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.
Posts for Tag: nba
Stoudemire coming to Golden State looks unlikely
Stoudemire clarified or reasserted points that he is healthy, wants to stay in Phoenix, does not want to play for Golden State and wants a maximum-level contract extension.
via azcentral.com
The rumored Amare to the Warriors trade doesn't look too likely given his recent statements. I have nothing against Stoudemire not wanting to come to the Warriors. He's going to get paid a lot of money no matter what so he would at least like to get paid a lot of money by a team that will contend. Though having Amare will definitely help the Warriors, it won't make them a contender and having him as a 1 year rental at the price of Biedrins, Wright, and Belinelli is a steep price to pay. Biedrins may not have any big offensive skills but the Warriors aren't lacking for offense. They need him to get better at defending, rebounding, and blocking shots. Sort of like a younger and less talented version of Dikembe. Though Wright and Belinelli have not been break out players, their contracts can be voided in 2010/11, saving the W's about $5.8 million against the cap. Throw in Acie Law's team option and Speedy Claxton's expiring contract and that's about $14 million the W's will have off their books next year. Just in time to make a medium size splash in the huge free agent market next year.
NBA Twitter fans ... get on Ric Bucher's Tweets
I usually don't follow "celebrity" Twitter users. Most of the time the Tweets they send out is pretty useless. I could care less what people are having for lunch or who they are hanging out with. However, Ric Bucher of ESPN has some damn useful NBA information. For instance, he just Tweet'd that Antonio McDyess is going to San Antonio, 3 years, $15 million. ESPN.com, Yahoo! Sports, etc don't even have this up yet. Plus I think he's a Bay Area guy since his back drop during ESPN segments is always San Francisco locations.
Warriors rumored sale
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.
Maybe I was a little too harsh on Curry given that we could have drafted this...
via sportingnews.com
Though I still have my reservations about Stephen Curry, at least he hasn't pulled a bone-head act like Brandon Jennings. Man, you never really know nowadays who is taping what - The Sporting News reports that Brandon Jennings was caught on tape saying some inflammatory statements about his teammates, Ricky Rubio, etc. This is after Jennings said some unflattering things about Rubio and then had to back pedal. One can say he's just got a lot of youthful confidence and how we talk to "friends" is a lot different than how we would talk to a reporter. Still, he seems to have dug himself a pretty big hole with team management and some of his teammates. Again, he may turn out to be miles better than Curry but his mouth has written a pretty big check that his ass will need to cash in about 4 months.