Two people with knowledge of the negotiations say the Golden State Warriors are close to signing guard Nate Robinson, who was released by the Oklahoma City Thunder last month.
This could be interesting. Nate has shown he can score and can carry the backup role behind Steph and Monta. I think his question marks have always been attitude and defense. Not sure the defense has improved but maybe Mark Jackson can fix the attitude.
Tests revealed Curry didn't sustain any ligament damage and the repairs made in his offseason surgery are still intact.
Some good news for the Warriors. There's no reason to play Steph in the first two games. Let him rest up a full week and play against the Knicks in the 3rd game of the season. And if the Warriors somehow beat the Clippers AND the Bulls, I would rest him until they go on the road against Phoenix the following week. No season was won or lost on the first few games and if he hurts that ankle again, he could be out for months instead of days.
Center Kwame Brown has agreed to a one-year, $7-million contract with the Golden State Warriors, according to a Yahoo! Sports report.
Kind of scratching my head on this one. $7M for a back-up center who has had a history of underachievement? So now we have two centers who aren't worth their contracts?
Stephen Curry says he has received assurances from team executives that he is “safe and secure” with the Golden State Warriors despite the latest round of trade talks surrounding the point guard.
Not necessarily buying it but just means a trade is now less likely...
Sources said that the Hornets have actually been trying to convince the Warriors to part with Curry since before last season's trade deadline in February.
On the surface, Chris Paul for Stephen Curry sounds like a no brainer trade. But before people think this is another Speedy Claxton for Baron Davis, there are some big pitfalls involved. First, Stephen Curry is a much better player than Speedy Claxton ever was and at 23, he's yet to reach his prime. Second, the market for Baron Davis circa 2004 was limited. Remember this was the disgruntled, slightly overweight Baron Davis who clashed with Byron Scott, a coach who had taken the Nets to back-to-back NBA Finals. The Warriors knew they could sign Davis to an extension with not too many suitors out there. Chris Paul on the other had is one of the Top 3 point guards in the league. Every team with cap room will make a run at him and he knows it so why sign an extension when you can play for a year and get the gold rush in the summer of 2012? Curry for a one year rental of Paul is not a good move.
Paul has stated he would be more willing (though not guaranteed) to sign an extension with a team that acquired his buddy Tyson Chandler. The Warriors are pushing towards that and he would be an upgrade over Biedrins - some offense, good defense/rebounding, veteran leadership, playoff experience. Still, I don't see a starting 5 of Paul/Ellis/Wright/Lee/Chandler as anything more than the 4th or 5th best team in the West. Definitely an improvement but nowhere near what it would take to be a contender.
The Golden State Warriors have hired Rick Welts as their president and chief operating officer, the team announced Monday night.
Another piece to the puzzle. Phoenix has been a winning franchise for a long time and adding Welts will help Golden State. Lacob and Guber seem to be making all the right moves. Now if the lockout would end...
Everyone has been saying that Klay Thompson's drafting means that Monta Ellis is leaving. Here's a good article from BDL with a more measured take. Given that I don't think the Warriors can find a good C or SF in a trade, there's no point in trading Monta at this time. Thompson will play the SG/SF reserve role and give more rest to Monta and Wright who play close to 40+ minutes each night. If he can reduce their minutes to about 35 each night, that will help the W's in the long run by reducing injuries and allowing the starters to play more "peak" minutes than have stretches of being gassed on the court. Plus, I don't see a Curry/Thompson backcourt being any good next year. Monta may eventually go but not next year unless there's a blockbuster trade that brings in a significant upgrade to their front line.
This was somewhat expected. Not sure how he'll fit in since the Warriors have Ellis, Wright and Reggie Williams at SG. Again, not a ton of expectations so we'll see how this turns out when/if the season gets started.
NBA Draft is going on now. First three picks were pretty much as expected - Irving, Williams, and Kanter. Cleveland's second pick at #4 is Tristan Thompson from Texas. Somewhat of a reach since most draft boards had him in the 6-9 range. Maybe the contract issues of Jonas Valanciunas scared them off. Toronto who picks 5th is high on Brandon Knight so Valanciunas might slip to 6th to the Wizards.
UPDATE: Guess I was wrong... Toronto chooses Valanciunas at 5th.
