Tuyen’s Blog

I just saw a great game between the Warriors and the Lakers. Outcome wasn't good (LA won) but man, it was competitive down to the last minute. Couple of free throws made by GS and couple missed by LA and the game could have gone the other way. Cause for optimism comes from the two previous games versus Phoenix and Boston. With their two bigs back (Biedrins and Turiaf), GS shows the potential of the team that some picked as the 8th seed in the West. The true test will be the next 27 games where they will have 18 at home. It'll be nearly impossible to make up 8 games to catch up to the 8th seed but a decent showing could go a long way towards whether they are sellers or buyers at the trade deadline. BTW, best block I've seen from Turiaf in a while and that's for a guy who gets a lot of good blocks every game.

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I've been busy at work but also haven't had time to digest the Stephen Jackson trade to Charlotte from this morning. Basically, I don't think there were any winners in the deal. Of course, in the short term, Stephen gets out of a very dysfunctional situation and the Warriors have the cloud of poor team chemistry removed. However, take a step back and you'll notice that both teams lose out.

For Charlotte, they'll get an indiscriminate scorer who will work Larry Brown's every last nerve. How many walk up brick three's do you think Larry will take before he says enough? Also, Charlotte has no clear leaders that can stand up to Jackson. When he was in San Antonio, it was clear that he was a role player on a team with superstars. In Charlotte, he'll be one of the go-to guys along with Gerald Wallace (who ironically plays the same position ... no butting heads, I'm sure) along with a bunch of young players who he can "influence". For the Warriors, they're basically getting salary relief but not soon enough to make a big difference in the 2010 free agent class. Bell's $5.3M contract ends this year but Radmanovic's $13.3M (over next two years) contract doesn't expire until 2011. Adding insult to injury (pun intended), Bell, who is a good defender and decent 3 point shooter, is playing with a nagging wrist injury. And don't get me started about how useless Radmanovic is.

All in all, something had to be done. I don't know if the Warriors get better or worse because of this trade but if nothing else, it could mean more minutes for Morrow and Randolph. I'd rather see them play and improve than watching an aging B+ player pollute the minds of a young team.

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The Warriors played the Rockets in the first 2009 Las Vegas Summer League. I don't put much stock in who wins these games as the rules are pretty weird (no fouling out) and players aren't necessarily playing to win a game but to showcase individual talents in order to jockey for roster spots and playing time.
 
Of interest in this first game, Curry's not afraid to hoist the ball up (4 for 14... he'll fit in nicely) and Anthony Randolph is a stud. Clearly the best player on the floor, I'm looking for big things from him this coming season. Acie Law might actually contribute next year but I'm still not going to put him ahead of CJ Watson. As for the Rockets... I have no idea why Chase Budinger fell so far in the draft. The guy can definitely hold his own and will hopefully improve as the season progresses.

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There's a rumor floating around the Interwebs that Chris Cohan, current owner of the Warriors, is looking to sell the franchise. The possible buyer? Larry Ellison of Oracle fame. This rumor definitely has legs as Oracle already has the naming rights to the Arena and Ellison has been wanting to buy a sports franchise for a while now. Whether he'll be a good owner or not is debatable but at this point, anything is better than Cohan who to me, ranks as the second worst NBA owner behind Donald Sterling.

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I posted about this potential trade earlier. It looks like it's going to happen unless Jamal Crawford doesn't love money. The Warriors get Acie Law and Speedy Claxton in return but this trade seems to be all about getting rid of Crawford. I don't expect either of them to see much playing time next year. Claxton is hurt and Acie Law has been largely a bust. The good thing is that both of their contracts come off the books next year which will clear about $7.5 million for the W's salary cap. Jamal never really fit into Nellie's system and given the logjam the W's had at the off guard position and given his large contract, he seemed the logical player to move.
 
Does this mean the W's will get a big man or a point guard? I can see either happening but only if Jordan Hill falls to #7. Otherwise, it's Brandon Jennings, Stephen Curry, or Jonny Flynn. If they get Hill, then a starting rotation would be Ellis, Magette, Jackson, Randolph, and Biedrins with CJ, Morrow, Azubuike, Hill, and Turiaf making up the second team. If they pick up a point guard, then the starting 5 remains the same but CJ now becomes expendable (he's a free agent) and the second team will be [insert new PG], Morrow, Azubuike, Wright, and Turiaf. Will see what actually happens tomorrow. Can't wait!

