Golden State Of Mind: FanPosts

With Jackson gone, Curry finds room to operate

2009-11-23T09:46:36Z

Normally, I'd make this a fanshot, but what I was going to write was a bit too big for a fanshot.

(Rusty Simmons) With Jackson gone, Curry finds room to operate

With Jack gone, Rusty thinks Curry has deferred less, been more aggressive, pushed the pace, and scored more.

Other note: Nellie was sick, and might not travel with the team to @Mavs and @Spurs.

=====

Personal note: Although Rusty attributes Curry's newfound aggressiveness to the absence of Jack, looking at Curry's game log, it looks like he's been more aggressive since the Bucks game, which was Jack's last game here, and coincidentally, was the game where we first played like a real team. Also note that this was the game right after Curry only played 3 minutes @Knicks.

When I wrote my comment after the Bucks game, I was wondering what happened to this team between the Knicks game and the Bucks game to cause such a dramatic change in the team style of play. After looking at Curry's game log, I now have a fun little theory.

Remember after the Knicks game, Curry said he was going to "politely ask the coaches" about his reduction in minutes and his change of roles to the bench? This is my theory on how that conversation went:

Curry: Hey coach. Why am I on the bench?
Nellie: You're not aggressive. You don't shoot like I told you to.
Curry: But Jack, Monta, and Maggette are out there, and they need the ball first.
Nellie (roaring loudly): Look, if you don't f-ing shoot the ball, you're staying on the bench! You got that???
Curry: Yes, sir!

Obviously, I'm poking fun at one of Matt Barnes old KNBR interviews when he was on with the Razor and Mr T. From what I remember, they asked Barnes what he thought of Nellie when Barnes first showed up to training camp without a contract back in 2006. Barnes talked about Nellie's offensive freedom, and he said at one practice, he had a 3 pt look, but passed it up. Nellie got in his face and yelled "If you don't f-ing shoot the ball...", Nellie was going to bench him, or pull him out of the game, or kick him out of camp, or something like that. (I forgot the rest of that quote.) That was a total surprise to Barnes to see the level of offensive freedom and aggressiveness Nellie wants.

While that was fun to make up, it wouldn't surprise me if a conversation along those lines actually took place. Remember that among all the players, Curry has been the one that seems to "get it" as far as running the offense goes and seeing the team as a whole. And around that time, Monta wasn't in the mood to lead the team. So it stands to reason that once Curry got the message to be aggressive, run, push the ball, look for teammates, take his shot when it's there, etc, the other players quickly picked up the message. Hence the sudden turnaround at the Bucks game.

On the other hand, that doesn't explain how the team played well against the Bucks while Curry was still on the bench. Whoops. Oh well. Every fun theory works as long as you blissfully ignore the holes. :)

I'm in a Guessing State of Mind

2009-11-23T00:11:28Z

I was doing some research to gain a little perspective on one of our young Warriors to see how his production in limited minutes compares to some of the greats around the league. I thought that this would make for a fun guessing game as well as serve as a nice hiatus from all the proposed Monta trades that have littered the fan posts the past couple weeks. Also, it might open some eyes.

So this is how it works; I am going to post the per 36 minute stats of 6 different players around the league. I want you to try and guess who they are. One of our young warriors will be mixed into the six. Have fun and good luck guessing.

Player Number 1: (remember, all stats are per 36 minutes)

19.2 pts, 12.6 rebs, 2 blks, 4.0 ast, 0.6 stl, 2.1 to, .517 fg%, .723 ft%

Player Number 2:

20.1 pts, 7.7 rebs, 1.0 blks, 1.2 ast, , 0.6 stl, 3.0 to, .548 fg%, .728 ft%

Player Number 3:

15.9 pts, 9.0 rebs, 1.3 blk, 2.8 ast, 1.5 stl, 1.6 to, .500 fg%, .760 ft%

Player Number 4:

20.2 pts, 12.1 rebs, 1.5 blk, 1.0 ast, 1.5 stl, 3.1 to, .420 fg%, .836 ft%

Player Number 5:

27.0 pts, 12.3 rebs, 1.2 blk, 1.9 ast, 0.5 stl, 1.9 to, .514 fg%, .765 ft %

Player Number 6:

20.1 pts, 12.7 rebs, 2.1 blk, 1.4 ast, 0.9 stl, 3.1 to, .661 FG %, .569 ft %

Bonus Player :

8.6 pts, 5.9rebs, 0.8 blks, 3.3 ast, 0.8 stl, 2.0 to, .618 Fg%, .667 ft%

Before we unravel who these mystery players are lets take a look at a few things that jump out at us. Obviously, Player number 5 is having a RIDICULOUS season and is putting up the best numbers of the group. Looking at his career numbers, it is safe to say that player number 5 is putting up a career season. It also happens to be a contract year for player number 5. Player number 5's career line is around 21 pts, 9+ rebs.

The second thing that jumps out is that Bonus Player is definitely in a class all by himself when compared to the group. Unfortunately, that class is a couple tiers below that of the other mystery players. Unfortunately for us GSOMers, Bonus Player happens to be a starter on our favorite team.

TEASER ALERT: If you havn't finished your Guessing State of Mind guessing game do not read any further as I will reveal the mystery players.

Player number 1 = Tim Duncan

Player number 2 = Amare Stoudemire

Player number 3 = Kevin Garnett

Player number 4 = Anthony Randolph

Player number 5 = Chris Bosh

Player number 6 = Dwight Howard

Bonus Player = Mikki Moore

Other than a fun guessing game, this post was made to exhibit the frustration of many Warrior fans, including myself. Anthony Randolph's bench role and lack of minutes are alarming. The numbers state that the Warriors have a player somewhere between Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard (statistic wise) coming off the bench in favor of Bonus Player Mikkie Moore. It is clear, however, that Randolph is the poorest shooter from the field of the bunch and needs to work on upping his fg percent a good 7-8 points. It is also clear that Anthony Randolph is in a class of his own when it comes to hitting his free throws when compared to other bigs. He is also amongst the elite when it comes to rebounding.

