The Warriors struck out during this year's in-season trade sweepstakes, but have no fear my friends. Help could be on the way in form of a recently cut Charlotte BETcat [The Charlotte Observer]:
[Jeff] McInnis, a 10-year veteran, started 26 of 54 games, averaging 26 minutes. His agent, Steve Kauffman, told the Observer McInnis left with no hard feelings.
"In the end somebody had to make a decision and Sam and Rod (Higgins, the Bobcats general manager) were very fair with Jeff," Kauffman said.
Kauffman wouldn't discuss possible destinations for McInnis, but two informed sources say Dallas and Golden State might have interest.
It's all falling together nicely.
Photo by Brock Williams-Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)
Make the jump to see if Higgy's trying to hook up his alma mater!
Jeff McInnis is a few years past his "prime" and to tell you the truth his prime really wasn't all that great. I don't know how much truth there was to the rumors that he wasn't a saint in the locker room and somewhat of a coach killer or even if that's all in the past, but he doesn't seem to be worth the risk as a backup PG option for the Warriors. But who knows? Maybe his ball distribution skills are worth the poor shooting, questionable D, and rumored bad attitude. I could be wrong, very wrong. I'd rather stick with CJ Watson aka KBLX for the remainder of the season or bring back Gary Payton.
I hate to shock anyone out there, but this would be a pretty meaningless move in itself. The more interesting thing would be who the Warriors would waive to make this happen. The candidates:
- Patrick O'Bryant: Nellie's 3 second man might not even be in the NBA in 3 months. Seems pretty foolish to take a shot at a hall of fame coach when you've done next to nothing but collect fouls on the NBA hardwood.
- CJ Watson: Great nickname, nice scorer, but a pretty questionable extension for a another combo guard who doesn't have the best court vision for the rest of the season.
- Kosta Perovic: Quite possibly the worst use of the midlevel exception of all time. Isiah Thomas could legitimately claim Jerome James was a better "deal".
- Marco Belinelli: It's way to early to give up on Marco, but he has bust written all over him right now. The shooter who can't shoot that can't rebound, pass, or play D. Um, no thanks. People always say the 2-spot is the easiest to fill in the NBA.
Back to McInnis... yawn.
But before we cut out, here's a juicy tidbit from the latest ESPN Weekend Dime with a lot on Warrior blood Brent Barry:
There were actually two interested teams in the Brent Barry hunt -- as much as we love Bones, not sure we can call it a full-fledged sweepstakes -- that could have claimed Barry off waivers.
Neither Phoenix nor Golden State had anywhere close to the requisite salary-cap room to absorb Barry's $5.5 million salary, but both teams possess a sizable trade exception that, according to league rules, could have been used to snag Barry before he had the right to choose his next stop after clearing waivers.
...
Golden State, meanwhile, quietly chased Barry (and his Bay Area ties) hard and still has a $9,999,999 trade exception from its Jason Richardson trade with Charlotte on draft night. The Warriors, furthermore, are some $8.3 million under the luxury-tax threshold, meaning that they could have claimed Barry off waivers with no tax liability.
Yet it appears that the Warriors preferred to hold onto the trade exception -- which doesn't expire until four days after this June's draft -- to save it for something bigger. Which is likewise hard to argue given that many more player-acquisition possibilities present themselves closer to the draft.
Right... save the trade exception for "something bigger". I'll believe it when I see it. Under Chris Mullin's tenure the Warriors have let 2 other trade exceptions expire. I'm not saying use them for the sake of using them, but the Warriors don't exactly seem adept at knowing what to do with them. The $10 million trade exception from the J-Rich trade has been nothing but hype. We'd be making a run at the championship here in the Bay if the Dubs swung it on over to the Kings for Ron Artest. Instead we're planning for a future when Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson will be past their primes and Nellie will probably be sippin' lemonade in Hawaii. Is Gary St. Jean still on the Warriors payroll?
Should Warriors add Jeff McInnis to their roster? If so, who should they release? Do you see the Warriors ever using that $10 million trade exception before it expires?
Also check out gsfn58's diary for more thoughts and discussion.
99% of rumors never happen, but 99% of them are fun to talk about!