Warriors Extend Bogut for 3 Years, $36 Million

It's been a while since we've delved into the NBA here at the BASJ, but with opening night just a few days away, and the Warriors catching headlines yesterday with their signing of Andrew Bogut, I thought it would be a good time to shift gears into basketball mode a bit more.

If you haven't heard yet, the W's extended the oft-injured but multi-talented big man on Friday, that will keep him in a Warriors uni for this year and the 3 seasons to follow. We got a glimpse of what a healthy Bogut can bring to the table late last season and numerous times in the playoffs, and the Warriors are only hoping continued health will breed some consistency. Last year, the Warriors were limiting his minutes, rarely having the big man play beyond the 25 minute mark, but I expect to see them cut him loose a little bit more this year. They may take a cautious approach out of the gate just to make sure everything's a go, but after a few weeks, I would expect to see the Aussie playing 30-35 minutes per night, healthy permitting of course. With those kind of minutes, Bogut should easily provide double-double ability, with a healthy amount of assists and blocks to go with. He's still pretty young and with all the rest he's accumulated on the sidelines the last several years, should have plenty of good basketball left in him, but again, the bottom line with him will come down to health. If he's able to play in 75% or more of the Warriors games the next few seasons, this deal will be a good one. If he's playing 50% of the time over the next few seasons, this deal won't be looking so swell.

All in all, I do like the risk/reward aspect of it. You don't come along 7-footers with Bogut's skill-set very often, and like I said, he's still young enough to be a core piece and a guy you can build around. And with Bogut enters the best Warriors team, at least on paper, in quite some time. Not only are they rock solid throughout their starting-5, but with Harrison Barnes' move to the bench, it has given the team some talented depth. They did lose Jarrett Jack, a key contributer to last seasons surprise run, but Andre Iguodala should more than pick up the slack Jack left behind. I also liked the additions of Marreese Speights and Jermaine O'Neal to add some quality depth up front. It seemed like Mark Jackson was only able to use a 7, sometimes 8 man rotation confidently last season, this year, the Warriors look like they have at least 10 guys on that roster that should get significant time. There's the starting five (Curry, Thompson, Iggy, Lee, Bogut) then O'Neal, Speights, Draymond Green, Tony Douglas and Harrison Barnes. Obviously there won't be enough minutes to get all the reserves 15-20 per night, but the hot 3-4 out of that bunch will definitely get their looks.

Aside from the depth, further improvements from Harrison Barnes, Klay Thompson and Steph Curry, coupled with the hopeful steady health of Andrew Bogut and veteran savvy influence of Andre Iguodala is why I could see the Warriors getting as high as the #3 seed in the Western Conference this year. We'll have a Pacific division preview coming up later over at The Warriors Rundown, so check that out for further NBA preview talk.

Warriors Get Their Man in Iguodala

Andre Iguodala had been on the Warriors radar for the past few seasons and this week they were finally able to obtain him, though it did come at a price.

On the surface, when looking at the players the Warriors let go in order to clear the space to give Iggy his 4 year, $48 million deal, you'd think Golden State came out with a flat out steal. They were able to convince the Utah Jazz to take on the expiring contracts of Andris Biedrins, Richard Jefferson and Brandon Rush, none of whom played a significant role in the Warriors playoff run last season. Rush probably would have been a key cog had it not been for the injury that knocked him out before the season even began, but Jeff and Biedrins were hardly used throughout the '12-'13 campaign. However, the Jazz weren't just going to take on those bad contracts without the Warriors giving up something, and they were able to get two future Warrior first round picks, and two second rounders as well. Know, the Warriors brass is hoping that this is the beginning of some sort of dynasty that will put the Dubs in the playoffs for years to come, as they've built a sound young nucleus and should only get better over the next couple of years, but still, two first rounders could end up being a steep price to pay. Nonetheless, I give the move an A because they were able to turn that cap space into a player that makes this team a whole helluva lot better.

Though they still get out and run, and can put points on the board, the Warriors have changed their identity under Coach Jackson as one of the tougher defending teams in the league. With the direction Jackson has this team going, Iguodala makes perfect sense. He's an all-league defender, in the prime of his career, and certainly has the ability to get out and run and knock down the 3-pointer, all qualities which should play greatly with this young Warriors squad. Just look at what he did in the series between Denver and Golden State in April: 18 ppg, 8 rpg, 5.5 assists, 2 steals and a 48% mark on 3-point attempts. With the Warriors brass already interested in him, I'm sure his showing in that series just pushed him over the top in their eyes. The only question the 'Dubs now have to deal with though, is how exactly they'll divide playing time between Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes and their new $48M weapon. There had been rumblings of the Warriors possibly including either Barnes or Thompson with Andrew Bogut in a trade with the Lakers to get Dwight Howard, but with Howard landing in Houston, that's no longer an option.

It's hardly a bad problem to have though if your the Warriors. Most likely, someone will have to come off the bench in a 6th man role, but either way, all 3 of those guys should be getting 30+ minutes a night. I'm sure that whoever the hot hand is will see a little more PT, but my guess is that Iguodala would be the Warriors 6th man if there are no other significant moves made with the returning starting 5. This signing also precludes the Warriors from being able to retain Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry which is a bit of a blow to the overall team depth, especially the way Jack played down the stretch and in the playoffs, but one thing the Warriors have had success with over the years is finding suitable backup point guards and I think
Bob Myers will do that again this summer.

Bobcats Interested in MKG for Barnes Swap?

