There's no question that the 2007 NBA Draft Lottery has made the West even stronger and the Leastern Conference even Leaster, if you will. With superstar prospects Greg Oden and Kevin Durant most likely heading to Portland and Seattle, the Blazers and Sonics will probably be making some moves to ensure that they put Oden and Durant in great positions to succeed.
Are the Warriors just the break that Zach Randolph needs?
pic via Blog 8 Sports
Dave Del Grande of Inside Bay Area sees the possibility of a Zach Randolph to the Warriors trade as a feasible scenario:
Some will say the Warriors were among the biggest losers Tuesday because their competition for the bottom-end playoff spots in the West got tougher with Portland and Seattle landing the top two draft picks.
While that's true, the Warriors might have caught a break with the Trail Blazers winning the Greg Oden sweepstakes. Suddenly, the low-post force Golden State so strongly covets -- Zach Randolph -- just might become available.
Monta Ellis (better fit than Randolph), Sarunas Jasikevicius (last year of his deal), Adonal Foyle (veteran to work with Oden) and the No. 18 pick (another young player) for Randolph would seem to help both teams and passes salary-cap inspection.
Randolph is fresh off a career season in which he averaged nearly 24ppg and a shade over 10 rebounds per game. Those are the numbers of an All Star big man. I have no problem parting with Monta, Sarunas, Foyle, and the #18 pick for a legit inside presence, but Randolph just doesn't excite me as a key cog in Nellieball- Hyphy edition. The Warriors are a fun and gun team and Randolph hasn't show any evidence that he can play in an uptempo offense. Additionally, the Warriors play their tenacious, ball-hawking, energetic, style of defense by creating turnovers. A 20-10 big man paid like a superstar should be able to average more than a pathetic 0.2 blocks and 0.8 assists a game (check Randolph's career stats). Randolph's steal and block rates are the antithesis of the style of defense the Warriors played in their big playoff run and was such a vital ingredient for their success. He doesn't look like an ideal fit for this team by any stretch.
Keeping in mind all of his limitations and concerns with him fitting into Nellieball, if the Warriors have any chance to flip something like Ellis, Jasikevicius, Foyle, and the #18 pick for Randolph it's a no-brainer. Randolph maybe one-dimensional, but his one dimension is the one the Warriors don't have.
Would you move Monta Ellis, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Adonal Foyle, and #18 Pick for Zach Randolph?
Related pieces around the web:
- More Randolph trade talk [Blazers Blog- OregonLive.com]
- Randolph can be had—with a ton of baggage [ChicagoSports.com]
- Blazers, Sonics big winners [ChicagoSports.com]
From the GSoM vault also see:
99% of rumors never happen, but 99% of them are fun to talk about!