Enough of my basic analysis, I'm sure you will all have some input worth listening to.

Was Jackson holding Monta back from his full potential?

2009-11-21T20:40:33Z

Dont get me wrong Stephen Jackson was a key piece of the Warriors franchise for the past few years, but how he dominated the ball while he was with the warriors could have been holding Monta back from more performance like last night vs the Blazers. Now with Jackson gone it seems so far that Monta does to a certain extent feel that the wins and loses for this team derectly come back to him because he is the best player on the team and it is now his team. For example, when Jackson was on the team people on the team saw him as the leader and when you leader stays on the offensive end complaining about a call and the other team has a 4 on 5 cause Jackson doesnt come back to the defensive end, the rest of the players do not put as much emphasis on defense. IT STARTS WITH THE BEST PLAYER.

Now that it is Monta's team and he realizes that he has to do everything he can in order for the team to win, it seems he is willing to do whatever it takes. He is obviously taking more pride in his defense and getting to show his whole game because he is getting to handle the ball more now that Jackson is gone. Honestly if Monta can make the same effort on the defensive end that he did with Roy on a nightly basis I feel that makes him one of the Top five guards in the Western Conference.

This Brings up another point i have been thinking about, I know the Blazers are going to have a better record then the Warriors most likley at the All Star Break but Monta is a better player than Roy if he can play defense like that. I do not see why he cant because its all in his quickness, and quickness usually does not have any off nights. Monta Ellis dominated Brandon Roy in every aspect of the game last night and everyone knows that Roy is probably already a shoo in for the All Star game this year. It just showed last night that Monta at his best is definantly better then Roy at his best even though it was not his best last night. So i really hope that Monta Ellis has turned a corner is his career and grown up and will give his all on a nightly basis, and if he does i also hope he will get some recognition around the league for with a couple of All Star Games in his career.

Monta Ellis and the Warriors Frustrated Brandon Roy and the Trail Blazers

2009-11-21T06:43:03Z

Golden State Warriors roster Trail Blazers vs Warriors recap

The original article that I wrote can be found here Monta Ellis and the Warriors Frustrated Brandon Roy and the Trail Blazers.

Coming into tonight's game the Golden State Warriors had put up tremendous efforts against the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics. On most nights that kind of play would have gotten the Warriors a victory, but when facing two of the better teams in the East it's hard to come away with a victory especially with only playing eight players.

Flash forward to tonight's game and you saw an incredible effort by the Warriors. In the first quarter though it looked like the Portland Trail Blazers were going to take care of business.

One of those reasons was the size advantage that the Trail Blazers have on the Warriors and that showed in the first quarter. The Trail Blazers shot 68 percent in the first quarter and put up 37 points to the Warriors 29.

From the rest of the game it was all Warriors and Monta Ellis was the main reason why playing all 48 minutes scoring 34 points, 8 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, and 6 steals. It was Ellis's defense on Brandon Roy that was the most impressive aspect of his game.

Once of the best examples of how Ellis frustrated Roy is that he played physically but more importantly was that Ellis was able to stay in front of him. Ellis even was able to draw a charge on Roy just because Ellis was able to move his feet.

Looking at Roy's night he struggled going 6-17 from the field, with 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. Roy's frustration boiled over to the referees where he was assessed a technical foul.

Beyond that though in the second quarter the Warriors were able to get the Trail Blazers big men LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden in foul trouble and with the two removed from the lineup until half time the Warriors took advantage.

This allowed the Warriors specifically with Ellis and Stephen Curry to attack the basket and either dish off to open teammates for layups or too Anthony Morrow knocking down threes.

As mentioned the Warriors defense came to play and held the Trail Blazers to just 15 points in the second quarter because of the defense the Warriors erased that eight point deficit taking a four point lead into half time.

Starting the third quarter for the Warriors was recently signed big man Chris Hunter from the D-League. He was the unsung hero of tonight's game while most of the credit will go to Ellis and Curry for their games, Hunter made a huge impact on the defensive end especially against Oden.

Hunter also made an impact on the offensive end hitting a nice little jumper on the wing and a nice little jumper in the lane. On the night he had four points, three rebounds, a block, and a steal.

Also, with Hunter you can see he knows how to play basketball. He didn't look nervous at all in fact he looked like he belonged out there. In essence he played under control.

With Randolph you see that he has a ton of energy, but rarely is Randolph ever under control. I believe with Hunter around you'll see Randolph develop into being a more controlled player.

Besides that you won't see in the boxscore is the fact that while he was on the offensive boards he was able to bother the Trail Blazers rebounders enough that they were not able to grab the board and instead the ball went out of bounds staying with the Warriors and earning them extra possessions.

As for the third quarter the Warriors were able to keep that same effort and were able to get the game to a double digit lead. The Blazers did answer with a few runs getting the game close within six points on a couple of occasions, but the Warriors were able to make plays, never allowing that lead to get under six after gaining the double digit advantage.

The play that Curry made to hit Anthony Morrow for a wide open three, which was buried. It was a fast break, Curry was able to get past the defender and see the open court. He had two options Anthony Randolph who was running towards the basket or Morrow on the same side of the court but just past the three point line.

Curry made the pass to Morrow and as soon as the shot was released you knew the ball was going in.

In the fourth quarter as mentioned before the Blazers did have opportunities to get the game within reach, but the Warriors made plays. One of those plays was Ellis's move on Roy which earned Ellis a three point play because Roy tried taking a charge, but was clearly moving.

