a matter of taste, but I feel like most hoops pics work better in landscape format. I guess that mostly applies to the “action” shots, rather than the “stills” like this one.

I’ll try to use it more though. Thanks for the feedback!

by Atma Brother ONE on May 26, 2009 9:16 AM PDT up reply actions

yea I still don’t want either one to be the starting PG. If forced to choose I go with Baron only because of irrational sentimentality and a strong distrust of all the youtube generated hype over a guy who couldn’t/wouldn’t get himself into school and, by most accounts, hasn’t done anything all that impressive on the basketball court since.

Thing A

by sam23 on May 25, 2009 1:10 PM PDT up reply actions

Realistically

Whomever we grab in the draft — even if it’s Rubio — is going to take a while to break in. Even if Jennings were a lot more proven than he is, it would be silly to write him in at starting PG right away. Assuming no major trades, I’m assuming (hoping?) that out of the gate we run:

Monta
Jackson
Maggette (or possibly Wright)
Randolph
Biedrins

With Buike, Wright, Morrow, Turiaf the main guys off the bench. If we grab a PG in the draft (Jennings, Curry, Lawson, or Holiday) I could see him spelling Monta at PG for maybe 10-15 minutes a game, with Monta sliding over to SG. Basically, taking CJ’s minutes (with CJ likely being moved). It seems unrealistic to expect much more than that.

Thing 1

by Sleepy Freud on May 25, 2009 1:28 PM PDT up reply actions

This is totally off topic

But what’s your avatar?

by Golden Boy on May 25, 2009 2:38 PM PDT up reply actions

Hi GB

Actually, your question is on topic — at least on the topic of the poor SBN graphics. When we switched over to SBN, the new space in which to fit your avatar was so tiny I wanted something that would be iconic and visible at that scale. I figured a Chinese/Kanji character was appropriate, since (a) I was living in Japan at the time; and (b) so many hoopsters decorate themselves with Kanji. So the question was which one to choose. I picked ai — love. Corny to be sure, but if I have to live and/or die for a single word, that’s probably the one.

I keep meaning to change it, but by now I imagine my cybervoice is so associated with the symbol that it would be jarring to change it. Ditto for you with Calvin-peeing-on-the-Lakers, I imagine… ;-)

Thing 1

by Sleepy Freud on May 25, 2009 5:37 PM PDT up reply actions

The kanji character tats have always struck me as somewhat funny. Apparently, they strike people who can read them as especially funny when they get them wrong, as is not uncommon.

http://www.hanzismatter.com/

by jae on May 25, 2009 5:59 PM PDT up reply actions

That site is awesome, jae!

A great counterbalance to those “Engrish” sites and books that everyone seems to get such a kick out of, that can be funny or offensive or both, depending on tone, etc. Gotta love the woman who got herself branded with a kanji meaning “cheap whore.” (My wife confirms that that’s precisely what it means).

I’d love to see a site that analyzed and deconstructed all the tats of NBA players, kanji and otherwise. Could almost be Ph.D. thesis-worthy…

Thing 1

by Sleepy Freud on May 25, 2009 7:30 PM PDT up reply actions

I completely agree with Mr. Sleepy

I love what BD did for the Warriors while he was here, but his time with the Dubs has passed. We will not “win now” and so I would much rather go with a cheap, freak athlete like Jennings. He has a lot of potential and I know “potential” is in no means proven, but I like the kid Jennings (even though I wouldn’t pick him at #7. but that’s not what this post is about). Maybe Nellie can turn BJ into a good pro and maybe not, but I’m intrigued by his skills and more than more than happy to say good riddance the BD. Even if he has one or two good years left, there is no way he has FOUR good or serviceable years left and we would hate to eat that contract. Even if getting Mags off our roster is the goal, I don’t think a trade for Baron is the move to do it with. Trading BD for Mags will automatically make Baron the focal point of this team when he shouldn’t be. Mags will never be the focus and can be very valuable still as a sixth man. It’s a sideways move at best. Most likely it’s a step in the wrong direction.

by jnormous on May 25, 2009 4:53 PM PDT up reply actions

The Ortiz comparison just isn't fair

Unless you think Baron’s success has also been fueled by the juice. Yeah BoSox fans! I said it!

by ivanbe on May 25, 2009 10:18 PM PDT up reply actions

Haha

Yeah, I’d believe it. Manny didn’t surprise me either. At this point it’s probably safe to assume that the majority of players from the late 1990s to mid 2000s, pitchers included, were juicing.

