OK, so we're doing this thing where we rank the assets, but we're doing it "Survivor" style, eliminating one player per poll, until we've decided who is the most valuable to the Warriors in 2016 and beyond. Once a player is eliminated, they shouldn't be counted as a reason to choose the next player. Whether or not Jason Thompson's presence lessens the value of Festus Ezeli in real life shouldn't be taken into account once Jason Thompson has been voted out in this little game.
Ladies and gentlemen, here to repeat as NBA champions, your GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS!!!
Andrew Bogut
Draymond Green
Harrison Barnes
Klay Thompson
Stephen Curry
Andre Iguodala
Shaun Livingston
Festus Ezeli
Kevon Looney
That's the Warriors' nine most valuable assets, according to our very scientific poll. That's who we (35% of us, anyway), have decided that the organization needs to prioritize for the team to reach it's ultimate goal: another championship. That also means that the community chose the 10th best (or 7th worst, if you want to be that way) asset!
That's right, sports fans. Our most recent, completely foolproof, advanced scientific poll "Who is the Warriors' LEAST valuable remaining asset?" has given us the 10th best asset on the Warriors, the one and only...
Marreese Speights!
Last offseason, the Speights Cadet was in the GSoM doghouse, ranking ahead of two guys now playing in Europe, Kuzlajuwon and Ninjarose. He put up numbers in the regular season (18.6/10.7 per 36) and he improved them in the postseason (23.3/11.6 per 36), but his efficiency (.507 TS%) was bad and so were his +/- reports. People wanted him gone.
So Speezy went to work, practicing his offense (and his trash talking) against one of the best and brashest in the league, Draymond Green. They were both slated in as back up power forwards in Mark Jackson's rotation, before Steve Kerr started talking about Speights as a "stretch center". Metal sharpens metal, and while Dray's meteoric rise to star player has been well documented, we saw a significant improvement in Mo Money's game too.
The gangster of love performed to the tune of (per 36) 23.6 points and 9.7 rebounds. Not only were his 16 minutes per game incredibly productive, there was also an uptick in efficiency (.546 TS%) on massive volume (29.1 USG%). Those are pretty awesome numbers. LaMarcus Aldridge (23.8/10.4/.528 TS%/30.2 USG%) was the prize of free agency, and we've got our own version already sitting on the bench.
One important distinction between the two players is the available, user friendly nick names. LMA? That's your handle? Mo. Mo Buckets. Mo Money. Speezy. Spizzle. Speights Cowboy. Speights Cadet. Any combination of those words. Nicknames just fall off this guy.
Did I mention the massive volume? The man Steph Curry called "the tallest shooting guard in the league" actually had the highest usage on the Warriors last year. You know, the 83 win championship team? Yeah, Speezy Money (see what I did there?) was pretty much the scoring big man for that team. He isn't much of a defender, but his production at his salary is still an absurd bargain, and his availability (he's only missed nine games in his two seasons with the Warriors) will certainly prove valuable on a team featuring so many surgically repaired big men.
That means our asset list looks like this:
16) Chris Babb (41%)
15) Brandon Rush (68%)
14) Ian Clark (68%)
13) Jason Thompson (34%)
12) Leandro Barbosa (36%)
11) James Michael McAdoo (41%)
10) Marreese Speights (35%)
I think it's worth noting that Harrison Barnes (32%) and Kevon Looney (31%) also received significant votes in the last poll. Barnes' popularity seems to be getting tested by his recent contract negotiations, while Looney's potential and worth are now apparently at least on par with a proven veteran/valued role player for probably one of the top 5 teams in NBA history.
On to the next selection!
So, you saw the list of available players at the beginning of the article, right? Which one of them is worth the LEAST to the Warriors? Let us know what you think in the poll and share your reasons in the comments!