That took the wind out of the Blazers sails and the Warriors pushed the lead up to 20. With just over two minutes remaining in the game, the Warriors had held the Blazers to only 11 points in the quarter.

At the end the Warriors got a little sloppy turning the ball over and missing shots, which allowed the Blazers to reach 19 points for the quarter. Even with that the Warriors were still able to keep the Blazers from scoring 100 points which is the first time all season the Warriors have been able to do that.

It was really hard to find anything negative to say about the effort of the Warriors tonight. The only thing I'd mention is Maggette needs to find the open man more. There was a possession in the game where Maggette took a difficult shot, but if he had looked he had Curry and Morrow with wide open looks for a three pointer.

One other note is the fact that hopefully Ronny Turiaf, C.J. Watson, and Andris Biedrins can come back soon because Morrow and Curry can't play 48 minutes a night and Curry won't be able to play 45 plus minutes a night either.

Overall this was clearly the best effort the Warriors have had so far this season, hopefully they can keep this kind of effort up!

Poll

Was Monta Ellis's performance tonight the best of his career?

Matt Steinmetz reports Warriors sign Chris Hunter from D-League

2009-11-20T21:39:53Z

This just in via twitter.

http://twitter.com/matt_steinmetz/status/5899306575

Haven't seen anyone else report this yet.

Chris Hunter Player Profile

http://www.nba.com/dleague/playerfile/index.jsp?player=chris_hunter

I tried looking him up for this season but couldn't find any relevant info. Looks like he was signed by New York last year to a 10 day contract, other than that nothing. It's kind of mysterious if you ask me. Says on ESPN and CBS sports that he didn't play a game in college. I'm sure someone can post some info on this guy.

Time Will Tell (and Curry > Jennings)

2009-11-20T14:49:08Z

Hey everyone, love the blog. This is my 1st post.

Let me get this straight. Y'all are Warriors fans, and y'all are impressed that Brandon Jennings dropped 55 points--on the Warriors? Did I miss something? Am I the only one who remembers how people wanted Corey Maggette--because he always put up big numbers against the Warriors???

Let's face it, scoring 55 on these Warriors is like scoring 47 in the summer league. Jennings has a long way to go before he's the next A.I., or even the next Monta Ellis. I wouldn't be surprised if he's the next Jamal Crawford.

I'm too lazy to do the numbers, but I'm guessing that if you take away his game vs. the GSW, Jennings' numbers don't look nearly as good. Lots of points, but lots minutes, lots of shots, lots of TOs.

Naw, I'd rather have Curry. The "safe" bet. Kind of like Mike Dunleavy. Kind of like Chris Mullin (drafted #7 after tearing it up in college).

The thing with Mullin is, his team wasn't really any good until 88 or 89, after 3 years in the league. Look at the Atlanta Hawks-- in 05/06 they went 26-56, with pretty much the same core pieces they have now minus Bibby. Four long years later look where they're at now. Look at the Blazers, 32-50 in 06/07, Roy and Aldridge's rookie year. Good teams don't just happen.

I know what people are saying. That the Warriors always have "young guys with potential." That this is 94/95 all over again. That we should have drafted Brandon Jennings. That Larry Ellison will save the world.

But think about it. This isn't Latrell Sprewell, Todd Fuller and a bunch of old scrubs. This isn't Jason Richardson, Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy. Heck this isn't Jason Richardson, Antawn Jamison, and Gilbert Arenas (though you looking back you would have kept that team together now, wouldn't you).

This is Monta, Curry, AR, Biedrins, Azubuike, Morrow, and Brandan Wright (plus next year's lottery pick!).

This is a team of young exciting players that are learning to play the game and learning to play together. Let's stop talking trash about them and see where they go. What, would you rather have the Milwaukee Bucks than this team??

The TK Challenge

2009-11-20T08:01:19Z

I got to thinking last night... TK talks a good game, but has he actually ever been right about any big Warriors personnel moves? Ever?

He postures as the one in the know. And from the outside, it seems like he should know. First, it's his job! He works on it 50 hours a week. Second, he has used the phrase "confirmed by inside sources" or "word from the player's inner circle" about a million times. Third he writes about a million words a week confirming his own "knowingness".

So with all that, I ask, did the all mighty TK tell us about any of the following block busters before they happened:

1) Dunmurphy trade

2) Baron trade

3) Jason Richardson trade

4) Baron opting out

5) Harrington - Nelson blow up and trade

6) Jackson asking to be traded

I think that covers the biggest happenings the last 3 years and I don't recall TK harping on any of these before they happened.

TK or anyone else, please do correct me in the comments if I am wrong.

TK is one of the most entertaining and hard working reporters around and our sports scene would be less without him. Keep up the uh... good work!

The Thing About Randolph...

2009-11-19T14:12:44Z

Don't get me wrong, I am on the Randolph bandwagon as much as the next Warriors fan but theres something missing with the guy. Yes, besides experience and weight, Randolph has shown glimpses of being a great player, but what type of player is that?

Randolph came into the league as a Small Forward/Power Forward position because of his superb ball handling and outside game being a 6'10 ball player. But now he is being asked to play the PF/C position under Don Nelson because Nelson, as do we all, see the match-up problems Randolph can pose to opposing big men. People have compared Randolph to Shawn Marion, Kevin Garnett and Lamar Odom... but there's one thing that stands out about these guys, they are not real low post scorers.

Shawn Marion, aka the matrix, aka the garbage man, was/is a good player, especially when playing in an up tempo style of play. Though we mostly remember him playing the PF position alongside Amare Stoudemire, he wasn't their primary low post option, that was for Stoudemire. Marion almost always got his points from putbacks, wide open dunks and occassional 3 point shots. Other than that, he only used his sub-par low post game against mismatches with inferior low post defenders.