I don’t think BD ever juiced, but his body — his wheels in particular — could well be gradually breaking down. KG is probably a better comp: he’s only a couple years older than BD, and his knees are falling apart. Even last year, though he played well enough to get his ring, he was nowhere near the explosive force he was it his peak.

Still … if we were anywhere near a championship contender, and BD at his peak were anywhere near a championship player, I’d roll the dice on a return to his old form. As it is, 4/$54M just seems like a crazy overpay. It’s a young man’s league, and — increasingly — a fast man’s league. I don’t think there are many teams that would take on BD’s contract even if you lopped off $5M a year.

Thing 1

by Sleepy Freud on May 25, 2009 10:49 PM PDT up reply actions

Please Warrior Front Office Get BD back!

All would be forgiven if Rowell, Cohan or whoever make the decisions on the Warriors somehow gets Baron back. Draft Jenning too, and then he would have the perfect teacher in Baron. I’m so hoping this happens.

by tig8 on May 25, 2009 12:54 PM PDT reply actions

we need a big point guard if we were to try monta back at the 2. not jennings

jennings is just the point guard version of monta.jennings is not a good enough defender to play with monta

by gsw.raiders on May 25, 2009 1:18 PM PDT reply actions

I voted for Baron here

But in reality, I’m just letting the chips fall where they may.

by Golden Boy on May 25, 2009 1:22 PM PDT reply actions

what does that mean?

You’re not going to exercise any of your power over the front office in any personnel decisions this summer? ; )

Thing A

by sam23 on May 26, 2009 4:49 AM PDT up reply actions

BJ

… let BD go guys. And can you imagine if he came back and started doing the same things he’s doing right now on the Clippers? All our good memories of him would be dead and we’d have to be stuck with that heartbreak for 4-5 years.

by 123707THIZZ on May 25, 2009 1:37 PM PDT reply actions

I agree with Thizz

We are in love with the memories of Baron. Since he left we gotta suck it up and look for another point guard. Jrue Holiday or Brandon Jennings is the answer

Oakland Raiders Fan
Golden State Warriors Fan
San Francisco Giants Fan

by i love sports101 on May 25, 2009 2:22 PM PDT up reply actions

this is true

while its not quite the same thing it would almost be like Jordan’s time with the Wizards

Thing A

by sam23 on May 26, 2009 4:50 AM PDT up reply actions

I like BJ's hehehehehehe LMAO

by Butt Secks on May 26, 2009 11:14 AM PDT up reply actions

Uh-huhuhuhhh ... yeah YEAH!

Thing 1

by Sleepy Freud on May 26, 2009 1:42 PM PDT up reply actions

Baron for Maggs

Baron fills our needs and yet some people see him as a cancer or too old. If we can get both even better every team needs a backup remember this 48 wins with baron 29 without. We know the system Baron excels in throw Clips season out of your head thats not the real Baron.

by Warriorfan on May 25, 2009 2:49 PM PDT reply actions

agree

I remember watching him against us when we lost at clippers this year and he was motivated and looked like baron of old, we need a point guard and jennings is a project, even rubio who knows how good he will be? i personally think he is gonna be really good but i say bring BD back

by FeartheBeard4 on May 25, 2009 5:18 PM PDT up reply actions

You remember how every single game at least 1 scrub would have a great game against us...

by 123707THIZZ on May 25, 2009 5:23 PM PDT up reply actions

one of like 5 games he played well

by mosdl on May 25, 2009 8:37 PM PDT up reply actions

about Crawford instead?

Baron was offered a lesser contract by GSW FO, and got a better deal – after last season why would GSW take him back at a higher cost than they’d already passed on? Maggette has more value than Baron per contract – a mulligan on last summer is a better deal for LAC.