Things have been extremely quiet on the Golden State Warriors front ever since their surprise run ended vs. the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semi-finals last month. However, the NBA draft is just 2 days away, and rumors surrounding the Warriors have started picking up.

The latest piece of news to hit the net has the Charlotte Bobcats dangling the 2nd overall pick from last years draft, Michael Kidd-Gillchrest, and apparently targeting Golden State's Harrison Barnes as their top choice. I could definitely see why the Bobcats would have interest, as Barnes was star for UNC and is coming off a better rookie year than MKG. That being said, many feel like MKG is still the better prospect, and despite his up-and-down rookie campaign, he'll turn out to be a more well-rounded player than Barnes. I just can't see the Dubs offering up Barnes right now though, especially after his excellent play in the postseason. With the Warriors down David Lee, they needed to find consistent offense from another source and Barnes answered the bell. MKG is still considered the superior defender and athlete, but Barnes is further along in his development and has the skills to become a plus offensive player in the league for years to come. I don't think I do a MKG for Barnes deal straight-up if I'm Golden State, but if Charlotte sweetens the deal a little bit, I'd certainly listen to offers.

The Warriors don't have a pick in the first round of this years draft, and probably won't be too involved in free agency, meaning any changes they make this summer will likely come via trade. Their top priority right now though should be to get everyone healthy and on the same page by the fall. They had a nice run this season and did it without having Bogut for much of the year, without Brandon Rush and with a bunch of rookies playing integral roles. Those rookies should only get better though, and the improved health of Lee, Bogut and Rush should also make this team a powerhouse right out of the gate for the 2013-14 season. Again, I don't see a reason to make a move unless it's clear upgrade that helps the roster right now and I don't think a MKG-Barnes swap does, at least not in the short term.

Warriors Thriving in Underdog Role

I have to admit, even I had my doubts about this team coming into the postseason after David Lee went down and without seeing much in terms of production out of Andrew Bogut. Instead though, the Warriors head into play Friday night looking to take a 2-1 lead over San Antonio in the Western Conference Semifinals.

As has been the case this whole season for Golden State, as each player goes down, it seems the Warriors just keep getting stronger and stronger. Early on, it was Andrew Bogut who couldn't get on the court, and many thought it would to a rough start for the Dubs. Then Festus Ezieli and Carl Landry each stepped up big and the Warriors instead thrived out of the gate. Coming into the postseason, just as Andrew Bogut starting finding his rythym, the Warriors lost their other big man, David Lee to what many thought would be a season-ending hip injury. After that happened, I don't think many outside of the Bay Area gave the Warriors a glimmer of hope in round one vs. Denver. Again though, they had other players step up and help overcome the loss of their 20-10 machine in Lee. Harrison Barnes has excelled in the postseason, Jarret Jack has been a steady veteran infleunce almost like Baron Davis was in 2007 and although it's taken a year and some change, the Warriors are finally reaping benefits from the Monta Ellis trade. It's taken a true team effort to get the Warriors to where they are. They really should be taking a 2-0 lead into the game Friday, but by coming back and taking game two after blowing that 16 point lead in the waning minutes of game one is a testament to what kind of fight this team has.

Now, the Warriors could lose the next three games, and be out of the tournament and it would still be considered a great season by Golden State's standards. The players know that, and I think that this team is really taking that underdog role and riding with it. It reminds me a lot of the Giants in 2010, as they weren't necessarily the best team in the game that year, but rode that late season momentum and became an unstoppable force in the playoffs. Mark Jackson's role in this run cannot be overlooked either, as he's seemingly pushed all the right buttons so far and has kept his team in the right mindset all year despite all the injuries. Jackson has this team in a defense first mind-set and they've all bought into the system and have executed it well. Since Lee went down, Jackson has had to mix and match starting lineups, going with a small, three-guard look with Jarret Jack, but he switched it up and used Draymond Green in the starting lineup Wednesday to give the team a little more defense. Despsite Green not lighting up the stat sheet, it worked out well defensively for Golden State and I wouldn't be surprised to see that same lineup take the court Friday night.

Note: David Lee is still listed as active for this series, but I highly doubt we'll see him make any kind of impact. That being said, should the Warriors advance past this round and make it to the Western Conference Finals, it wouldn't surprise me if #10 wills his way back into the starting lineup. He's still having some issues pushing off of his right leg, which would hamper his play inside, but he is practicing and is getting some of that strength back each day.

Notes: 49ers, Giants and Warriors Take Over

With the Giants winning the World Series for the 2nd time in 3 seasons, the 49ers well on their way to another playoff birth and the Warriors off to their best start in over two decades, these three franchises have taken over the Bay Area sports media focus.

Giants: After staying relatively quiet throughout the first month of free agency, the Giants have made the moves they were hoping for all along in re-signing Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro, but on Thursday, they added another familiar face back into the mix. Andres Torres was non-tendered by New York last month and one couldn't help but think the Giants would inquire about him with their need for outfield help. Torres is coming off a couple of down years after his breakout 2010 campaign, so the Giants were able to get him on a bargain 1-year, $2M deal. I was hoping the Giants would find that right-handed, power hitting corner outfielder they were looking for, but apparently in this market, even guys like Scott Hairston are out of their price range. That being said, Torres is not a bad fallback option at all and should be more than capable as the fourth outfielder and may even give Blanco a run for playing time in left field if he gets hot. He hit over .300 in a reserve role in 2009, and hit .265 with 16 HR's  and 29 SB as a full-timer in 2010. The Giants like Torres' switch hitting abilities, his solid defense and his speed on the base paths, so even if they aren't able to add another outfielder to the depth chart between now and February, they have to feel pretty good with their group heading into 2013. More Giants Talk Here!