Lamar Odom is praised because he plays like 6'11 shooting guard except he rebounds the ball exceptionally well. He has great handles and range. But rarely do we see his post up game and if we do it is always to his left hand. Again, like Marion, a lot of his inside points come from offensive rebound putbacks or open layups. Rarely do we see an Odom low post play called for him unless it is against inferior defenders.

Lastly, Kevin Garnett... Yea, he is a great player.. but a very unique one at that. I don't know if you all notice, but KG's low post game usually consists of his classic "dream" shake followed by a fade away. For most defenders... having the player you are guarding resort to a fade away is a good thing because he is taking a bad shot. Obviously, KG has mastered that fade away and makes it look easy. Yes, KG has hook shots and amazing dunks but nowadays he mostly resorts to fade away shots that against ANY OTHER PLAYER, would be just what the defense wanted.

This isn't a diss towards Randolph, I am sure we are all pleased with that long 18 foot jump shot that seems to be consistent for him, but that isn't what we want out of him. The guy looks just plain awkward out there when he tries his low post game. He is still very young but other players at his age had better low post skills than him. I think of Ike Diogu his first couple years with the Warriors for an instance. As much as we want Monta Ellis to be a better passer, Morrow to be able to take it inside, Biedrins to have a mid-range game, perhaps it is too much to ask Randolph to have an inside game.

Analysts compared him to the players mentioned above, they are very good players, but not what the Warriors need. The Warriors since Chris Webber or Antawn Jamision, have needed a low post presence and now we believe Randolph can be that player, but with the experts comparing him to the above players, perhaps we are being fooled again. Randolph isn't a great on-ball defender like Marion, doesn't have range like Odom, nor does he have KG's amazing fade away game. As much as I want the guy to be a great player for the Warriors, he hasn't shown any glimpses of being the next of these type of players. We shouldn't be too hyped about him..not yet at least. Potential goes a long way, but that same potential has resulted in players like Mike Dunleavy Jr., Ike Diogu, Patrick O'Bryant and even Brandan Wright.

Further Cap Relief for the Warriors, But the Bottom Line is Who Cares?

2009-11-18T01:49:50Z

Golden State Warriors Golden State Warriors stats

I guess the most positive thing to say about the trade of Stephen Jackson and Acie Law for Vladimir Radmanovic and Raja Bell is the fact that the Golden State Warriors franchise is now significantly under the salary cap.

Which means that the Warriors could go after some of the top 2010 free agent players. Even more troubling for Warrior fans is the rumor of Monta Ellis being traded as well. With the most recent trade of Jackson it put the Warriors about 21 million dollars under the salary cap.

With Ellis the relationship between coach Don Nelson is all but gone. Ellis was trying to be a leader and tell the team something and Nelson cut him off. Any franchise that actually had competent owners, would have fired Nelson on the spot.

Yet, as Warriors fans we know nothings going to happen because the team has a pathetic excuse for an owner and it has been this way for a long time.

How sad is it that in 2000 when the all-star game was played in the Oracle Arena, Cohan was booed and forced out of his seat when reporters were trying to ask him questions! Even more embarrassing though for Cohan is the fact that David Stern was with Cohan when he was announced and was booed without mercy!

But, that's really my point. With such an incompetent owner with the money the Warriors have saved up what free agent would even want to play for the Warriors? Especially if Nelson is still around which he will be, there's no way the Warriors get the number of victories that Nelson needs to surpass Lenny Wilkens this year.

Besides the fact that the Warriors aren't going to win very many games this year, NBA players, coaches, executives, and owners all saw how management ran Chris Mullin out of town as well and how Nelson has acted almost like he is the General Manager of the club.

Anyways here's the list of 2010 NBA free agents. I'm going to list a few there's Lebron James, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, Carlos Boozer, Rudy Gay, and plenty more names on the list.

Yet, honestly would any of those players consider playing for the Warriors franchise. Well, Warriors fans already know that Stoudemire wouldn't when a rumored trade to the Suns was mentioned.

None of those players would even look at the contract given to them, there's no amount of money that could be paid to get them to play for the Warriors.

Look at Bell who came over in the trade from Charlotte. He's opting to have surgery on his wrist, the same wrist that he would have played on if he was still on Charlotte's roster. Bell will be a free agent in 2010 and there's no chance he's staying a Warrior.

Also, let's take a look at the fact that Anthony Randolph was supposed to make tremendous strides this season. That has not happened because Nelson uses Randolph sporadically and he hasn't even played with the same kind of hustle he showed in the last half of his rookie season.

All the confidence that Randolph had seems to have vanished. Which, can be traced right back to Nelson. Just another reason to fire Nelson, but it won't be happening anytime soon.

Welcome to the world of being a Warrior fan. The only way the Warriors franchise changes is when Cohan finally sells the team and by that time there's not going to be much of a team.

Very realistic Monta Ellis trade

2009-11-17T23:53:50Z

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yk7fdum

I guess the link is not working. It is Kirk Hinrich and Luoi Deng for Monta Ellis and Corey Maggette

Kirk Hinrich is an excellent defender, very tough, and has the ability to be a 15 ppg scorer. He is a total combo guard, who can guard players as small as Chris Paul and as large as Paul Pierce. Chicago has been looking to trade him since Derrick Rose was drafted because of his bad contract.