Now, if they’re interested in taking Crawford off our hands, that’s a different story all together – Maggette as 6tth man on that club could be 8th seed worthy … but a couple years from now we’re going to rue the day …

by hardcore on May 25, 2009 5:03 PM PDT reply actions

to please fans

by mosdl on May 25, 2009 8:38 PM PDT up reply actions

Screw the fans,

don’t do flash in the pan moves that the fans want. Build a consistent winner without making stupid moves like bringing back Baron at that price that handicap us down the line. Zach Randolph;s contract anyone? I didn’t think so. That’s what Baron would be down the line.

by BacksThePack on May 26, 2009 6:30 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

I'll have a BJ over BD, no questions asked

15$ Million/Yr for 5 Years, Coming off a bad season, not losing other pieces, and his bounce from GS vs Drafting Jennings at 7, not losing anything in a trade, good rookie contract.

Brandon Jennings, Ty Lawson, or John Wall. A Warrior in 09.
With the 6th Pick in the 2009 MLB Draft, the SF Giants pick Donovan Tate.
Andre Smith in Silver & Black in 2009.

by ejdacanay on May 25, 2009 7:36 PM PDT reply actions

The open thread took the holiday day off so...

That was a dominating performance by the Nuggets to finish the game with a blowout.

by IQofaWarrior on May 25, 2009 9:04 PM PDT reply actions

what about evans?
bigger and can play SOME D

by JBreezy on May 25, 2009 9:53 PM PDT reply actions

Potentially can play some defense...

Tyreke didn’t play much D for Calliperi down at Memphis. But his measurables and agility lead many to believe that he could become a good defender in the NBA.

A Sonics fan without a team.. Though I'm auditioning GS Warriors this season.

by mcwalter44 on May 26, 2009 8:31 AM PDT up reply actions

a trade of baron for maggette would cement the warriors and the clippers as the two most clueless nba franchises and as foolish as both franchises are i give them enough credit to not be THAT stupid

by so ill so d0pe on May 25, 2009 11:03 PM PDT reply actions

That’s still no reason not to make a trade.

Rafael Rodriguez: Your number 8 organizational prospect before stepping a foot on American soil and has "looked just super so far," according to Felipe Alou. "He has some bat speed and the ball comes off the bat pretty well" - K.Law.

by BrianBokake on May 26, 2009 12:34 PM PDT up reply actions

This post is and should remain irrelevant.

Monta is our starting pg next season, as previously mentioned by Sleepy. He can, will, and, needs to be a pg in this league in order to be most successful, both from an individual and team perspective. The only place I differ with Sleepy is in regards to the starting lineup. Maggette will be on the bench ~~with Crawford~~ Wright will get the starting job with Randolph at the SF (if he’s ready), or we’ll see Buike with Wright or Randoph, probably AR.

In regards to the draft, while I agree with many that whomever we draft will see very little playing time this season, we envision Monta in our ceneter piece in future backcourts. So, we need to find the best compliment to him. Either Belinelli or Morrow are great for that role! I actually see a Monta/ Morrow backcourt being a lot like Parker/Finley and Beli could be comparable to Ginobili, so I don’t feel a huge need to draft a guard. But since I can’t find a need that the seventh seed in the draft will correct, Evans makes the most sense. The backcourt seems to be worrying everyone, thus, due to his size and ball handling, Evans is a great match with Monta, he may not be the best player, but he’d be best for our team.

However, as previously stated, this post is irrelevant because a rookie will not see much playing time and Jack is our SG for now, and he is a great compliment to Monta.

by myk on May 26, 2009 12:49 AM PDT reply actions

+1

Starting lineup should be:
PG Monta
SG Jackson
SF Randolph
PF Wright
C Biens

Backup:
PG CJ, Draft(?)
SG Morrow, Beli(Jack slides to SF)
SF Buke
PF Davidson, Draft, Product of Maggs, Crawford trade
C Turiaf

by farid on May 26, 2009 12:40 PM PDT up reply actions

Well the backup PG spot

will be filled by Jamal, if he doesn’t opt out, or Beli since he has the best handles. We wont find a rookie PG who is gonna come in and play serious minutes

by myk on May 26, 2009 12:46 PM PDT up reply actions

If we end the offseason with Jamal Crawford on the team Riley will already be a failure as GM

by Neon on May 26, 2009 2:13 PM PDT up reply actions

Randolph needs to demonstrate that he can play SF before penciling him in there. So far, he has not shown that he can do that, despite the glowing (so far unwarranted) hype after he was drafted. His game has been very promising as a rebounding 4, but increasingly ineffective to abysmal when he moves away from the backcourt.

