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.

So it's still relatively early in the NBA season and of course the Warriors are not looking promising. However, tonight's game versus Milwaukee was both encouraging and discouraging. First the good part, the W's played a pretty spirited game against a pretty good Bucks team. They actually had a chance to win it in the final seconds but of course, it got away from them. Now here's the bad, Brandon Jennings went off on them tonight for 55. Not only that, he did it in only 3 quarters (didn't score in the 1st). In this young season, Jennings looks like the steal of the draft at #10. He's averaging over 20pts, 4rbs, and 5asts and those stats will be going up after tonight's game. Before this year's draft, I hinted that Jennings at #7 would have been good for the W's as a play maker. I even hinted that they should have traded Curry to New York. It's not to say that Curry is bad (jury's still out) but it's clear that Jennings is going to be a good, even great player. I guess another in the line of Warrior draft gaffs...

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.