Last night's L to the Memphis Grizzlies (see Recap + Game Day Links) was definitely better than that horrific L that capped 2 dozen straight losses in San Antonio (see Recap + Game Day Links), but that's not the big news item of the day for the Warriors.
I guess this means he has to give up his free floor seats at the Oracle?
(pic via www.csnbayarea.com)
Jump for the 411!
GSoM friend MT broke all the details in Warriors Will Waive Raja to Make Room for Reggie over at Inside the Warriors. Raja Bell understands the situation and summed it up perfectly:
RAJA BELL: "I completely understand. If nothing else, I consider myself a professional. I never want to come off as a spoiled, coddled, NBA player. The fact is, I'm not playing this year. ... I can't expect you to hold on to me for my Bird rights when you're playing with eight players."
Definitely head on over to MT's piece and read the entire thing. There's lots of good quotes and thoughts.
Bell has been nothing but professional during his short stay with the Warriors. He's said all the right things and been a good mentor to the younger players on this team. I doubt he'd be too interested in playing for a team that has been "rebuilding" for 16 straight seasons, but it would be great to have Bell around in some role next season. Don Nelson, Larry Riley, and Bell seem to have a mutual respect for one another that dates back to their Dallas Mavericks days. Who knows? Maybe Nellie would be grooming Bell for an assistant coaching spot.
Overall I'd rate this as being the right move. The Warriors have a low head count (understatement of the year) and Reggie Williams has really shined here. It would be a mistake to avoid cutting him just to hold on to Bell for his Bird rights (if someone offers him an increase over his salary this season, it's NOT a good idea to get into a bidding war). It will be nice to see how Williams plays for the remainder of the season. As of right now he looks like a nice player to bring off the bench in the league for years to come.
Believe or not, but Devean George has given this team some solid minutes- better than Marco Belinelli could have I'd venture to say. George is not a young fella by any stretch (not even at that Stephen Jackson level), but you can't knock his hustle and effort on D. He's been stroking it from 3pt land at a respectable rate the past 2 months as well. We've heard a ton about the "problem captains" on this team this season such as Stephen "Captain" Jackson and Monta "can't do it" Ellis, but I think George, Bell, and Corey Maggette haven't gotten enough credit for being solid citizens on this team this year.
Also, I wanted to give some major props to my man Scott over at Ridiculous Upside who was pushing for the Dubs to call-up Williams as earlier as this past December (see Reggie Williams, Golden State Warriors Call-Up, is Good. Toldjya So). Williams has not disappointed.
Was waiving Raja Bell to keep Reggie Williams on the Warriors for the rest of the season a good move?