49ers: Speaking of 2013, we're just a few weeks away from the new year and the start of the NFL playoffs, but for 49ers fans, it kind of feels like the playoffs start this weekend. The 49ers will head into New England Sunday for a matchup that was a muffed punt away from being last years Super Bowl. After a few less than spectacular games, including the loss to St. Louis and allowing the Dolphins to take hang with them at home last week, the 49ers will be looking to rebound vs. a well-rounded Pats team. New England's offense is a pass-first attack and Tom Brady has the ability to pick the 49ers defense apart. It'll be crucial to get pressure on him throughout the day if they want to contain that passing attack. Defensively, the Pats are much improved, but they can be beaten. The 49ers may need to go to the air a little more than they've been recently, so a lot of this game will lie on the shoulders of young Colin Kapernick. If there's ever a time to make your statement that you've arrived as one of the better young QB's in the league and are here to stay, it's vs. Tom Brady and the Patriots. However, this game isn't all on Kaepernick. The O-line must do it's job in keeping the Pats' pass-rush off Kaep's back, and the 49ers must establish Gore early and often. The Niners should be treating this game like a playoff game, and they should learn a lot from this one, win or lose.

Warriors: Finally, we have the team that's been giving the 49ers a run for their money in both air time and print space across Bay Area media outlets. The Golden State Warriors came up with perhaps their most impressive victory of the young season Wednesday, rolling into South Beach and beating the reigning Champion Miami Heat on an impressive last second layup by the rookie Draymond Green. The 'Dubs were hanging with Miami all night long, even holding the lead throughout most of the contest, but what really impressed me was the way they closed the game out down the stretch. As he's been doing a lot recently, Mark Jackson stuck with the small lineup of Jarrett Jack, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, David Lee, Carl Landry and a lot of Draymond Green down the stretch, and for the fifth straight time on this 7-game roadie, that group closed out a Warriors win. Klay Thompson led the Warriors charge with 27 points, 7 boards and 4 assists as he thoroughly outplayed Dwayne Wade and did a tremendous job in containing the dangerous off-guard. David Lee also chipped in another 22-13 night to help overcome a bit of an off night out of Steph Curry, and that's another sign that this team is for real. When your top scorer gets shut down, and you still find a way to defeat the consensus best team in the NBA, you know you've got something special going on... With the win, the Warriors have moved to 15-7, and they've thrived even without their star 7-foot center, Andrew Bogut. More Warriors Talk Here!

Bay Area Sports Notes

There's been a lot going on around the Bay Area Pro Sports scene the last week, and we figured we do sort of a bullet point on each team to catch up.

Giants: Obviously, we've posted here since the Giants won the Series in Detroit last month, but that hasn't stopped them from jumping right into the fire in terms of putting next years team together. They announced last week that they will tender Hunter Pence a contract for 2013, his final year under team control, and they just signed Jeremy Affeldt to a new 3-year, $18 million deal. They're also discussing a deal with Marco Scutaro and have optimism on that front. They still have big decisions regarding Angel Pagan, Brian Wilson and the infamous Melky Cabrera.

A's: There's really nothing big to report here. I doubt the A's will be much of a player in free agency, besides attempting to bring back Grant Balfour. They already severed ties with Stephen Drew, and probably won't be able to compete to keep Brandon McCarthy in town. They'll once again rely on upcoming talent and maybe a few mid-low level free agent signings they hope they strike gold on (a la Johnny Gomes in '12). Then again, after the season they just had, Beane could surprise us and go make a splash this winter. We'll certainly be keeping tabs on them in the upcoming months.

49ers: Well, we've been covering mostly 49ers news here for the better part of the last two months, but there have been some new developments over the last week-plus. Mainly the pitiful meaningless game we all saw them play vs. St. Louis this last weekend. For some reason, David Akers can't hit the broad side of a barn all of the sudden, and Alex Smith's health is now in question after suffering a concussion early on in the game. That brings up point number two, which we'll discuss more in the coming weeks. It looks like Colin Kaepernick will get the nod this Sunday, and if he puts up big numbers, do the 49ers stick with him even when Smith is healthy enough to go? We know what Smith can do, but Kaep has shown glimpses of having both Andrew Luck and RGIII skill sets. He's still a little raw on decision making, but pretty impressive overall.

Raiders: Well, like with their fellow Oakland counterparts, there's not much new to report here other than the Raiders suffering through another sub-par season. They've had their moments in some games when Carson Palmer has carried the team, but DMC has been a major dissapointment in his first year as full-time back, and that defense is still having trouble stopping anyone. On the bright side, Brandon Myers looks legit at tight end, and Heyward-Bay and Moore look to be rounding into form at wideout.

Warriors: Last, but certainly not least are the Golden State Warriors. The 'Dubs have had an up and down first two weeks to 2012-13, and a big part of what happens next lies in the health of Andrew Bogut. The big man has been sit down for the next week-plus as he tries to regain strength in that repaired ankle of his. If it takes a week, or three, the W's need to be patient with him. As long as he's healthy and able to play 30 minutes by mid-December, the Dubs should be fine. We've seen how good they can be with a injured Bogut, so imagine what they can do with a healthy one. On the positive, Steph Curry looks to be in great shape and showing no ill-effects with his ankle problems... Finally, Harrison Barnes has been a little slow to come along here early on. Hopefully he steps up as the W's need him more than ever without Brandon Rush.