Deng is good fit in golden state because of his slashing ability. His size at 6'9, 225 allows him to be a very good defender, especially on the perimeter. He is often praised for his work ethic and is an excellent rebounder. His contract is nearly identical to Montas

Chicago may be compelled to do this trade for several reasons. Derrick Rose is one of the few players in the NBA that is big enough to guard the two, despite being a point guard, an ideal situation for Monta. In addition, Monta is a very similar player defensively to Ben Gordon, so Chicago would not be afraid to add a bad defender at the shooting guard position. Finally, Monta not only brings 20 ppg potential, but also creates one of the quickest back courts in the NBA.

Corey Maggette is simply an upgrade at 6th man over Kirk Hinrich. He is a more complete offensive player, as the ability to score in the post (something Chicago hasn't been able to do since the days of Artis Gilmore) and can get to the foul line.

If the Warriors could pull this trade off, we could finally see some defense on the team, even if Nellie tries to prevent it. But in all honesty, the Warriors, no matter who they acquire, will not see real improvement until Nellie is gone, and even more realistically until Cohan sells the team.

The Inevitable Trade of Ellis... Proposal

2009-11-17T23:33:03Z

So it looks like Monta Ellis is heading down the same path as Stephen Jackson... So let the trade proposals begin...

The most realistic trade partner in my opinion is the Philadelphia 76ers. Why? Because the 76ers want to move Dalembert and his $12 million dollar contract. Here is my proposal....

76ers send:

Samuel Dalembert: $12,025,694

Andre Iguodala: $12,200,000

Thaddeus Young: $2,105,400

Total Salary: $36,331,094

Warriors send:

Monta Ellis: $11,000,000

Corey Maggette: $8,937,931

Speedy Claxton: $5,209,454

Total Salary: $25,147,385

Warriors unload a disgruntled player + a salary contract nightmare for a bigger 2 that can play in the backcourt with Curry and a SF to replace the loss of Stephen Jackson and Corey Maggette. Dalembert can be a serviceable backup Center to Biedrins.

New Look Lineup:

PG: Curry / Watson

SG: Iguodala / Morrow

SF: Buike(When he returns from injury) / Young

PF: Randolph / Turiaf

C: Biedrins / Dalembert

Looks like a solid team to me. And we don't lose much talent wise.

What do you think?

Poll

Do you think this trade helps or hurts the Warriors long term?

Monta Trade that Makes Sense

2009-11-17T22:36:33Z

If you beleve the rumors, Monta wants out of Golden State and the Warriors are letting his agent look for potential trade partners. We all know that when a player demands a trade it is hard to get equal value in return, but here is a trade that I think might work:

GS Trades: Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette, 2nd Round Draft Pick

Mem: Trades: Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, DeMarre Carroll

New GS Lineup:

PG: S. Curry

SG: A. Morrow

SF: R. Gay

PF: A. Randolph

C: A. Biedrins

New MEM Lineup:

PG: M. Ellis

SG: O. Mayo

SF: C. Maggette

PF: D. Arthur

C: M. Gasol

Reasons this Might Work:

- Grizzlies didn't sign Gay to an extension and apparently Rudy was pretty upset about it (Bill simmons talks about it here in his NBA preview http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmonsnflpicks/part1/091023&sportCat=nba). His contract expires at the end of this year so they will probably entertain offers from playoff contenders as the deadline draws close, but if they could get a young player with potential like Monta in return for Gay I think they'd take it.

- Considering the combined 5-14 record of the two teams, a trade like this would be an attendance booster.

- We'd be taking Z. Randolphs terrible contract off their hands and giving them maggettes in return, but Maggette seems like a better fit in that system.

- Grizzlies mgmt. have done dumber things before.

Biggest Concern:

Gay is a free agent at the end of this year, and considering the perception of the warriors organization around the league, it might be a long shot to expect Gay to resign here in the offseason. We'd have to offer him a max deal and hope he signs. However, with the potential for a lineup of Curry, Morrow, Gay, A. Randolph, and Biedrins, I I'm willing to take that risk.

If Memphis wants more we could include a future 1st round pick or maybe even B. Wright. We could also take Sam Young instead of DeMarre Carroll.

What do ya'll think?

Replace Ellis with Iverson for the rest of the year!

2009-11-17T21:23:59Z

Ok Look. I'm no expert, just a decades long warriors fan and general sports fiend. I just read the headline on the homepage about Monta Ellis wanting to be traded. Let's say that the warriors do trade him (which I am in favor of). I'm not going to speculate on actual Names/Deals, but I would hope it would be for someone good: a savage, promising, team-oriented SF/PF who's not old.

Say that went down... what if we picked up AI for the rest of the year to replace Ellis at SG (whom Morrow can back up, or AI plays a little PG, back him up with Curry and start Morrow). I know it sounds crazy, but I do believe people can change, or at least change to fit the circumstances... and yes, in do believe in fifth and sixth chances at times, ha ha. Even for people with huge egos. This experiment would only succeed if AI and Nelson and the rest of the Team got on the same page though. This would not be an invite for AI to dribble the ball for 19 seconds then shoot one up... I think AI would have to look to pass first and shoot second and it would have to be understood... (I have visions of Iverson driving to the hoop and dishing it to AR4 for a dunk, or Curry and/or Morrow for corner threes...) With Nellyball you can afford to do that and still get up 15-19 shots per game because of the pace of the game. Besides, AI would thrive in Nelly's uptempo system, and in most respects, AI is just like Monta Ellis, just Ellis from the future. So why not sign him for the rest of the year? See how things go... he did say he wants to go to an east contender, but he also says he wants to start... And besides, he's more savvy on defense that Ellis is at the moment. And we would still have the cash to sign the free-agent that we covet during next summer, right?

So what if the Warriors make it interesting out West in the end? Think of how electrified Oracle would get should the Warriors pull it together, become a real team and play like there's nothing left to lose. They could be very scary, especially if they don't slack on D for a single play. If AI gets on board with a mental intensity to help the warriors win, I think it would rub off on the others and it would translate to tougher D. Who knows... crazier things have happened. Like Sammy Sosa's image change...