Davidson is an afterthought, not under contract and may not be back.

by jae on May 26, 2009 2:01 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

to some extent randolph is like marion for phoenix

Remember when Amare went out, I think it was in 2006, Marion was playing 4 a lot. But really, he is a 3.
  You dont really know whether to pencil Randolph in at 3, although he does not handle all that great or at 4 although he is not physically imposing. Wright on the other hand is a lot more traditional 4, maybe a bit slim, but a very good sprinter.
They should complement each other great – Wright’s post game with Randolph slashing and Biens cleaning up offensive boards. Randolph was slashing to the bucket very well at the end of the season. He is not yet a prototypical point forward as they were proclaiming him to be at the beginning of the season, but he will get there in my opinion very quickly given the opportunity. That mid-range jumper is still a question mark, but there was a definite improvement at the end of the year.
  In my opinion they should start him at 3, as that will give him a lot of confidence going forward as well.
  Davidson should stay by all means. Maybe I should make a thread about that as well :P He is a hard worker, he dominated in Dev League and he has that 18-20 ft jumper, he is an ideal role player at 4. Well its him and Croshere.

by farid on May 26, 2009 4:10 PM PDT up reply actions

In my opinion they should start him at 3, as that will give him a lot of confidence going forward as well.

how would starting him at a position that he has demonstrated that he cannot play make him more confident? it seems like playing to a guy’s weaknesses and expecting productivity is a bad confidence booster.

heart of a champion, will of the warrior.

by cap'n hack on May 26, 2009 7:37 PM PDT up reply actions

Randolph needs to demonstrate that he can play SF before penciling him in there

can we also agree to same re Marco as backup PG? (sigh)

by hardcore on May 26, 2009 4:13 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

Sigh. Belinelli and Randolph both have that art-contest “but they look good handling/passing they ball” problem. While the superficial appearance of the skill shows up from some impressive highlight reel stuff, the bread and butter of being able to do the job for 30+ minutes just isn’t there, either with Belinelli running the point or Randolph playing on the perimeter. Belinelli’s 3.6 assist/36 and 1.5:1 a:to screams “not a point guard” in so many ways.

Randolph at the “3” is a bit different. The worrisome thing is that what people seem to mean when they suggest he’s a “3” is that he can play more of a perimeter game. His occasional ability to exploit a mismatch with a shorter guy there is very unlikely to outweigh what he gives up in terms of his strengths rebounding and blocking shots when he’s inside and nothing in his career at any level suggests that he can score efficiently from anywhere outside of the paint.

by jae on May 26, 2009 4:23 PM PDT up reply actions

frustrated

Quite frankly, the whole concept of re-obtaining Baron Davis is quite pathetic. I mean, he did opt out of his contract but he was willing to re-sign, yet the front office sheepishly decided not to. Now we want him back? Since when did “do-overs” exist in the real world? Is this management THAT incapable of running a franchise that they now want a player back who they let go? A player that slipped out of their own hands? The idea of having Baron back on our team makes the FRANCHISE as a whole look completely incompetent. Why do we have to give up more to get a player back that initially wanted to stay with us? And not to mention that this Clipper contract is LONGER than the tentative deal the Warriors had with Baron. Draft Jennings, I don’t care, I keep on attempting to say to myself that “I’m done with this franchise”. But getting Baron back would be humiliating for die-hard Warriors fans.
Thank you Robert Rowell, Don Nelson, and Larry Riley. I truly appreciate the fact that you have caused me to resent my favorite team in all of sports. Dunleavy/Murphy years were more enjoyable than this because management was not obscene.

by jaredl10 on May 26, 2009 12:58 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs

Dunleavy/Murphy years were more enjoyable than this because management was not obscene.f

Don’t go startin all that crazy talk now.

