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.
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.
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.
Wow, lots of news today for the W's. First a confirmed event - Mark Jackson is announced as the new head coach. Not 100% sure of the success of this choice but it does mix things up a little bit (not necessarily a bad thing). However, without any NBA coaching experience, Jackson will have a tough road ahead of him leading a team that is not the most disciplined. Up tempo may be exciting to watch but doesn't always lead to many championships.
As for the Ellis for Iguodala trade rumors, that one might be interesting. Of course, Iguodala is not as dynamic a scorer as Ellis but he does have size, can rebound better, and may fit better with Curry. However, he is a year older and $11.1M more over the next 3 years ($2.5M, $3.7M and $4.9M). If he plays like he did in 2006-2008 then this could work. However, if he's more like his 2009-2011 numbers then this is a bad trade. Still, it'll be hard to see Ellis go. He was definitely exciting but in the long run, there was no way the Warriors could win with two undersized guards.Looks like the Warriors are letting Anthony Morrow walk. At a time when the fortunes of the team were looking up, they lost a pretty good piece of the puzzle. Granted, Morrow is not a premiere player but he served a very important role - dead-eye outside shooting (he was one of only 4 guys last year who shot more than 45% from 3PT land).
Ever team needs a guy who just hangs on the perimeter to knock down open 3's. With David Lee as an above average passing big man, Monta Ellis driving and kicking out, plus Curry creating open shots, the Warriors needed a guy just like Morrow. Plus at only $4 million a year, he's great value considering guys like Reddick and Korver were getting $5M - $7M. Compounding the issue is that the Warriors signed Dorell Wright, who by all measure (other than height) is inferior to Morrow, to the same exact three year $12M contract. He scores less, grabs fewer rebounds, and doesn't shoot as well from the floor or the free throw line. The only way I can envision the Warriors letting him go is if he expressly asked to leave and the Dorell Wright move was in reaction to that. Two steps forward, one step back. At least we get a trade exception out of it.
The Warriors just pulled off a trade with the Bucks. Baffling is the only word I can think of. I understand the motivation of it was primarily financial but you couldn't get at least something serviceable in return? Charlie Bell and Dan Gadzuric will offer ZERO impact on the court. If the W's resign CJ to back up Curry (which they should) where does that leave Bell? And Gadzuric has been disappointing for a long time even when he was at UCLA. The only saving grace with Gadzuric is that his contract comes off the books next year but Bell is on the hook until 2012.
What bothers me the most about this deal is that Maggette had value. He wasn't a disruption in the locker room, did what he was told, and in general played well. 20 points and 5 rebounds from a 2/3 swingman is nothing to sneeze at. Plus he got to the line a lot (and shot a decent %) which meant he often put the other team in foul trouble. If you're going to give away your 3rd best player, at least get immediate cap relief or something in return like a good rebounder which the W's sorely need. Baffling.....Lottery is over and the Warriors got a little hosed dropping from a projected 4th pick to the 6th pick. Fittingly, Washington won the lottery as the late Abe Pollin's wife represented them, wearing her husband's 1978 championship ring for luck.
So what does the 6th pick translate to? Most boards have the following players rotating between the 4-6 spots - Wesley Johnson (SF), Greg Monroe (C), or DeMarcus Cousins (PF/C). Good thing is that all these players fill needs for the Warriors. The biggest issues they had (besides injuries) were rebounding and a solid post up player. Monroe and Cousins will provide solid rebounding with Cousins being the slightly better offensive player. Johnson is more of a wing player who can rebound so would be less of a fit for the team. Like last year, I don't have a ton of expectations for the pick but would prefer Cousins, but what do I know. I wanted Jordan Hill over Stephen Curry...Stephen Curry joined an elite list in Wednesday's win over the Clippers, becoming sixth rookie to post a 35-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist performance in NBA history.
A few months ago, I lamented the drafting of Stephen Curry by the Warriors. I thought he was just another undersized guard who dominated a weak conference in college and would create a log jam for an already guard heavy team. Fast forward 8 months later and I'm eating my words. Curry started slow but with the injuries to many key players (including Monta Ellis), he's stepped up his game as of late. Right now, it's a 1-2 race between him and Tyreke Evans for Rookie of the Year. Given tonight's performance against Sacramento, I'd say he's made up a ton of ground. I still think Evans will end up winning unless he really stinks it up the final few months of the season. But I wouldn't trade him for Brandon Jennings given his recent free fall and inconsistencies. Curry seems like he can only get better with experience and a good coach (not Nellie). Here's hoping Avery Johnson follows Nelson again like in Dallas...