A little food for thought never hurts anyone...

Haven't we seen this movie before?

2009-11-17T19:17:22Z

Kawakami is reporting that he expects a Monta trade demand this week, and Monta is seeking permission to talk to other teams about a trade. He reports on how Monta feels that his attempts at being a leader are being undercut by Nelson.

The article

Shades of Webber? We have a young, talented player who Nelson rubs the wrong way ... who then gets shipped out. Of course, Nelson can't coach the resulting mess, so he follows suit.

This isn't at all similar to Jackson - Jackson's a role player at best anyway, who was overpaid and getting pretty close to over-the-hill. Losing Jackson costs us nothing. But being forced to trade Monta, especially under unfavorable circumstances?

Furthermore, giving Monta's representatives permission to find a trade is a nightmare. They have a vested interested, and that's trading Monta for a little as possible, so his next team has as much talent as possible.

Nelson has to go. Now. It's possible that Monta doesn't want to play for the Warriors anyway because of Rowell, but if Nellie is driving Monta away, it's time to pul the trigger and try to salvage something. That might buy us the time we need for Cohan to find a buyer so we can get rid of him.

(No comments saying "Its Kawakami" as if that means its all b.s. His track record on this sort of thing is actually pretty decent. Not perfect, but pretty good. Whenever he posts something predicting trouble, he's slammed by fans of the team - who never seem to apologize when he's later proven right.)

If Monta can pout his way out of town, isn't Randolph next? We already know that Randolph and Nellie don't get along (Yes. We know. Take off the blinders and watch Randolph's body language as Nellie jerks his minutes around) so he's next. You can't get equal talent back when you're trading a disgruntled player.

The drafting of Monta and Randolph are two of the few bright spots we've experienced in the last couple of years. Are we really prepared to throw them all away?

I'm disgusted and disappointed. If this goes down, don't you know that Curry is going to start making his calendar for when he can flee, too? This is going to get worse before it gets better.

More thoughts on Jackson's and Monta's out of touch mentality

2009-11-17T17:38:24Z

Over at Daily Dojo writer Joshua James quoted some info yesterday that applies directly to what we are seeing with JAX and Monta. I think Fear The Beard was on the right track, but this sounds exactly like what we are dealing with.

“The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which “people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it”.[1] The unskilled therefore suffer from illusory superiority, rating their own ability as above average, much higher than actuality; by contrast the highly skilled underrate their abilities, suffering from illusory inferiority. This leads to a perverse result where less competent people will rate their own ability higher than relatively more competent people. It also explains why actual competence may weaken self-confidence because competent individuals falsely assume that others have an equivalent understanding. “Thus, the miscalibration of the incompetent stems from an error about the self, whereas the miscalibration of the highly competent stems from an error about others.”[1]”

In layman’s terms, people who don’t really know what they’re doing tend to believe that they’re much better at it than they actually are … and people who do know what they’re doing tend to think they’re not as good as they actually are.

http://writerjoshuajames.com/dailydojo/?p=1558

JAX and Monta have had some great moments. I will not deny that. But neither is a player a team should, or can, build around....neither is an All Star caliber player....neither knows how to be a leader....neither one knows it.

You have to wonder if they would have reached this point if they spent the meat of their playing years in Detroit or LA (or San Antonio?!) with really great players and coaches. The Warriors have been in a state of disarray for so long that they had to treat these two guys like saviors instead of like the role players they are. These two players may not be able to function properly anywhere now except on other decrepit teams.

I fear they may be facing a premature demise soon like Allen Iverson because no team can figure out how to use them despite an uncanny amount of talent. I wouldnt wish that on anyone (except Cohan and Rowell...ok maybe Sarah Palin too).

Anyone think there is a way to save Monta? Considering how few years you get in this league, I fear he is a lost cause already.

A pending decision

2009-11-17T08:20:57Z

In light of the recent trade for Raja Bell I was thinking, we have a tough choice to make in the off season. Kelenna Azebuike may become a free agent due to his player option and before the injury I was almost certain he was going to opt out but now that he has gotten injured he may go the safe route and pick up his option since teams may worry about his health. Especially with the big 2010 offseason coming up he may not get a whole lot of attention. Now that we have Bell and his expiring deal as well we may have to choose between who we want to keep. Then throw in Corey Maggette and we have three wings who are all quality players. Who should we keep?

Are you Azebuike's replacement or just an expiring deal?

Buike has been great here. he's a hard worker, great player, great guy and his story from Kentucky to the D league to being a great NBA player is incredible. But at the same time he is a player who can be replaced. Maybe not to the fan love affair since Buike started with us but Bell may be able to replace him. Bell may also be more of a leader but may not be as effective as a player as he used to be. Buike holds the key to which stays and which goes, if he picks up his deal Bell will almost certainly be out but if not Bell would most likely be resigned unless his wrist turns into a constant issue. Lets say Bell gets surgery and him and Buike are done for the year, where do we go from there? Which player would you prefer? Then you get into Maggette. To his credit he is very good at what he does, and has been playing well lately but his contract will continue to kill us as much as Jack's would have. But Maggs is a great guy, and seemingly is Monta's best friend on the team now. But every now and then he will completely kill the ball movement even though his minutes have been reduced to games around only 20 minutes a game. Now a trade that makes sense would be him for Kenny Thomas or a deal of him and Speedy for Brian Cardinal and Mark Blount. Case and point the only way to lose him would either be for another bad contract like what we got with Vlad or depending on the other team's needs expiring contracts. Since our draft pick will either be a power forward or a wing who can do multiple things (like Evan Turner) 2 of the 3 wings we now have here may need to leave to make room for the rookie since we already know he will most likely be a top talent in the lottery knowing us.

