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Rumor: Jason Richardson for 5th Pick (Yi Jianlian), Theo Ratliff, and Sebastian Telfair

Rumour-monger Sam Smith shared these "insights" on the Warriors under the "original" section heading "Golden State of mind" in his piece today for ChicagoSports.com:

One of the most intriguing players remains Yi Jianlian. The 7-foot Chinese would appear to be a natural for Golden State, which could attract the large Asian population in the Bay Area. Yi is a good shooter and could eventually fit into an open-court game. The talk all season was Jason Richardson would be the odd man out with his big contract and overlap at wing positions. The Warriors could package Richardson and something for Boston's fifth pick--Theo Ratliff's expiring contract and maybe Sebastian Telfair. Keep an eye on the Warriors.

I seriously doubt Smith has really done his homework on the Warriors (or else he'd at least know about the mighty GSoM community), but hypothetical trade scenarios like this one make for an interesting discussion. There's no doubt in my mind that the Dubs are interested in trading up for The Movement (although I could be fooled just like most of the hoops media), but I'm not sold at all that they're looking to move Jason Richardson at the first chance they get.

This deal which Smith probably just concocted to generate some traffic from the Bay Area is just silly. You don't move a fan favorite in JRich who was just on the cusp of being a Western Conference All-Star for a prospect (unless it's someone uber-talented like Greg Oden or Kevin Durant) and two players of little basketball consequence. Swap out JRich with Monta Ellis and forget about trying to swing a move to simply open up cap space (no Ratliff although in his prime the guy was a shot blocking machine!), rather than making an on-court improvement, and we have a deal Boston.

Also check out Pree's diary Sam Smith at it again - says JRich is the "odd man out" for more great community discussion on this topic.

Would you trade Jason Richardson to the Celtics for the #5 pick (Yi Jianlian), Theo Ratliff's expiring contract, and Sebastian Telfair?

 

Past JRich trade rumors:

99% of rumors never happen, but 99% of them are fun to talk about!

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