Mark Jackson's Problem and Harrison Barnes

Unfortunately for Golden State, the draft isn't the only newsworthy piece of information to come out of Golden State Thursday. I'm not going to really talk about it much here, cause I don't know much about it, but apparently Coach Mark Jackson was a victim of a scandalous extortion scheme involving a stripper. You could probably put two and two together to figure out what the basis of the extortion charge is, but I just hope this doesn't take Jackson's focus off of the draft. He's obvioussy the victim in this, so I do feel for him, even if he never met this woman, his name still gets dragged through the mud, but that's the price you pay these days to be a high-end public figure. Anyhow, that's off-field, non-basketball related news so I'll leave that to the legal analysts and pundits to talk about, cause there is much more important things happening at Warriors headquarters tonight.

All I've been hearing over the last few days is exactly what I posted in our previous post a few days ago. The Warriors look like they will indeed hold onto all their picks and will have to make a choice on somebody at pick 7. The thing is, I don't even think they know who they're going to pick yet, and probably won't until they see how the first 4-5 picks shake out. They could still be holding out hope that a Barnes or Drummond fall to them, but at the same time, they need to be prepared and have a plan B ready. Everyone in the Bay Area sports media seems to believe that Plan B is Dion Waiters, which I mentioned last post, but it's really anyones guess at this point. There was also a rumor floating around Wednesday that the Warriors could trade down in the draft and acquire two mid-round picks. I think they're playing it by ear though, and we won't see them do anything until the draft starts, if they do make a move at all... Be sure to check back with us after the picks role in for player analysis and thoughts. Until then, in Bob Myers and Coach Jackson we trust, kind of.

SF Harrison Barnes

Warriors Draft Harrison Barnes: The pick is in, and the guy I was really hoping would fall to Golden State, ended up doing just that. The Warriors biggest need heading into this offseason was at small forward, and in my mind, they just got themselves the 2nd best one in the draft, with the possibility to be the best. Barnes was picked on most mock drafts to go anywhere from pick 3 through 5, but most pundits had him coming off the board before the Warriors picked at 7. Barnes averaged over 17 points per game last season for UNC, and most people think he lost his chance at being the number 2 pick by not finishing the season off strong with a good tournament showing. He's a better offensive player than #2 pick Michael Kidd-Gillchrist, but he's not quite the defender. His best attribute heading into his rookie season is by far his jump shot. He's a tremendous athlete and shoots the ball at the peak of his jump, making it next to impossible to block. The one area he'll have to improve on is his inside play and being more aggressive in attacking the rim. All in all, love this pick as Barnes is not only a special, consensus top-5 talent, but also helps fill the biggest need on the floor for the Warriors. Here is a video of Barnes vs. Virginia Tech from January to get an idea of his style of play. As you can see, a great shooter that should fit right in with Klay Thompson and Steph Curry.

Warriors Headed to SF in 2017?

In Part One of our Warriors Season review last week, we touched on most of the positives to come out of the 2011/2012 NBA season for Golden State. Today, before we presented the 2nd part of the season review, there's some pretty big news on the Warriors front to discuss.

 The NBA declared Monday that the Warriors would likely be moving back across the bay in time for the 2017 season. The Warriors recently brought back their "The City" jerseys, the ones they originally wore when they were in San Francisco, which started the pondering as to whether the Warriors will move our not. This is good news for Warriors fans, even if your an Oakland resident, as at least they're staying in the Bay Area, and won't be moving down south to San Jose or any other Silicon Valley destination. Just wanted to spread that piece of news as it hit wires Monday, now back to the on-court happenings of the recent season.

Biedrins Struggled

Things started out roughly for Golden State before the season even got going, as they were spurned by every free agent big man they were interested in, only managing to sign Kwame Brown. Their first choice was Tyson Chandler, but he choose to sign with a contender in New York and join Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. They couldn't even manage to get their backup plan to jump ship from the LA Clippers after offering DeAndre Jordan a massive deal only to be spurned, but that's now looking more like a blessing in disguise than anything else. The big problem for the Warriors, and one I think they'll regret until the day he leaves, is not amestying Andris Biedrins and his large remaining contract when they could have gotten that deal off their books and freed up some real cash heading into this summer. Instead though, they played it cautiously, knowing they were short of big men, and they decided to hand on to Biedrins. After that decision, they should have saved their amnesty. Instead, they used it to release Charlie Bell, a guard who had just a year remaining on his deal and wasn't very expensive. I never got that move, and after the deal for Andrew Bogut, the Warriors will have nearly $20M/year committed to these two centers over the next few seasons. So before the lockout-shortened 2011/12 season even got going for Golden State, they had a lot of fans scratching their heads in the Bay Area with their suspect use of the brief free agency period. The best move they made before opening their season on Christmas, was trading for Brandon Rush but they needed more than that.