We already miss you

If we pull off the Kenny Thomas deal we all of a sudden have a good amount of expiring contracts, maybe enough to get someone. Not like Bosh or Wade but maybe Ray Allen, Joe Johnson , Rudy Gay etc. It would be tough to attract any of them but money is the most powerful negotiator. If you count Buike's potential expiring deal with the Thomas deal we end up with $25,860,448 in expirings. Were still above 22 mil if Buike decides to come back as well.

Stay or go?

So were left with a tough decision at the end of the year and maybe even the trade deadline on who should stay. Who'd you rather keep?

Poll

If there contracts were all expiring for the exact same amount of money and you can only keep one who would you keep?

My letters to the players

2009-11-17T06:04:22Z

This year has got me thinking; We definitely are not the same team from We Believe, we aren't even the optimistic team of last year...

So what happens from here?

The Big News - Captain Jack and Acie Law being traded for Raja Bell and VladRad

Other "recent news" -

Azubuike injured,

All our centers are injured,

Monta not happy,

etc.

I'm tired of all this.

Some thoughts -

I don't really understand why everyone hates on Maggs- He's been the most professional veteran on our team and from what I see, although he lacks passing skills he gets the job done. Sure he's not a great defender, but who on the dubs is?

Anthony Randolph- Where'd you go? The end of last season and all through summer league I watched you turn it on and you gave me hope, but as things are getting worse and worse, it seems you've disappeared...

Anthony Morrow - You're a great shooter, but people have become to infatuated with you. I understand that when your hearts on fire smoke gets in your eyes but how can people say you are starter material?! Hopefully in the near future you can develop some moves and work on your ability to attack the hoop.

Monta - I understand you have pressure on your shoulders and you were promised a more talented team to work with, but you need to step it up. Anyone can be great with a All-Star material point guard and a talented team, but when will you show up on your own?

Stephen Jackson - Thank you for what you've brought to our team. You're gone now, and you left with a little... distaste.. but I still wish you the best.

Raja Bell - Welcome! I don't know how long you will last and how much of an impact you'll have on our team, but win or lose, welcome. Maybe you're defensive abilities will rub off on some of our other players.

Azubuike - I miss you already...

Curry - I can't lie. I have to admit I keep looking at Brandon Jennings and am a little jealous, but you have definitely impressed me and I hope you continue to grow and can throw it in my face that I should never had doubted you.

I know I haven't addressed everyone, but at this point I have more to ask the Front Office.

Please stop breaking my heart. I only see glimpses of a team out there, and although I understand our franchise is in need of major repair, for some reason I am inclined to ask you to take a break.

Yeah, trades will bring in talent and possibly turn this team around but I feel that we have become so caught up in changing this team that we keep looking over what we have right now. We drafted a promising young point guard, last years draft has made huge strides and hopefully will come out of his shell, our ever consistent center is just injured give him time, in my opinion we have one of the best 6th men in the entire association, Azubuike has only kept getting better, CJ Watson only wants a chance to prove himself and you can't forget the ever loyal fans! I know it may sound a little Disney, but maybe if we sit down and stop allowing the ugly side of business and what not ruin our team and instead allow the players to feel comfortable on the team and grow we may actually get something. I just feel like we expect our players to be superstars right away and give them the feeling that they will be and when things don't go picture perfect we start pointing fingers and blaming everyone. Then in turn we begin looking to trade for any and all free agents to be in hopes that they can change our team. If we keep ripping up what we have and try to piece it together with anything we can grab we won't go anywhere. Yeah Bosh, Amare, Wallace or Kirelenko would be nice but to give up everything we have for them? nah. especially if they aren't even secured to stay with us past their ending contracts.

Maybe I'm just not knowing what is going on, maybe you have a bigger plan for the future. Please enlighten me and allow me to sleep easy.

Thank you for your time.

-JBreezy

End the Reign of Losing

2009-11-17T05:35:50Z

I know we all want to see a Warriors team that has good coaching, sound defense, and strong ownership. I also know that all Warriors fans are disgusted with the current lack of cohesiveness throughout the organization. I truly believe that the only way we, as fans, will see change is if the current ownership is removed. I live in Dallas so this is easy for me to say, however if the fans stop coming the ownership will eventually have to change.

Please stop going to Warriors games! The fans need to raise their voices and show the ownership that they need to sell the team to a sharp ownership group. However, as long as the fans keep being the best in the NBA and keep attending the games the Warriors will never be a great basketball organization. I live in Dallas and pay 200 dollars a year to scream at the TV, read online about horrible trades, and watch a team I love continue to be the laughingstock of the NBA. So let me plead to all of you on this Blog, please stop going to Warriors games. Vote with your wallet and drain Cohen's pockets.

I know we all love basketball and love the Warriors but the incompetant ownership group must be held accountable. They have been taking advantage of us as great fans for far too long. I am not a hug fan of Kawakami, however he is devastatingly accurate when it comes to the head of this group of owners. WARRIORS FANS UNITE! (pardon the marxist language)

The Next Trade That Needs To Happen

2009-11-17T01:47:45Z

We all have read all the trade ideas multiple GSoMer's have thrown out there and I think my idea has been thrown around and I feel it needs to be done.

I stress this even more with the recent quotes of Ellis saying "I just wont do it" and "Im not going to be that player" or something to that degree. Now I have read a lot of responses saying "oh he didnt mean it like that" well I think he did. Ever since Monta signed his deal he keeps showing that you cant build a franchise around this guy. I think he is the next player that needs to go. I think Curry is your future at point along with Randolph at the 4 if he ever gets the PT.

