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Polling GSoM: Which forward should have a better career based on their first two seasons in the NBA?

By Atma Brother ONE

These blind taste tests seem be at the very worst interesting to a lot of GSoMers, so let's try another one to pass by some of the dullest moments of the NBA offseason. Here's the stats per 36 of these two forwards' first two seasons with the Warriors with their personal highs bolded:

Forward A

  • Rookie Season: 14.5 ppg (55.4% FG, 67.5% FT), 9.5 rpg, 0.9 apg (1.2 tov), 2.1 blk, 0.6 stl
  • Sophomore Season: 16.9 ppg (52.8% FG, 74.1% FT), 8.2 rpg, 1.1 apg (1.2 tov), 1.9 blk, 1.2 stl

Forward B

  • Rookie Season: 17.0 ppg (52.4% FG, 81.0% FT), 8.0 rpg, 1.0 apg (2.7 tov), 1.0 blk, 0.5 stl
  • Sophomore Season: 19.9 ppg (53.0% FG, 79.5% FT), 10.2 rpg, 0.8 apg (2.9 tov), 1.8 blk, 0.4 stl

Vote in the poll and then make the jump!

*** Did you vote? ***

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Forward A is Brandan Wright [Basketball Reference]

Sp-warriors06_nu_0499334077_medium

Lietuvos Rytas can't stop Brandan Wright- they can only hope to contain him!

Forward B is Ike Diogu [Basketball Reference]

Ike-diogu-hornets-20060412_aac_i88_093_medium

Ike screams: "PLAY ME COACH!"

Check out At the Hive for the latest on Ike Diogu.

via www.everyjoe.com

Wouldn't you know Chris Mullin's 2005 bust sported superior scoring and rebounding per 36 in his first two seasons with the Warriors compared to the guy local Bay Area media and fans alike can't stop berating Nellie for not giving more playing time to?

Other red flags for BW:
  • Wright's rebounding rate dropped significantly from his first season (down from 9.5 to 8.2) while Diogu's made a nice jump (8.0 to 10.2). Now Diogu's second season with the Warriors lasted only 17 games, but that isn't much less than all the Marco Belinelli homers have extrapolated "greatness" from. In his first full season with the Pacers (still only 30 games) Diogu posted a 10.0/ 36 rebound rate so it's probably not a fluke. Diogu is a better rebounder than Wright.
  • Diogu is simply too slow for the NBA, but he came into the league with a far more advanced low post arsenal as a rook than Brandan Wright will probably ever have. That hasn't gotten Diogu much more than some serious pine time with 4 different teams in the NBA. With very little refined post moves and an incredibly raw offensive game, it's not looking good for Wright.
  • It's somewhat subjective, but Ike has the strength and build of a real deal NBA power forward. He might be on the shorter end of NBA 4's but he's listed at 6-8 250 pounds. Wright on the other hand is a "manorexic" (I only use this word since a friend called me this other day since I supposedly eat like a mouse) 6-9 205 pounds.
  • Wingspan Wingstop. Much is made about Wright's 7'3.75 wingspan. Guess what Diogu's is... 7'4.

On the plus side for BW:
  • Wright, who often looks very lost out there especially on defense, seems to foul a TON (3.4 fouls/ 36 as a rookie and 3.9 as a sophomore), but you haven't seen nothing since the One Minute Man till you look at Diogu's foul rate in his rookie and sophomore seasons (17 games) with the Warriors (5.7 fouls/ 36).
  • Chris Webber or Vlade Divac in the post dropping dimes Brandan Wright is not, but at least he doesn't turnover the rock at a horrendous rate. Diogu's assist : turnover rates are Zack Randolph bad. Wright's are passable (no pun intended).
  • Is age nothing but a number? Let's hope not because Wright entered the league after his freshman year at UNC, while Diogu entered after his junior year at Arizona State. Wright started off his NBA career at 20, while Diogu was 22. Youth is on Wright's side.
What do you read from this per 36 rookie and sophomore year comparison between Brandan Wright and Ike Diogu? Is Brandan Wright destined to be Ike Diogu Part II? Is the "plus side" enough to make up for the red flags?


Just for kicks check out John Hollinger's Trade analysis: Pacers may hit home run in long run [ESPN] circa the Warriors-Pacers trade at the end of 2006:
Nonetheless, it's shocking to see the Warriors include such a talented prospect as Diogu as a throw-in, especially considering a year earlier they wouldn't budge on putting him into a deal for Ron Artest.

It's not like including him was necessary to balance the scales. Going by 2006-07 PER, the three highest-rated players in this deal all went to Indiana. In fact, Murphy has outrated Harrington in four of the past five seasons (including this one). And while Jackson is preferable to Dunleavy on talent, he is a huge question mark in the chemistry department -- not to mention a guy who has to stand trial in Indianapolis in February.

So if you take Diogu and Powell out of the trade, this deal starts looking a lot more reasonable -- Golden State upgrades the backcourt a bit, gets a slight improvement in the cap situation, takes on a bad apple in the locker room and makes a slight downgrade from Murphy to Harrington. That seems fair.

But to throw in Diogu on top of it? That's absurd. Or it's genius, if you're looking at it from Indiana's perspective.

The other names are nice and all, but 10 years from now I have a feeling that we'll be looking back on this deal as the Ike Diogu trade. And if you're a Warriors fan, you probably won't be looking back fondly.
"The Ike Diogu trade". Still cracks me up.

Thoughts from people who actually watched Ike Diogu, Troy Murphy, and of course Mike Dunleavy when they played on the Warriors:


Public service memo to Warriors: Trade the non-shooting, non-defending, and non-improving top-something center and "power" forward who weighs less than the shooting guard they foolishly gave up for him for Amare Stoudemire, some goggles (Fear the Goggles!), and an apostrophe!

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