Jon Barry of the Barry family fame did a little Q&A about the blockbuster Warriors and Pacers deal on today's Daily Dime on ESPN.com. Jon's a smart guy and he was a fun player in the league for many years. He's also a good analyst for ESPN. Unfortunately, his analysis of the trade is a real head-scratcher.
Here's some highlights:
Chances are Jon has barely watched Dunleavy and Murphy play. They don't play hard every night, especially on the defensive end. Jackson and Harrington scored the first 14 Warrior points, but don't forget Dunleavy and Murphy only scored 14 points the entire game. When these two Charmin soft defenders don't put up a lot of points (which is 90%) of the time, they really hurt your team.
Is Dunleavy going to shoot better? He made 4 of 15 in this one, and is under 40 percent with his new team.
He's going to be better in the long run because he's going to be playing with a talented post player in O'Neal. When you're the third pick in the draft, the expectations go through the roof. Remember, he came from a not particularly strong draft in 2002. But he is, and can be, rightfully viewed as a very solid complementary player. Dunleavy can get better.
Nope, get used to the poor shooting. Throughout his tenure on the Warriors (check his career numbers), Dunleavy proved that he's not an NBA shooter. Thanks to a questionable work ethic, dedication, and focus, he's never been able to shoot from the corners either. It shocks me that he's still labeled as a shooter. Well, I guess he does shoot the other team to victory!
People like to point to his #3 overall draft status and his ridiculous $44 million dollar contract as the reasons Dunleavy was a big disappointment and booed heavily at the Oracle arena. That's a big joke. Let's put that nonsensical explanation to rest. Adonal Foyle was drafted high (one spot ahead of TMac!) and was given another ridiculous Mullin contract, but when was the last time you heard him booed at the arena? Instead we hear "We want Foyle!" chants.
Warrior fans booed Dunleavy because of his poor effort, lack of focus, big talk and never walking the walk, times when he'd get into swearing matches with fans at the arena, and an unearned starting role and heavy playing time. Before Nellie came back to town, no matter how bad Dunleavy played the organization was foolishly committed to giving him every opportunity in the world. No other Warrior has received that type of treatment. Attributing the Dun disappointment to his draft spot or insane contract is the product of shallow and lazy analysis.
Where do you put the Pacers in the East?
Indy's now three games out of the East lead. If this team goes on and wins, say, eight of its next 10, then it's maybe the new No. 1 in the East. It's been the Wizards one week, the Pistons the next and so on. Will someone in the Eastern Conference, please stand up? As my colleague Mike Tirico astutely points out, Indy is now the sleeper to win the East.
Hahaha, sorry but a team with Dunleavy and Murphy playing significant minutes will not get past the 1st round of the playoffs if they're lucky enough to make it even in the NBA's JV conference. They both give up a lot of points at a high percentage and score at a very low percentage. They contribute very little else aside from Murphy's defensive rebounding numbers, which many in Warriors Nation have argued for years were inflated. It's going to take Danny Granger emerging to All Star status for the Pacers to be a top team in the Leastern Conference.
It still cracks me up how many in the national hoops media pretend as if they're informed about this trade. They have barely watched Murphy and Dunleavy play in the NBA (not that I blame them), yet they continue to make strong statements about how the Pacers were the winners in this deal. Their analysis, especially Charley Rosen's of Fox Sports.com (thanks to JB for linking to the piece and analyzing it), further illustrates how you should never believe everything you read in the newspaper (online too!).
Mo' Trade Fun:
- Trade: Dun, Murphy, Diogu, McLeod for Harrington, S. Jackson, Jasikevicius
- The Warriors & Pacers Blockbuster Trade: Throwing Up W's and L's
- Basketball Obituaries -- Mike Dunleavy Jr. 2002-2007
- Dad's got my back!
- Warriors Head Coach Don Nelson Talks about the Blockbuster Trade
- Warriors-Pacers Blockbuster Trade Linkfest
- A Little Pacer Perspective on the Blockbuster Trade
- New Warrior Al Harrington Talks about the Trade
- Everyone's Talking About the Trade!
- GSoM Q&A with Matt Steinmetz - 01/18/07 (Part 1 of 2)
- A Reality Check on the Blockbuster Trade between the Warriors and Pacers
- GSoM Q&A with Marcus Thompson II - 01/30/07 (Part 1 of 2)