I say you look to trade with the Utah Jazz. Jazz are talented club especially with Dwill running the show but I think they could use some much needed fire power and I think they would welcome to unload Kirilenko's contract. I think the Warriors should offer Ellis, Maggette, Claxton and George for Boozer and AK (worked on trade machine). Boozer wont be back with the Jazz next year and AK is owed 34 million over this season and next. Of course the Jazz would be taking on longer contracts but I think this trade will make them much more competitve as they are buit to win now. I mean I dont know you tell me but I think having a starting line up of Dwill/Ellis/Maggs/ Milsap/Okur is much better to try and get past Denver / L.A.

For the Warriors this will allow Curry to be the man at point and have a legit 4 while Randolph continues to grow. You could throw a rotation of

Curry / Watson

Morrow / Bell

AK / Buike / Vlad

Boozer / Randolph / Wright

Andris / Turiaf / Wright

I think this line up is worlds better then throwing out what we got now. I hope this can get forwarded to Riley and he has a clue to make something happen. All I have seen him do is trade a young 21 yr old shooter / defense man for garbage in George and getting 2 role players for Jackson (although we do get cap relief).

I know AK has a huge price tag but Warriors coud still save money if they decide not to resign Boozer plus next year having 23 Million in expiring contracts in AK and Vlad.

Tell me your thoughts. Plain and simple this trade makes us better on defense and on the boards..something we dont do at all.

But realistically this is only a pipe dream. Warriors cant make this happen. So I guess we can enjoy Vlad playing the 5 and our 25 win season.

MT2: Warrior comments on Jax trade

2009-11-16T23:36:35Z

On his twitter feed, Marcus Thompson has quotes from Larry Riley, Don Nelson and Monta Ellis on the Jackson trade to Charlotte this morning. UPDATE: MT2 has posted an article using Nellie's and Riley's quotes.

Let's start with Larry Riley:

All in all, after evaluating the thing for several weeks, it was important that we do it now.

- GM Larry Riley

Kind of a general statement, but not of much substance or insight. Then again... this is twitter... sometimes you're not going to get as much as when MT2 puts it to print or to his blog. I short it sounds like Larry Riley just wanted to get any deal done and that this was the easiest one to execute. UPDATE: MT2 has more insight from Riley:

"I thought it was important to explore things as long as we possibly could and show some patience," Riley said. "I also thought it was important that we get something back that we could use to our advantage. But that's easy to say, but wasn't quite so easy to accomplish.

"I'm sure that a lot of people are going to say that the situation became one that they just couldn't go any farther," Riley added. "Really, I think we'd explored things enough that I did it more (because) I really felt that this was as good a deal as we were going to get. And I also thought the time was now. While our young players have done a tremendous job of doing everything that they can to not allow this to become a distraction, I also thought that if we went any further, it probably would've been. Now, was Jack giving me problems? No. Was he giving Nellie problems? No."

And later in the article saying

"It was difficult for me to put Acie in the deal because Acie's playing well and starting to show something," Riley said. "We just looked at the big picture and decided that the two players we were going to acquire, along with the cap (relief), that was enough."

Sounds like Riley was happy with the deal and he even went out of the way to say that Jackson wasn't give him or Nellie problems. Sounds more like spin than anything else.

So what did Don Nelson thing of the deal:

I’m happy for Jack. Something had to be done. I'm happy with the trade. As good as we could do under the circumstances.

- Don Nelson

Nellie sounds defeated in this statement. Basically saying we did the best we do considering he poisoned the well by taking everything public.

Finally, what does new team leader Monta Ellis have to say about his friend Jackson being dealt:

I'm not going to put no more on my back. Somebody else gone have to step up and take on the role that Jack had and be that player.

- Monta Ellis

WOW... There is a lot that can be made just from his statement. First, we have no context to how Monta came to that answer. Maybe he had been hounded by the media with various Jax trade reaction questions and this was just one answer. Or maybe this was just short brush off of the situation. I'm sure MT2 and others will have more to report latter this afternoon. But lets dive into this. "I'm not going to put no more on my back." Could Monta be continuing to vent about Nellie ripping him in NYC last week? Could this be the start of "ME wants out" of playing for the Warriors? Or could this be Monta saying he need more support from him his teammates to make up for Jackson's void?

In my opinion this is the start of Monta demanding a trade out of Golden State himself. It started with team holding the moped incident like noose over his head. It seemed to boil with the drafting of Stephen Curry and started to boil over with the Nellie incident last week in New York. Add today's quote to the list of signs that Monta wants out of 510.

Poll

Golden State Of Mind: FanPosts

With Jackson gone, Curry finds room to operate

I'm in a Guessing State of Mind

Was Jackson holding Monta back from his full potential?

Monta Ellis and the Warriors Frustrated Brandon Roy and the Trail Blazers

Was Monta Ellis's performance tonight the best of his career?

Matt Steinmetz reports Warriors sign Chris Hunter from D-League

Time Will Tell (and Curry > Jennings)

The TK Challenge

The Thing About Randolph...

Further Cap Relief for the Warriors, But the Bottom Line is Who Cares?

Very realistic Monta Ellis trade

The Inevitable Trade of Ellis... Proposal

Do you think this trade helps or hurts the Warriors long term?

Monta Trade that Makes Sense

Replace Ellis with Iverson for the rest of the year!

Haven't we seen this movie before?

More thoughts on Jackson's and Monta's out of touch mentality

A pending decision

If there contracts were all expiring for the exact same amount of money and you can only keep one who would you keep?

My letters to the players

End the Reign of Losing

The Next Trade That Needs To Happen

MT2: Warrior comments on Jax trade

What to make of Monta's comment?