those jrich videos were depressing. Btw, what's up with Brandan Wright still wearing braces?

Proudly wear my J-Rich throwback to every game I attend this year. The Dub's better make the playoffs this year or I just might not buy any tickets for the 08-09 season.

now than the last 12 years is that the warriors have GOOD young players at the right positions. The warriors had no talent at the 4,5 through the thin years. and the only young talent they had at the point was Gilbert Arenas. Playoffs this year was great and i hope we challenge for one next year, but i am not ready to go through another decade long drought once Baron, and if KG comes over, opt out. Then we are left with our legs broken with no one for the future. Jrich was a reliable second tier scorer. But you have to give up talent to get talent. And even though he was a fan favorite, you can't expect everyone to be in love with him. I've been a fan of the warriors since 94' and am not in love with him. Jrich is underhyped by the league but he is OVERHYPED on this website. he was a good player for the warrios on a bad team. he'll do well with the bobcats, but thankfully we got a player with high upside in return.

are you going to continuing pouting over JR?  Get over it, life moves on.  If this move wasn't made, we would be in the same position as last year.  That wouldn't be a good thing considering Baron isn't going to play top notch consistently over an entire season.  And we all know what happens when JR is the only threat on our team (no playoffs).  I love Mullin for pulling off this trade.  Gerald Wallace here we come!

There are a lot of things that I agree with here, and a lot of things that I don't.

You want to still play the victim of the losing culture, but I got news for you: we just made history in the playoffs. You aren't allowed to play that card anymore, no matter how easy you may find it to be.

He was a fantastic player. I said it once, and I'll say it again: When he retires, he should have his # retired here. He meant that much to that town. But that doesn't make him untradeable!

You have to give up greatness to achieve greatness. Without trying to establish a good 4-5 combo, we'd be dead in the west. Especially with the editions of Oden and Durant on two lottery teams. It's only gonna get harder. The Warriors were EXTREMELY proactive in this draft, and I don't think they are getting any credit, or the benefit of the doubt here. I think they deserve both. They got us to the playoffs last year. They've earned some trust.

I asked you, ATMA, to drop some science, and you really have, and I appreciate that.

I'm very disappointed in you, I expected more.

#4 and #5 are ludicrous.

First of all, the NBA operates under the salary cap. You will have to make moves to ship out expensive players in at some point or the other, and that's where the saving money comes into play.

Mullin already said it a million times on KNBR:
Baron and J-Rich barely got us into the playoffs. The 2007-08 Warriors were doubtful to make the playoffs, and would have been luckier than they were this year to get into the second round again.
That's not good enough, so that means you gotta change.

All this anti-trade talk smacks of a young child that's angry he can't have everything he wants, and he wants what he wants now.

You want a consistently good team, you want all your favorite players, you want, you want, you want. We aren't the Spurs, we don't get to keep all our stars locked up forever; even the Suns are looking at shipping players out because of salary reasons.

The NBA is a business. Get over it.

Second, cap space is for losers?

Get a grip. When the team dealt Jamison, there was similar reaction: the team traded its only star, got rid of a loyal player, blah blah blah, more bitching.

History lesson: Jamison got us Van Exel, who lead to Dale Davis and Speedy Claxton, who lead us to Jessica Alba and the playoffs.

Cap space IS useful, but it's just not sexy for fans who demand instant gratification. You can't sell cap space because fans are shortsighted and mercurial, but that doesn't diminish the fact YOU NEED TO MANAGE YOUR CAP WISELY, whether you like it or not.

Third, as for Ellis and Biedrins.
I could give you a pass on Ellis since I have my own concerns about his development and fit; he has to play next to a big point guard to be really effective.

Biedrins, however, is a Nellie-approved big man at  what, 21? Mobile shotblockers that can also pass and move well with a deft touch around the rim do not come around often; center and PG are the two most difficult positions to fill in the NBA, and we have at least one of them set. So extending Biedrins is very much a wise move, even at the expensive of Richardson.

On another level, you're actually comparing Murphy and Dunleavy with Ellis and Biedrins? What sort of crack are you smoking?