(first person who replies to this by saying how much better JRich was than everyone on the current roster wins their choice of titles: “#1 delusional Warrior fan” or “Skeptic con Urquell”)

Thing A

by sam23 on May 26, 2009 5:06 AM PDT up reply actions

jrich for coach!

I say we hire jrich to coach and run the team

by mosdl on May 26, 2009 9:28 AM PDT up reply actions

Remember Chris Webber?

The Warriors might bring BD back just because Nellie wants him to have a chance to go out on a good note. If he sucks for the next 4 years in LALA land he will go down as a huge bust.

I can also see them going after BD and Jennings as a Master/Grasshopper thing with the future in mind. The trick would be to get Jennings to absorb the good and ignore the bad.

by warriorsvictim on May 26, 2009 10:14 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs

I think all the Baron talk is a Smokescreen

(on) Crack negotiators Riley and Rowell are working on a way to bring Agent 0’s fat contract back to the bay.

by Hoopachoo on May 26, 2009 11:00 AM PDT reply actions

another embarassing showing

for the GSOM community. atm, 58% in favor of bring Baron Davis back. how can we expect to hold the front office accountable when the majority of fans are even bigger idiotas than they are?? YEESH

On 5/7, the best part of waking is up LOLDGERS in my cup.

by GameSix on May 26, 2009 1:31 PM PDT reply actions

R E B U I L D

as much as i loved the guy during his era as number 5, i have to agree with gamesix. this is the definition of the rebuilding era, with the exception of captn jack, mag and craw, everybody on this team still has time to grow. i voted brandon jennings just because i dont want something to slow the growth of our young guns. i feel bj is too much of a gamble when we have a current gamble going on in that position

i say, draft earl clark, and put randolph on his toes and fight for his position. both are comparably the same player, but you can never have more than one 6’10" small forward on a warriors team. even dejuan barkley jr. might help us seeing as how the only guy that rebounds on this team is biedrins. if i was gm, this is the way it should be, giving mississippi moped one more year to prove his pg skills

starting:
1. monta
2. jacks
3. randolph
4. wright
5. biedrins

bench
1. cj
2. morrow
3. buke
4. clark
5. turiaf

try to move mags and craw for more picks, and/or better bang for the buck, like brandon bass, gortat, warrick, or possibly marion.

it’s times of rebuild now and we’re not looking for that first round, one-night stand, quicky we had before, but something that can last us 4-5 playoff runs

by vdub on May 26, 2009 2:31 PM PDT reply actions

i dont want something to slow the growth of our young guns

Most of our “young guns” will never amount to anything more than Super Soakers.

There are various (good) reasons to not bring back Baron Davis (although I still cling on to the hope that he can make a comeback here and it’s worth it to find out if it mostly takes Maggette’s contract), but I have a hard time seeing how he’s going to hurt the development of the “young guns” on this team. If anything with a PG who can distribute, he’ll make their lives much easier.

by Atma Brother ONE on May 26, 2009 4:29 PM PDT up reply actions

Soakers

I’m not against bringing Baron back, in fact I’m a big BD game fan, but I def see how he will take minutes away from developing our young players. Our starting lineup would moprh to
BD, Ellis, Jack, Randolph(Wright), Biens.
Buke will backup 3. Immediately this means no minutes for Randolph at 3, and AR and Wright have to split minutes at 4. I see Wright as a prototypical 4 in this league made for Nellie system, minus 3 point shot, but I actually like that. This also means less minutes for Beli, Morrow at 2 as Ellis will probably play 35+ min.
But I agree with you Atma on the fact, that Baron will make the game easier for everybody, as they won’t have to stand around watching Jack( or Maggs or Crawford or Monta) go one-on-one in iso plays. BD is a premier distributor and a lot of people forgetting that aspect of his game imo

by farid on May 26, 2009 4:43 PM PDT up reply actions

Sounds good to me

Buke will backup 3

Sounds good to me. He’s a bottom tier starting wing man in this league, but Kaz is a great backup and a spot starter.