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Another trade just went down before the draft. Like the Jefferson to San Antonio trade, I think this is a one sided depending upon how you look at it. Cleveland basically got an upgrade at the center position (though not sure how Big Z and Shaq will split minutes) and Phoenix got a ton of cap relief. Wallace and Pavlovic are expected to be bought out so they won't play a minute for Phoenix.
 
The bigger implication is that Phoenix has pretty much given up on the 2009-2010 season. Reportedly Amare Stoudamire isn't happy and will probably be moved or else he walks away next season without any return for Phoenix. It'll be interesting to see where he lands. Good news for the Warriors as the Pacific just got a little weaker. They might just be the 2nd best team that division.

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UPDATE: As I hit the send button on this post, just saw that there's a trade brewing to send Jamal Crawford to the Hawks for Acie Law and Speedy Claxton.  Gotta let that marinate for a sec before I give my thoughts but I was never a big fan of Crawford and his big contract.

Before I talk about the W's, just read a great article by Bill Simmons re: the Clippers and their curse. The Native American angle is interesting and humorous.
 
Lots of goings-ons have occurred in the past 24 hours that may shift a lot of what happens in tomorrow's draft.  That's not including the Richard Jefferson trade to San Antonio which suddenly makes them much better, in my opinion. First, they get a 20 point scorer to go alongside Duncan, Parker, and Manu. Plus, they may actually sign back Bowen and Thomas if they are bought out of their contracts (highly likely). Overall, a win for the Spurs. The other big trade news was Minnesota getting the 5th pick from Washington for Foye and Miller. That gives them to 5th, 6th, 18th, and the 28th pick in the first round. Wow - if only this wasn't a weak draft. Word around the campfire is that their looking to package the 5th and 18th or the 6th and 18th to get the 2nd or 3rd pick to grab Rubio. Given that Minnesota has a lot of holes to fill, they'll do fine whether they trade up or keep those picks for themselves.
 
Regarding what the Warriors do with the 7th pick, it's really a crap shoot at this point. Some boards are projecting that the W's get Brandon Jennings or Jonny Flynn or Stephen Curry or Jrue Holiday while some see Jordan Hill falling to them. Personally, I would go for a point guard over a big man given that the W's could slot Anthony Randolph or Brandan Wright at the 4. Both seem a little underweight to play the position but there are rumors that Randolph grew an extra inch and added 20 pounds since the end of the season. That's just crazy talk. Randolph definitely has more upside than Wright and should eventually be a starter, whether at 4 or 3. I think adding Jordan Hill would mean reduced playing time for Wright and after watching him play in the Pac-10, I'm not 100% convinced he won't be just an average NBA player. If there was any depth in this draft, it seems to be at the point guard position. Jonny Flynn has the maturity and polish at PG, Stephen Curry has the jump shot, but Brandon Jennings and Jrue Holiday have the upside. Holiday has fallen as of late and Jennings definitely has maturity issues but they both are considered long term projects. I'd rather opt for the upside versus the "NBA ready" players like Flynn and Curry because I don't see either of them ever being any better than what the W's have now in CJ Watson (who's actually an above average back up PG). Why not roll the dice and go for someone who might become a Rajon Rondo? Regardless of who they get, there's not much downside. The 7th pick is far enough down that even if the player turned out to be a bust, it's not like wasting a #3 on Mike Dunleavy, Jr.

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It's strange how themes seem to emerge in our daily lives. The History Channel had a program about Sun Tzu's Art of War a few days ago (interesting if not a little campy with the graphics and re-enactments). Then a friend forwards this interesting article about junior girls basketball from the New Yorker. They both highlight a specific tenant of competition, be it sports or war. Always attack your enemies weaknesses and never engage them in the things they do exceptionally well.
 
Centrro is in a very large, very competitive market that is currently dominated by much larger players with much larger war chests. We'll never be able to out spend out competition but instead of spending $1.00 to make $1.10 (of course, multiply that by millions), we've decided to take the route of spending $1.00 to make $3.00 or, in some cases, $6.00. We do this by engaging in certain channels that our competitors either disregard or cannot efficiently play in. Over time, this efficiency will allow us to grow large enough to enter more mainstream channels but still carry over the learnings and processes from our best channels.
 
The other thing I found interesting about the New Yorker article was that instead of adapting and innovating, the Goliaths tend to force the Davids to play their game by their rules. How many times have we seen the music industry sue their way out of an issue? Now the movie industry is doing the same. Kudos to Redwood City girls basketball team and their coaches for thinking outside the box!

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