Murphy and Dunleavy were, for a long time, hated on by this very site, while YOU AND THE REST OF GSOM were responsible for hyping up Ellis and Biedrins. If you don't believe me, look at your own damn archives, you probably have the articles saved on your computer.

You're gonna miss J-Rich. I get that.

J-Rich was loyal. I get that.

J-Rich was fun to watch. I get that.

We might not be as good next year. I get that.

But going overboard like this? That's inexcusable.

Your front page articles are, in large part, what shape many readers' thoughts and attitudes. When you go use this much hyperbole and leave this many holes in your writing, it's only hurting Warriors fans everywhere.

Show all the emotion you want when you're at the Oracle.

Keep up the incredible effort and the funnies when you're updating the site.

But please, let's be a little bit professional and objective. I'm saying that as someone that loves the Warriors, basketball, and wants Golden State of Mind to be better.

i mentioned belinelli's name way back in feburary :)http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/story/2007/2/23/221636/500

I have been going to Warriors games for about 20 years, since I was about 6 years old, and here is my list of the 5 most exciting Warriors I have witnessed at the Arena during this time:

1. Jason Richardson
   
2. Tim Hardaway
   
3. Mitch Richmond
   
4. Chris Mullin
   
5. Latrell Sprewell
   

(Honorable Mention: Baron Davis, if he can stay healthy and play a few full seasons, he will definitely move up the list. Chris Webber, although he was only here for one year, it was an amazing year. Gilbert Arenas, explanation not necessary.)

With that said, I have a lot of great JRich memories from his numerous breathtaking plays from over the past 5+ years. But, this is what happens in the NBA. I agree with some of the posters that said to improve teams sacrifice is necessary.  Warriors fans will always respect JRich, but he ain't dead, we can still be fans of his, he just won't be wearing the Warriors jersey. I was kind of sad to see him go, but not as sad as when Gilbert Arenas bounced! It happens all of the time, it is always apart of the game, it seems like fan favorites leave every 5 to 7 years.

 

i dont think j-rich is the type of player you save up cap space for the players that you put the ball in their hands at the end of games. who did we go to at the end of games? baron. it was a baron creation in an iso set with the 3 point snipers at the 3 pt line. baron would shoot/dish as he saw fit.

dont get me wrong- j-rich is a very nice player, very talented, love his heart, but he is not a good fit for our team.

face it- jason became an interchangable piece in the way nellieball warriors style is run. he became one of many swingman, and we did not need someone like that making 10 per.

again i love him.... but where did he ever get us? like tim k from the merc said- he was the 3rd or 4th best player on our team in the playoff run, probaly 4th. he was at his best when the warriors were at their worst. kinda like antawn.

to the fans that say the warriors owe him something- they owe him nothing. pro sports are a buisness, he has millions and millions in the bank and more to come. im sure jason understands this.

with all due respect atma, i think you should take a less emotional view of this trade and it will make alot more sense. nellie knows what he is doing. now, if monty or muss or whoever was the coach i would have more worries, but we have one of the best coaches and judges of talent of all time on our side. believe!

Absolutely brilliant blog today!   Enjoyed reading it! Congrats on the Season Tickets too.

Kirk

statement about winning teams. They do not get younger. You need experience or super-freakish-Shaq/Lebron-like-talent to win rings. Unless Nellie sees something the rest of the world doesn't see in Wright... I wasn't in favor of this trade. I understand that the NBA is first and foremost, a business.... but Jrich was family.

will be in the pudding.  Right now NelliebellyBellinelli looks to have a lot of potential and so does right.  But a lot of teams are feeling that way right now about their picks.  Still, in general the analysts were pretty bullish on the Warriors moves.  I hate to see JRich go and that man definitely deserves his jersey hung and free lunch anywhere anytime in the Bay Area, but I think he had hit his ceiling and I would guess that by the end of next year Michael Jordan will look like the Pacers management.

Whether things pan out on our end will be very interesting to see.  The regular season is going to be very very interesting next year.  

At least, I think we can all say that this wasn't a totaly boneheaded move, which we were able to say about many moves the Warriors have done before and many other teams did this year (like imagine being a Celtics fan right now).  At least Mullin and co. are truly making an effort, working hard and smart to build a better team.  I wish them the best.

And I love GSoM.  I'm sorry to see internet fights starting here.  We need to stay united.  The internet makes conflicts happen that wouldn't exist if we were sitting around a bar drinking good microbrews together.  Don't forget that.  I think Atma's throwing a lot of interesting ideas out there.  They don't all make sense and some of them contradict others, but all of them are worth thinking about and I appreciate the love for JRich that is driving him.  That love is what makes us different from other fans.  That's all we've had for so long!

Much love to the East Bay y'all!  I miss you guys.  You people are good and real sports fans.

Absolutely fair comments, Atma.  I think I agree with about half of your overall assessment, disagree with half, but you put in the time to spell out your thinking and shouldn't get grief for it.

Since his return coincided with Baron's return it's tough to tell if it was as significant as it seemed, but Richardson's resurgence late in the season, even if he wasn't playing the 40 mpg that he had in season's past, was a big part of the end of the season run.  We shouldn't forget that.  The thing about the moves (including the draft pick of Belinelli) that I think makes the most sense is that, while they gave up a very good player, they gave up a player without leaving things too thin to compete.  Richardson is a more valuable player than Ellis or Jackson at this point, in large part becaue he can rebound the ball and Ellis and Jackson can't.  But they've got 2, maybe three guys who can produce in his place.  The drop-off between a rotation of these three and what we had before likely won't be great.  The upside of Harrington spending less time as the "I can't rebound PF" and more time at SF and having another tall guy who coverts high percentage shots after Andris is important.  

I know some want to force the Richmond/Owens analogy, though they don't seem to remember that the move actually paid  big dividends for a few years.  The Warriors went from 1 game over .500 in  Mitch's 3 years total to a 55 win team the year after.  Why?  When Richmond was clearly better than Owens?  Because the ability of a guy who can grab boards (and Owens did) has much value and it wasn't hard to come close to replacing Mitch's productivity with Sarunas I, Askew and Ellie.  If Wright gives us more rebounds and some more easy baskets he doesn't have to put in 20ppg to make the team better.  

We were essentially a .500 team.  We had flaws, flaws that meant luck could have had us between 35 and 45 wins next season again.  But were we gonna be better than that with another season of scrambling small ball and all the same pieces in place?  Really?  It would rely on a whole lot going right, like a full healthy year from Baron (and we still need a reliable backup to keep his minutes down so he stays healthy), and a way to keep a frenetic pace that made sense for a short stretch towards season's end up for an entire year.  Now we've got options to still try that, but with some ability to go in a few other directions, hopefully with success as well.

Richardson was a Warrior.  He did his job as well as could be expected and should be commended.  I'll wish him victories 80 games a year and good performances in losing causes twice more.  Charlotte got themselves a good player who will help them perform better and is going to help us perform better too.

with people saying that Jrich was the third or even the fourth best player for us in the playoffs. Ok, we all know that Baron was the best in the playoffs, but who else was better for us in the playoffs? Was Harrington or Ellis better in the playoffs? Were Jackson's careless shot selections and turnovers better for us? Clearly Jrich was still the second best for our team in the playoffs. I guess you guys don't remember the block on Devin Harris or the baseline dunk or the buzzer beating three by Jrich. Seriously, just take a look at the numbers or at least think back about our run in the playoffs.  
http://www.nba.com/warriors/stats/

the 15th and 23rd reasons were deep. And I couldnt agree more. JRich was fam.

My thought is, we have another GSoM night .. the game against the Bobcats. And we can really send back the love and respect JRich showed every single fan during his 6 tenured years with the Dubs.

And I feel sorry to say that my favorite basketball player is a Charlotte Bobcat.

1. Poker face Mully and Nellie

This should not be a shock.  Nellie had pulled these moves in the past and Mully has obviously learned from the

master in hiding their potential moves.

2. Next year?

I think that if you kept the EXACT same roster as last season for the 2007-08 season would still be taking a step

back due to the improvements in the rosters in Seattle and Portland.  The Western Conference is still loaded.  The  

Warriors problems of last season (no power forward) would still exist if we kept the same roster.  

Instead now, we have a kid who could potentially help us at the power forward spot.  Does that make us take a step

back?  Sure.  How much more than if we kept JRich?  We do not know.  Sure, you can argue that keeping the same

roster would be a "safer" choice and may get us more wins in the short term.  But I think getting Wright could

potentially make things better long term for the Warriors.

3. Alley-Oooops for Breaking up BoomRich

Seriously guys - I enjoyed JRich's dunks over the year as much as anyone.  But Baron will find someone else to pass

to.  JRich's dunks would not be one reason I would have kept him though.  

4. "Saving" $50 million

This seems to be a semi-cheap shot at Cohan.  Sure, $50 million comes off the books in current and future

obligations.  However, Cohan will pay it all back when the Warriors pick up free agents or pay AB or Monta in the

future.  

As far as using your cap space to get JRich versus getting rid of JRich.  I don't know how to respond to that.  I

don't there is any right answer to this.  You obviously feel JRich was worth the money.  Some fans would disagree.  

Based on the trade, I would say the Warriors felt JRich may have been slightly overpaid.  

5. Cap space isn't for contenders

If I recall from reading the discussion on the Usenet Warriors group, the Warriors are still over the salary cap

currently.  This was a move for the future where the Warriors could go under the salary cap and not have to be stuck

paying the luxury tax. But also, this gives the Warriors more chances to land free agents that you wouldn't have if

you were over the salary cap.  I know this isn't all that sexy but for the long term success of the Warriors, this

might be a good route.

Also, you might not like the Warriors cutting salary.  But ultimately, this is Cohan's money.  If he wants to be

frugal, then we will have to live with it.  I don't think Cohan's frugal but I'm sure he would like to avoid paying

the luxtury tax if possible.

6. "A dime a dozen"

At best, JRich was among the best of the "2nd tier" shooting guards (anyone not named Kobe or Wade).  Where he ranks

really depends on who you're talking to.  I think the point is that a lot of people like JRich's scoring.  However,

while he was a decent passer, he was not a good free throw shooter and didn't get to the line a lot either.  Plus,

people said JRich was not a great defender.  Sure he could dunk and rebound, but those aren't the biggest factors in

a premier shooting guard.  

so you may be right.  JRich's particular skill set may not be easily replaceable.  However, the strenghts that

Richardson possesses (3 point shooting primarily) could be found in most shooting guards out there.  His dunking and

rebounding skills are probably not the most important thing the Warriors would consider.  JRich's in ability to

slash more, create his own shot and shoot free throws reasonably well were probably cause to his demise with the

Warriors.  

If you really want a comparison, let's look at two of the better shooting guards who have played with the Warriors

over the years:  Mitch Richmond and Latrell Spreewell.  JRich is comparable to either one of these guys.  However,

the one thing that stands out with JRich's stats is his free throw shooting.  Both the other guys shot better at free throws and could get to the line more.  If I were a Warrior fan, I would be proud to have three of the better shooting guards in the past 20 years or so.

7. "No handles"

A legit argument.  Ellis isn't the best ball handler around.  However, he seems to have more natural quickness than

JRich and shown the ability to get to the rim.  Hopefully he can continue to improve.  JRich has worked hard over

the years but his attempts to slash can be best described as "forced".   However, comparing the two is a an apple

versus orange deal.

JRich is bigger, stronger and a more physical player.  Monta relies on quickness and his mid-range game.  JRich is a

power shooting guard, while Ellie is a more finesse player.  Neither player has ideal handles but Ellis is his

limited time showed the ablity to get to the rim.  

8. D-League demoter Nellie

Nellie may be hard on rookies, but Webber played a lot in his rookie year.  O'Bryant didn't play but then again

Nellie didn't draft him.  By all projects, Wright has skills Nellie wants.  It remains to be seen what will happen.  

Comparing Wright to O'Bryant isn't fair.  Wright presumably has the blessing of Nellie.  Let's wait until the season

to see what will actually happen.  

9. Damaged goods?

Again, this remains to be seen.  I hope JRich has a long and successful career with the Bobcats.  

10. Resigning Andris Biedrins and Monta Ellis

Monta is more expendable that Andris.  Monta is a decent small shoot guard now and maybe not the long term answer at

the point guard position.  Andris, being a center is more valuable.  In fact, Andris skillset fits the Warriors

perfectly.  He doesn't demand the ball and is the perfect catch and dunk player who can rebound and block shots.  

Now, if only he could hit those darn free throws.  

However, I disagree that neither one of these players will ever overcome their flaws.  These guys are 21 years ago

and have plenty of growing to do.  We shall see in the upcoming season what will happen.  However, There is a big

difference between the two youngsters and Dun, JR and Murph.  The Warriors HAVEN'T given the youngsters the

contracts yet.  I'm fairly certain Mullin has learned some lessons and will think carefully before handing out big

contracts again.  

11. BETcats' mistake

I find this curious.  Please explain why the Bobcats made a expensive mistake?  What's the difference between the

Bobcats paying $50 million and the Warriors paying the same amount. The money is the same, perhaps the expectations

are different.  The team situations are definitely different as well.  Or did you mean the Bobcats gave up the

future (Wright for the present in Richardson).  

12. No complaints

Well, JRich never complained publicly.  But behind the scenes, we never know.  

13. 5 years down the line

What you said is the exactly a fan would say.  We all want winners and we all want them NOW.  The Warriors at this

stage are the anti-fan.  They are not quite championship caliber.  If they were, I would say their view would be

"let's win now".  The Warriors are trying to build themselves to be a consistent playoff and championship contender.

 I understand what you are saying, but the Warriors need to do things long term, regardless if you are still

blogging or if Nellie is around in the next few years.

14. Looting a loaded draft

No Comment.

15. Breaking up the fam

Eh - why write this point?  There are probably bandwagon fans around.  However, there are people who disagreed with you but still like JRich as a player and a person (I would count myself as one of those).  They just weren't as emotional as you.  You know full well that MANY Warriors fans have been around for all of JRich's tenure (and even before that).  This point seems almost patronizing because you feel us fans don't quite see JRich as you do.

16. Chris Mullin's full of it

Are you being sarcastic?

17. There could be $10 million reasons why the trade was great

I think the trade was made with some moves to look to the future.  As far as the exception expiring, there's really

nothing lost.  I don't understand about Mullin making a silly move.  As far as I understand (and from some brief

research online), the Warriors simply let the exception expire without using it.  

18. It's coming...?

Winning now or winning later?  That is the $64000 question.  Only Mullin can answer what path the Warriors are

taking.  

19. The youth movement?

Next comments please.  

20. Friends in high places

Next comment please.

21. Improving dollars and sense

Most fans already knew and appreciated this about JRich.  

22. Backloading the money

No Comment.

23. Bad Karma

No Comment.

mayb the warriors organization could hand out free richardson bobcats jerseys like they handed out the yellow we believe t-shirts!

i have been following this site since... well i have been posting at the mercurynews forums for a while and i migrated here when there was next-to-no activity during the playoffs for some strange reason. i came here for a happy perspective on the warriors and it's been nice.

i think there are several disappointing claims made in this post, as well as some good ones. here are some of the disappointing ones:

2.) Next year. Why would Nellie OK this trade if he thought it was going to hurt him next year?

3.) Alley Oops. I think claiming to be on the finishing end of an alleyoop to be hard to replace is kinda sketchy considering you had players like pietrus and ellis just as likely to finish these plays. ellis at the rookie/sophomore game?

8.) I think the DLeague reference is unfair. Nellie sent down POB cuz POB wasnt "his" guy. Wright is "his" guy. If Nellie was in a position where a young big is gonna make his job miserable, i'm sure he'd just quit, not proactively try to get him.

7,10,13. Trying to make Ellis and Biedrins look bad to support JRich is bad in itself. And i really don't think ellis will be replacing JRich. ellis, imo, will be a ben gordon type player, a sparkplug off the bench. belinelli will be Jrich's replacement.