Immediately this means no minutes for Randolph at 3

JAE would probably agree me on this- no AR at the 3 at least at this stage in his career is a good thing. Probably a great thing. His strength right now is his tenacious rebounding, not his passing or jump shooting.

AR and Wright have to split minutes at 4. I see Wright as a prototypical 4 in this league made for Nellie system, minus 3 point shot, but I actually like that.

Honestly I bet Wright is shipped out this summer, but if he’s still here he hasn’t done much in my book to warrant that many minutes. He looks utterly lost and raw out there. His big dip in rebounding rate (more in line with his college numbers) is very discouraging.

Also how can Wright be a prototypical Nellie guy, when it’s painfully obvious Nellie doesn’t think too highly of his game? Unfortunately this team just never wanted Wright and got stuck with him (flip back to the 2007 draft and summer of KG circus).

This also means less minutes for Beli

That’s a good thing. I doubt Jiri Welsch 2.0 even gets a second NBA contract.

Morrow at 2

Sounds good?

Ellis will probably play 35+ min

Easily the biggest question mark going into next season. Aside from atrocious defense and some dumb turnovers, I’m not sure what to expect from Monta next season.

This roster needs a huge talent upgrade. If BD reverts to his We Believe and 48 win form (big assumption) that’s a giant step towards that goal.

by Atma Brother ONE on May 26, 2009 5:12 PM PDT up reply actions

Sounds good to me too

I also like that scenario – Marco, KAz, and Morrow coming off the bench & Wright and Randolph splitting minutes at the PF.

1st – I don’t want Baron back, unless maybe it’s for Crawford. And even then, we’re going the wrong way contractually but at least we’d’ve hope that Baron would recapture some magic …

2nd – with or without Baron we ought not determine whether to make a trade based upon the minutes Morrow or Marco are going to get. Both are fine as backups for now, and maybe become more down the road. Maybe, maybe not.

3rd – we need more talent if we are to be a playoff team next year, and while Nelson might or might not play young player we draft this year, if we have a chance to add a talented veteran AND at the same time unload an unpleasant contract we HAVE to do so.

4th – although I doubt this could all fall into place for the Clippers, taking Baron off their hands has the potential to make them a much better team – see:

http://newsok.com/trade-in-works-thunder-has-shot-at-blake-griffin/article/3372479?custom_click=headlines_widget

that scenario is not attractive for us, any way you slice it …

by hardcore on May 26, 2009 5:14 PM PDT up reply actions

that scenario is not attractive for us

just to explain, if the Clips subtract Baron’s contract and can add Rubio, and he is the player they hope him to be (which I doubt) then we have another competitor for the 7-8th playoff slots while they have realy helped themselves re the cap. A double-win from LAC pov.

On the other hand, if the Clips take BG at #1 then they are adding to an area of depth (they’re deep in bigs) but not dramatically better unless they trade the excess bigs for say, another PG. Even in that case, they are still taking on contracts.

by hardcore on May 26, 2009 5:24 PM PDT up reply actions

something that can last us 4-5 playoff runs

begins with getting back there in the first place, I’m too old and cranky to watch another decade of rebuilding – hell, over half the league gets to the playoffs every year so we’ve been rebuilding for too long, waaaaay too long … plus, we have the absolute wrong coach for us to be rebuilding during the upcoming season …

by hardcore on May 26, 2009 5:33 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

totally agree

That’s why I want to win now (win being the playoffs) . The west is going to be stacked for a while. Other teams are also getting better, they’re not just going to stand around. Who says with certainty that we’re going to be in much better position then than we are now? Definitely, the #7 pick is not going to change that much.

If we have the opportunity to get Jennings (or whoever), then we will, no matter what. Getting back Baron will not hurt that at all.

Corey Maggette does not have better upside than Baron Davis. Baron is better and only a little more. I think this is obvious.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I cannot take another season like 08-09. Let’s have some fun, AND build for the future. Why not do both?

by Jaguarandi on May 26, 2009 10:32 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs