In Chris Sheridan's column Who's next to be traded? for ESPN.com he lists ten players most likely to be traded. Surprisingly the Warrior forward making the list wasn't Troy "Trade Rumor" Murphy, but instead Mike Dunleavy. At #9 on the list:
We were tempted to put him higher on this list, but various voices around the league cautioned there's more smoke than fire here, in large part because of his base-year compensation status, although there's still more interest in Junior than there is in another Warrior long rumored to be on the block, Troy Murphy.
 Plus Murph gives you an extra left-handed hitter. |
Trading Mike Dunleavy before his contract becomes an expiring deal? I'll believe it when I see it. Dunleavy's contract seems like it would be harder to move than the other terrible ones haunting the Warriors salary cap. Troy Murphy doesn't play much defense and is limited in the post, but his rebounding and outside shooting (when paired up with a complementary low post presence) are an asset. Adonal Foyle is one of the least athletic and unskilled players in this league, but off the bench for 15 minutes a night he provides some solid defense, rebounding, and shot blocking. To teams looking to make a playoff run, Murphy and Foyle could be assets and help fill in some holes off the bench. On the other hand, Dunleavy does nothing especially well for a 6'9 230 pound forward with the mindset of a point guard. |
There is nothing stellar or spectacular about his shooting, rebounding, passing, driving ability, or defense. At the age of 26 and in his 5th season Dunleavy is what he is- an average NBA bench player. Nothing more, nothing less. It doesn't help his trade value that he lost his starting spot to Mickael Pietrus and journey-man Matt Barnes. Why would another NBA squad want to make a trade for Dunleavy when he's getting paid like a star? Unless clueless GM's like Danny Ainge and Kevin McHale or even Coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. of the Paper Clips are involved, it's tough to see there being much interest around the league for Dunleavy.
The 5 year 44 million dollar extension that the Warriors front office handed to Mike Dunleavy before last season has to be the most puzzling of the big money deals (Adonal Foyle, Derek Fisher, and Troy Murphy) that Chris Mullin and crew dished out. Dunleavy was coming off a season in which he struggled, but finished reasonably strong with the arrival of Baron Davis (BD made EVERYONE look good in the final stretch of the 2004-2005 season including Zarko Cabarkapa). Dunleavy was entering the final year of his rookie deal and was set to be a restricted free agent, meaning that at the end of last season the Warriors would still be able to match any offer he received from another team. And you know the rest- Dunleavy went on to have arguably the worst season of his pro career and NBA front offices suddenly became thrifty last summer for restricted free agents such as Chris Wilcox and Drew Gooden, who could only negotiate 3 year tenders for less money than they probably expected. The Warriors front office for some reason panicked on the Dunleavy extension and outbid themselves.
If you were running the front office of one of the other 29 NBA teams, who would you be more interested in trading for given their skillsets and contracts- Mike Dunleavy or Troy Murphy?
99% of rumors never happen, but 99% of them are fun to talk about!