Curry's Glass Ankles

Now, after the season got going, the team ran into another problem. They couldn't, for the life of them, keep everyone on the floor and healthy. They lost Curry early in January, and he was never really much of a factor after that, only returning for a few brief stints before being shut down for the year around mid-season. Monta Ellis played well in the first half and was the team's first half MVP before the trade, then David Lee picked up slack in absence of Ellis, Udoh, Curry and their new addition, Andrew Bogut. However, one guy who they were counting on mightily to carry the load offensively, Dorrell Wright, fell off badly from his breakout '10-'11 campaign and that caused another big hole in a starting lineup already missing their star point guard and center. As I said in the first part of the review, Klay Thompson stepped up huge in wake of dealing Ellis, and he was acknowledged last week ranking 6th in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting. Had it not been for the emergence of Thompson, this year could have been much worse. At the very least, the Warriors appear to be pretty set at the 2 guard, especially if they retain Brandon Rush this summer. The real problem for Golden State in 2012 were injuries, plain and simple. That said though, even if Curry stayed healthy, this team still lacked that solid man in the middle most playoff teams have and I doubt they would have done much better than they did. The Warriors got decent play from their point guard spot, especially after Nate Robinson came aboard, it was the lack of presence in the middle that kept them from competing with the big dogs, and that's why they felt it so necessary to deal the face of their organization in Monta in order to land a potential all-star center in Bogut. As long as both Curry and Bogut are healthy come October, and stay that way throughout the season, things should take a 180 for Golden State next season, especially if they play it smart in the draft.

All in all, with the way things were at mid-season, Warrior fans have to be pretty stoked that the Dubs appear to have a stronghold on their number 7 pick. At mid-season, it was looking like a lost cause, as they clearly weren't a playoff team, but not bad enough to make the top-7. But by the end of the season, the Warriors had more guys in suits on the bench they they did in actual uniform, and they were starting 3-4 rookies per night at many points in April. That both played well into their draft strategy as well as giving young players like Charles Jenkins and Jeremy Tyler some much needed experience.

Warriors Season Review: What Went Right

Since the regular season ended a few weeks ago, we haven't really done an assessment of the Warriors 2011-12 season here at The Rundown. We figured we'd go ahead and break it into two parts: The Good from from this past season, and the bad.

A Healthy Bogut Will Be Huge!

We'll go ahead and start off with the positives that came out of this season, and even in a year in which the Warriors were decimated by injuries, there were still some very good things to build off heading into 2012-13. The first thing that comes to mind for me is obviously the acquisition of Andrew Bogut, who will give the Warriors a talent at center they haven't had in decades, assuming he can stay on the floor. He'll be paired in the Warriors front court with our choice for their 2012 team MVP, David Lee, who performed much better in his 2nd season with Golden State (20 PPG/9.9 RPG). The Warriors did have to pay a steep price in order to get the Aussie big man, parting with their longest tenured player and one of the most talented guards in the NBA in Monta Ellis, as well as a rising defensive big man and 2010 first round pick, Ekpe Udoh. However, this trade helped the Warriors accomplish more than just adding a much needed presence in the middle. The deal also helped ensure the Warriors held onto their much needed top-7 draft choice, which they won in a coin toss after the season. They still have to go through the lottery, but they most likely will stick at 7, which is a big coupe considering they have very little cap space to work with. Another big deal this team made that could pay off was attaining both Richard Jefferson, who played well for the Warriors, and the Spurs first rounder in exchange for Stephen Jackson. Jefferson not only provides veteran leadership that this young team desperately needs, but he also could represent an upgrade at small forward in 2012-13 if the Warriors end up going with him over the one-dimensional Dorrell Wright. That extra first round choice could end up helping the Warriors if they want to move up in the draft, or if they just sit where they are, they'll should end up with two solid talents with two first round picks in a very deep draft. One thing the Warriors have successfully done in recent drafts, dating back to the selection of Monta Ellis, has been using their lower picks and 2nd round picks wisely. Even last years choosing of Jeremy Tyler and Charles Jenkins are looking like two solid value picks after the way each player ended the season.


Another rookie, the W's first rounder and 11th overall choice in last June's draft, Klay Thompson, really made parting with Ellis a much easier pill to swallow. In fact, if you compare the two guards play over the last month and half of 2012, you'll see very similar stats, despite each being completely different players. In his 29 starts in place of Ellis, Thompson averaged 18 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal while shooting a sturdy 42% from beyond the arc for the year. In comparison, for Milwaukee in 21 games, Ellis averaged

K. Thompson: Breakout Rookie!

just 17 points and shoot 26% from 3-point range. Again though, each are two completely different players, but Thompson showed us this year that he's more than just a catch-and-shoot guy. While he's not at Ellis' level in terms of distributing the ball and going to the rim, he's a solid ball-handler with good passing smarts and should play extremely well with Steph Curry. Lee was the teams MVP, but Thompson was the teams breakout star. The Warriors also eliminated their small backcourt issue, and even though I made it quite clear here that I'd have much rather dealt Curry than Ellis (even before Curry's ankles became built of glass), they just weren't going to get as much value for Curry, with the ankle issue looming, than he'll provide them when he gets healthy (assuming that day comes). Also Curry is more of a pure point guard than Monta, and has much of the same skill-set but he's a better shooter than Monta too. With Jefferson, Curry, Thompson and the likely return of Brandon Rush, the Warriors have some guys who can snipe from beyond the arc and that element will be very fun to watch next year with Lee and Bogut inside kicking balls out to the shooters. I know a lot of the Warriors potential for next year and beyond is based on the health two players, Curry and Bogut, but I really like the direction this team is headed in, with all the draft choices and the young nucleus already in-tact. Again, I think they need to prioritize Brandon Rush over any of their other free agents, as he not only brings positional flexibility, but a ridiculous efficiency in both field goal and 3-point percentages.

I'd also like to see Nate Robinson retained after a strong year from him in absence of Curry and Ellis. He was the one guy who the Warriors could count on to bring the ball up the court and run the offense after the ladder two players became unavailable. In 51 games, he put up an average of 11 ppg, 2 rpg and 4.5 apg in only 23 minutes of play. He'd again provide some stability and a veteran backup to Curry, who will likely have his playing time limited to begin the season as he just underwent surgery that has an expected 3-month rehabilitation window before he can get back on the court. The season doesn't start until October, so that will give him some time to regain strength before training camp, but the Warriors will definitely take it easy on him. Same with Bogut, though Curry plays point guard and relies heavily on his cuts and drives for much of his offense and production. Still, with Bogut's historic injury issues, the Warriors certainly won't overwork him too much too soon.

NBA Deadline Scoop, 49ers Update

Well folks, we can check off one of the frenzies that have taken hold of the sports world over the last week or so, from NFL free agency, the NCAA Tournament, the NBA trade deadline to MLB's spring training. Indeed, there has been plenty to discuss here at the Journal, which has kept us extremely busy of late.

Today, we're going to keep it mostly NBA, as the deadline really dominated sports headlines Thursday. The Warriors made a few more moves to better their position heading into the 2012 draft. They swapped Stephen Jackson for Richard Jefferson, taking on an extra year of a $10M salary but gaining the Spurs first rounder in the upcoming draft. It's no surprise that Jackson was dealt before arriving in Golden State, as he left here after his first stint under some pretty bad terms. The Warriors didn't want to take the chance of having Jackson become a cancer in their clubhouse again, like he did in Milwaukee and nearly every other destination during his career, besides San Antonio. This move makes sense for both squads, as the Spurs get a tough defender at SF and at this stage, a better player than Jefferson, while the Warriors pretty much ensure they get to pick in the first round in this years draft, albeit a likely low-20's pick. Here are the three other big moves that went down on Thursday:

Gerald Wallace to New Jersey for their protected first-rounder: This was probably the 2nd biggest deal of the day, as it was one of many moves made by Portland Thursday. The Blazers went through a mini fire-sale before the deadline, dealing away Wallace and starting center Marcus Camby, who was dealt to Houston. They then axed long-time head coach Nate McMillan, in a somewhat surprising move. I know Portland had been struggling this season, but I was surprised they didn't wait until after the year to dismiss McMillan. Anyway, as long as the Blazers end up with the Nets first rounder, which is protected through pick 3 (their likely pick would be 5 if the season ended today), then they make out just fine in this deal, especially as they're obviously moving towards rebuilding. At the same time, although he's had somewhat of an off-year, the 29 year-old Wallace is a rare talent on both ends of the court and may help the Nets chances of resigning Deron Williams over the summer. A potential lineup of Williams, impressive rookie MarShon Brooks, Wallace, Kris Humprhies and Brook Lopez, with Anthony Morrow and Gerald Green coming off the bench for 2012-13, isn't a bad look.

Ramon Sessions to Lakers for first round pick: The Lakers got something they really haven't had in years, and that's a young, explosive point guard who can put up some points and is one of the more underrated players in the NBA. Sessions assists-per-minute ratio is the best in the NBA and he didn't have much of a spot in Cleveland behind star rookie Kyrie Irving. For that, I like this deal for both squads. The Lakers were also trying hard to acquire T-Wolves forward Michael Beasley, and would have been even better off had that gone through, but they have to be happy with their shiny new point guard, who should make everyone on that team better, including Andrew Bynum, and that's scary to think! The Lakers, in response, shipped their long-time PG, Derek Fisher, to Houston.

Three-Way Trade- Clippers acquire Nick Young, Nuggets acquire JaValle McGee, and Wizards end up with Nene: Now, this was the last, but the biggest deal to go down on before the deadline Thursday, and it's a deal that makes a lot of sense for all parties involved. The Clippers get former USC guard Nick Young, bringing him back to SoCal, where they really need some scoring help at the off-guard and small forward position. He's a young perimeter player who should mesh well with CP3 and Blake Griffin and when he's one, he'll even make Clipper fans forget about Eric Gordon. Also, JaValle McGee, who's one of the most talented big men in the game, got the change of scenery he so badly needed, as he was dealt to Denver with Nene heading back to Washington. Nene will give the Wizards a solid veteran front-court influence and should play well with Andre Blatche. However, I think the winner of this deal, if I had to pick one, are the Nuggets. They get a star, 23 year-old center who should fit in well with Denver. George Karl has has the leadership skills and Denver has enough veteran influence that McGee should be on his best behavior. When this guy plays 30+ minutes a night, it's rare if he doesn't wind up with 15 points, 12-15 boards and 3-4 blocks. That's dominance on both ends.

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Again, the Warriors and the 49ers were the two Bay Area franchises leading headlines Thursday, as the 49ers are apparently looking very deeply into the possibility of signing either Mario Manningham or Brandon Lloyd. Either would be a tremendous addition alongside Randy Moss and Michael Crabtree. Lloyd is a bit older, but has been one of the most underrated WR's in the NFL in recent years. He's accumulated 2,300 yards recieving and 16 TD's over the last two seasons with Kyle Orton and AJ Feely throwing him the ball, but is going on 31 years of age and the 49ers may want to go with the younger Manningham. The 25 year-old Manningham is coming off an injury-plauged year, which he only played in 12 games, but had 13 catches and 3 touchdowns in the 2012 postseason to finish strongly. With Victor Cruz's emergence, Manningham isn't as high a priority for the Giants as he would be for a team like the 49ers, but with receivers going off the board like crazy, Manningham is now one of the most coveted wideouts left and will be in demand. Luckily for the 49ers, they do have him Santa Clara Thursday, and maybe they can convince him, like they did Randy Moss, to ink a deal within hours of meeting the coaching staff. Wouldn't that be something! If both are going to cost about the same, I'd roll with the younger Manningham, as his speed could really help this offense, but I think either would be a welcome addition and really help shore up the 49ers receiving core and allow them to look elsewhere with their first round pick, like another impact DB.

NBA Trade Deadline and NFL Free Agent Frenzy

Over the last 24 hours, there have been more moves made by Bay Area teams than I can talk about in one post, but the Warriors and 49ers, especially, have been under a microscope lately with the moves they've made.

The Warriors made a trade Tuesday that really shook up their franchise and had just as many fans scratching their heads then were happy with it. I think this move was made by the Warriors with 2012-13 and beyond, and not so much this season, in mind. I mean, the player they got in return is a center they've needed for years, but he's also the Steph Curry of centers in terms of fragility. Andrew Bogut religiously misses time annually with nagging injuries and can never seem to keep it together for a full season. When he did though, two years ago, he showed what he can do by putting up 16 points, 10 boards and 2 assists per night in 69 games. He only missed 13 that season, but has played in more than 69 games only twice in his 7-year career. At the same time, Bogut will have had nearly a year off by the time next season rolls around, and should be in optimal shape, plus the Warriors are now discussing the possibility of sitting Stephen Curry the rest of the year to ensure no more damage to those ankles. This move was obviously a move made with next year and beyond in mind and one that signifies the Warriors basically giving up on this season. The problem I do have with it, is why they couldn't do it sooner if this was their plan all along? If they would have done this trade 2-3 weeks ago, they would have accumulated more losses and would have been in much better draft position than they are know.

While the Warriors are making moves for the 2012-13 season and trying to lose out this season and get their top-7 draft pick, across the bay, the 49ers have hiked up their efforts in free agency and are too making moves to improve their 2012 squad. They've been so active lately that I haven't even been able to take a day off from posting here, it just seems like rumors or deals have just kept popping up over the last few days, starting with the signing of Randy Moss. Tuesday night though, the 49ers ensured that all 11 starters of their 3rd ranked defense will be returning by retaining all-pro corner Carlos Rogers, to a 4 year deal. The deal is in the $25M neighborhood, which isn't bad for a #1 corner when you look at what Cortland Finnegan just got from St. Louis ($50 million over 6 years). And after the signing of Perrish Cox, Carlos Rogers and Randy Moss in the last 2 days, the 49ers appear to just be getting started. They're apparently still going hard after a wide receiver and have a few coming up to Northern California for a visit. Former Raider, injury-prone but skilled receiver, Chaz Shillins will be heading to Santa Clara to meet with 49ers front office, but the biggest name and perhaps the most impacting of the guys they're now discussing is former 49er, Brandon Lloyd. The former 49er left San Francisco and turned into one of the better wideouts in the NFL, and it's not like he had Aaron Rogers or Tom Brady throwing him the ball either.

Of the remaining free agent receivers, I really like Lloyd for this team, the thing is though, a lot of teams will be perusing Lloyd, so it's not like they'll get him on a Randy Moss or Braylon Edwards type deal. They'd need to give him some guaranteed cash and probably a substantial amount, being that Lloyd's value is raising each time a receiver comes off the free agent board, and their have been a lot lately. Among those deals was a 5 year, $55 million deal Tampa Bay gave Vincent Jackson. After seeing that money, it made me like the Moss signing even more. Jackson has a similar reputation to Randy's, as he quit on his team last season, much like Randy did with the Raiders a few years back, but I'm hoping and the 49ers are banking that those days are behind Moss. The two spots needing the most depth heading into the offseason for the Niners were WR and CB, and they're making solid progress in both areas! You add Brandon Lloyd to that mix, and you really have revamped that receiving core that accounted for just 4 yards in the NFC Championship game.

Five Moves To Consider Before NBA Deadline

In this shortened NBA season, the trade deadline is just a month after this All-Star weekend, and NBA people are expecting there to be a lot of movement between now and that March 29th deadline. Here are five moves that contenders should make, or that should happen before that deadline

Move #1: Dwight Howard out of Orlando: Now, wherever he ends up, that team obviously becomes a contender automatically, but there are a number of teams he could end up with and he may very well stay put in Orlando. This is why I say this is the number one move as far shaping contending teams' rosters down the stretch. With a Howard, a healthy JRich, Anderson having the year he's having and Jameer Nelson continues his February comeback, then Orlando's legit. Again though, unless they deal Howard to some team for a draft pick and a project youngster like, say a DeAndre Jordan for example, then they should be able to attain enough in return to keep them contenders in the East. Their best bet was the Howard-for-Bynum deal that LA supposedly offered. I mean, the general consensus is Bynum is center #2 in the NBA, younger and cheaper than Howard? He'd give them someone to really build around who they know wouldn't be asking out in a year or two. Or, they should look to New Jersey and try and milk MarShon Brooks, Anthony Morrow and Brook "BroLo" Lopez out of the deal, then I think they end up fine there as well. He'll be the most watched player as the deadline approaches, but either way, the Magic should be contenders no matter what happens.

