FanPost

The Case For Not Waiving Troy Murphy

I admit it. I was happy when Troy Murphy got traded for Al Harrington in what was possibly the biggest move to change the Warriors from pretenders to contenders.

And my feelings were right.

I had grown tired of Murphy's inability to play any semblance defense, run up and down the court, do anything besides shoot 3's and what seemed to be his general lack of interest in playing the game at times and thought he needed to go.

My feelings were right again.

I figured that with Murphy gone the Warriors would be better suited for an uptempo style and that he would be better off in Indiana and we would be better off without each other.

My feelings were correct once more.

Here's where things went south though...

I thought Brandan Wright was going to be a stud in the Chris Bosh mold. Someone who could rebound, play defense, have a good post game and possibly even a midrange jumper while being extremely long and athletic.

I was wrong.

I thought that Dan Gadzuric could be a serviceable big man for the Warriors when needed after we acquired him.

I was wrong.

I thought that Andris Biedrins would continue his growth as a player and be a top 10 center in the NBA, albeit with offensive limitations.

Boy was I wrong.

The fact of the matter is right now the Warriors need Troy Murphy. Not as an expiring contract. Not to make a push for the playoffs. And not to put fans in the seats per se.

The reason why they need Troy Murphy is for two big reasons.

1. Murphy while limited, in many ways, is still more efficient and valuable of a player than 3/4 of the Warriors roster had been the last two years. Whether you care about PER or TS% or whatever other stats people read too much into, just remember this; Troy Murphy has averaged a double double 5 seasons in his career, most recently in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010.

His PER has only dropped below 15 once in his career and from 2008-2010 he averaged a 17.94 rating, which would be good for Top 60 in the NBA during that span. The Warriors only had one player higher than that in 08-09 which was Biedrins in his last good season. For 09-10? Only Corey Maggette had a better PER than Murphy. Both of the last two seasons, regardless of his faults, Murphy would have been our second most productive player. Now I know that Murphy would never have done great for Nellie, hence why he was traded (see career worst PER that year) but while the fast pace is still there, it has slowed down a bit with Keith Smart and the Pacers don't exactly play a grind it out style either.

Also, Biedrins just isn't right. Call it whatever you want, but it's right there in front of us. I'm not sure what needs to be done, but it needs to be done in a hurry. He's afraid to shoot anything but those completely flat or ridiculously hard hook shots that don't stand a chance. He was never the defender we hoped he would be. He never developed a jump shot or any shot outside of 8 feet. He still can't shoot free throws. He's not as fluid of an athlete as I think most of us had hoped. He never bulked up like he should have. He still makes stupid fouls early in games. He has had only 3 double doubles this year. Last year, he had 1.

That's right, four double doubles the last two seasons. Troy Murphy in 09-10? 39. You can claim injuries all you want, but fact is even when healthy Andris isn't the same and he has been regressing both statistically and seemingly from a talent perspective the last 3 years which is really sad considering he is only 24. I think he can still be a productive player, but he needs to get his head right. It's a good thing he rebounds at such a high rate because that's his only saving grace. However, if the Warriors want someone who solely rebounds they should just grab Reggie Evans next chance they can or get Jeff Adrien back from the D-League.

Is Murphy perfect? No, but what you see is what you get and what you get is solid, blue collar production.

Even with David Lee getting major minutes and Udoh picking up some minutes as well, there is still a great chance that Murphy can be productive for us.

2. This trade leaves the Warriors completely barren inside. I don't understand the logic in this move if they waive him.

Coach Smart : So we're getting rid of Brandan and Dan for a big man who will actually get and deserve playing time then, right?

Riley : Well, not exactly....you see we're going to waive him.

Smart : So we essentially just traded two of our 5 big men for another big man, only to toss him away?

Riley : That's correct. Don't forget we got a 2nd round pick in the the 2012 draft.

Smart : Who am I supposed to play to be our 4th big man?!

Riley : Well you'll have to be creative.

Smart : Screw it. I'll just keep throwing Vlad out there to get shoved around.

Seriously though. I feel like I'm the only one who is noticing this. The Warriors now have 6 guys 6'9" or taller. One happens to be Dorrell Wright and I don't feel like seeing him playing the 4 like S. Jack used to for us at times. Another is Louis Amundson who has been kissed by the black widow known as the Warrior's health curse. The other 4? Udoh, Lee, Radmanovic and Biedrins. Only three of those are actual big men and the other (Vlad) is a 2/3 trapped in a 4's body. We are so scary thin in the middle it's not even funny. All it takes is another groin strain or Wilson Chandler molar and we are paper thin and searching the YMCA for guys to plus the middle.

How can it hurt to have Murphy run the backup 4/5 for us and get torn apart on D just like Biedrins does most of the time, just like Lee when they both got torched by an ancient Kevin Garnett on Monday or even Udoh, who while he shows promise, is not an NBA caliber defender since he is still not strong enough to guard big 4's or most 5's and sometimes tries to block TOO many shots and gets in bad position or foul trouble.

Again, Murphy is not going to help this team make the playoffs or anything crazy, but he DOES help this team stay competitive and give us some depth that we are seriously lacking now, and especially if someone goes down.

I know this is long and plenty will disagree and that's okay. Just felt like I had to get it off my chest.

This FanPost is a submission from a member of the mighty Golden State of Mind community. While we're all here to throw up that W, these words do not necessarily reflect the views of the GSoM Crew. Still, chances are the preceding post is Unstoppable Baby!