15. This one made me the angriest. You know, yeah there have been a lot of bandwagon jumpers. but claiming some sort of superiority due to their latecoming is really really immature.
I've been a warriors fan since 98. This is the first winning season i've experienced in my life. IN some respects, i've had it harder than those who at least had the good ol days of RunTMC or even Webber/sprewell to look back on. For me, my original squad was bimbo coles John starks Antawn Jamison Donyell Marshall Terry cummings, with the return of Chris Mills being our perimeter shooting hope. Even so, i take it upon myself to not degrade fans who jumped on recently because it only causes division within the community. For you  to make a post like that is really, really disappointing.

there were some great points made as well:

6. Great comparisons made to flawed elite 2 gaurds in the league. i think you could stick Vince carter and maybe even ray allen in here as well.
11. This is a good point too. I don't think Jrich will need to do much ball handling though. I think  they will learn to use him as a system scorer who puts down about 20 a game. They have the complementing talent to do it, they just never had a 2 guard who could do it.

12,22. More great points.

Overall, you are all taking a very emotional stance to the Jrich debate. that's fine. i, too, feel emotional about Jrich's loss. I mean, since i've been a warriors fan i've had so many different favorite players and hopes for the franchise: Jamison, Hughes, Arenas, Dunleavy. when these players left, i didn't feel that much pain except for maybe with arenas cuz of our helplessness in the situation. Jrich's parting, though, has really left hurt me emotionally, though rationally and pragmatically i agree with the trade.

i don't think you guys are wrong for taking such a stance. Someone needs to do it; everyone else is letting Jrich go very easily. I"m honestly glad you guys are taking that stance. but i don't think you should be degrading our current players to try and increase the value of the player departed. that's wrong on several rational fronts. and i don't think you should try to separate the fans. we are all warriors fans, and the length of time of a fan shouldnt make one better than the other.

and even if it does, we should be man enough not to mention it =)

While many of the other points are valid and insightful, there was really no need for this, it does nothing good.

I've seen it before on other forums and even seen hints of it now on here. This point is going to have the exact opposite effect and you are going to start see a lot of J-Rich trashing now because of this ungodly amount of love/praise he is receiving.
I've seen if before with Steve Nash, so many guys slobbering all over him it results in a movement of people just overwhelmingly hating him to try and balance it out. I'd rather not see it here but posts like these are just asking for it.

a bobcats jrich jersey when they be avalible

What they think of this trade...

We would probably have to include a Future first round pick, or include a sign and trade with Pietrus.

Golden State Warriors

Incoming Players
 Jason Williams
Salary: $8,250,000  Years Remaining: 2
PTS: 10.9  REB: 2.3  AST: 5.3  PER: 15.11

 Chris Wilcox
Salary: $6,250,000  Years Remaining: 3
PTS: 13.5  REB: 7.7  AST: 1.0  PER: 16.63

Outgoing Players: Adonal Foyle, Al Harrington

Miami Heat

Incoming Players
 Rashard Lewis
Salary: $9,350,649  Years Remaining: 1
PTS: 22.4  REB: 6.6  AST: 2.4  PER: 20.78

 Adonal Foyle
Salary: $8,125,000  Years Remaining: 4
PTS: 2.2  REB: 2.6  AST: 0.4  PER: 13.58

Outgoing Players: Jason Williams, Antoine Walker

Seattle SuperSonics

Incoming Players
 Antoine Walker
Salary: $7,606,820  Years Remaining: 5
PTS: 8.5  REB: 4.3  AST: 1.7  PER: 9.65

 Al Harrington
Salary: $7,625,000  Years Remaining: 3
PTS: 16.5  REB: 6.4  AST: 1.9  PER: 14.89

Outgoing Players: Rashard Lewis, Chris Wilcox

PLEASE can we start discussing some potential off season moves Mully might want to pull, and get off this BOO HOO'N? Come on folks, lets talk some basketball.

in the early to mid nineties white, blue, gold mode, i'd totally get one.  i just can't get down with THAT much midnight blue.  it begins to look like sleep wear more than anything else.