Deal #2: Steve Nash or Ramon Sessions to LA Lakers- The Lake show need a point guard that wasn't playing in the 1980's (no offense D-Fish, you've had your time), but seriously, how they expect to keep winning and keep Kobe fresh with him orchestrating the offense is asking for trouble. They've been focusing on Howard, but they have two twin-towers in Gasol and Bynum and don't need Howard! They need a ball handler and a guy who can hit a 3. Nash would be ideal, cause of his outside shot and he'd be a monster with Bynum and Gasol. Just not sure the Lake Show have anything Phoenix would want (they wouldn't give them Bynum or Gasol for 38 year-old Nash) so it may make more sense for LA to see a deal for the highly underrated Ramon Sessions. His assists-per-minute ratio are out of this world. He's not the defender, clutch shooter or winner Nash has been, but he'd fit perfectly with what the Lakers are need! A young/upside guy like Andre Goudelock and/or Josh McRoberts should be plenty enough for Cleveland, especially since they'd get nothing when Sessions walks as a free agent after the year and there aren't many teams rushing for his services!

Deal #3: Chris Kaman/Emeka Okafor to the Heat: Miami got exposed last year in the finals going against Tyson Chandler and they can't have that happen again. They need someone in the middle who can start and command respect and unfortunately, Joel Anthony just isn't that guy yet. Kaman is the best option with a contract expiring at the end of the year and could give the Heat exactly what they need, 12-14 points and 10 boards with blocks and the ability to defend 7-footers. Right now, you put Andrew Bynum, Dwight Howard or Al Jefferson up against them, and those guys have field days. They need one of their own, not a superstar or anything, but someone why can do a little of that and stop it as well and Kaman seems to be the most logical choice of centers on the market and a move like that could literally lock up the Championship for Miami, cause that's their only weakness right now. Joel Anthony is a great backup and plays with energy, but doesn't have the skill-set to play with the upper echelon of NBA Centers. Emeka Okafor, Kaman's teammate would also fit that mold, maybe more so than Kaman. Okafor is more of a defensive minded center, and probably better than Kaman, and Miami certainly isn't in shortage of scorers.

Deal #4: Paul Pierce to the Spurs: The dagger-thrower deserves another shot at a tittle, and fits picture perfectly in with the aging San Antonio Spurs. Boston has made no bones about the fact they want to deal Pierce, but that's probably only because he'll bring a lot more in return than either Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen. Why else would you want to deal your franchise's longest tenured star? If they do indeed send him off, San Antonio is the spot for him. The Spurs could package either DeJuan Blair or Tiago Splitter, Gary Neal and the young, impressive Kawhi Leonard to Boston; though it would be a blow to their future chances, it gives them another shot at a tittle run or two with Tim Duncan and the Italian assassin, Manu Ginobli, still playing at a sturdy levels. Richard Jefferson just isn't getting it done and they need more help from the wing spot than just the banged up Ginobli. Ray Allen is another guy who makes sense for this team. But the Spurs, surprisingly, are another scorer away from being legit title contenders again.

Deal #5: Ray Allen to the Bulls:Speaking of that Pierce deal, if Boston does that, they could end up shipping Ray Allen out of town as well and keeping KG and Rondo to re-build around. KG has lost a step, but has so much flexibility and every rebuilding team needs a solid veteran presence. The Bulls are looking for another veteran scoring guard and have been less than impressed with what they've gotten out of the often injured Rip Hamilton. Ray Allen would be a sniper, catching balls off of Derrick Rose's dribble-drive or Boozer and Noah's kick-outs. Exactly the kind of 3-point tosser this team needs. They should have made a larger offer to Jason Richardson before the season, as JRich recently conceded that his final two choices came down to Chicago or returning to Orlando. JRich in Chicago right now with that core of talent would have been a nice fit. Ray Allen though, is the perfect compliment to a young, athletic, good defensive squad! I just don't think they can handle Miami with relying on Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer as their primary offensive pieces.

Now, just because we didn't mention the Warriors in there, doesn't mean I don't think they should be active before the deadline. They simply aren't contenders, but they should be as active as anyone at the deadline. They need to figure out whether they're going to add and make a playoff run, or subtract, play youngsters and hope for that top-7 pick. The ladder seems to make more since seeing that even if the Dubs made the playoffs as a 8th seed, they'd never beat the Thunder in round one. Unless they can land a legit big man that they can keep past this season, they really should consider dealing away role players who've played so well for them, and cash in on those guys while their value is high. I'm talking Brandon Rush and Nate Robinson and maybe even Dorrell Wright, granted you got the right package in return. Give those minutes to guys like Jeremy Tyler, Klay Thompson and Charles Jenkins, and it bodes better for your future in so many ways! I'm actually curious, do to their lack of big men, that Tyler hasn't been thrown into the fire more often. Anyway, the NBA second half is about to begin, and if you do any NBA or March Madness wagering, we encourage you check out TopBet Sportsbook. If I were to bet myself, I'd say of the above five suggested moves, at least one of them will come to fruition by the deadline!

Bay Area Sports Notes

With the Holliday season upon us, I thought I'd run down the various teams in the Bay Area that we cover her at The Journal, and let you know where each team currently stands. We've been talking Niners in every post so we'll hold back off them (just scroll down for our last post on the), but what about the Warriors, the Giants, the A's and Raiders?
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Warriors Notes:

First off, the Warriors made a move for a much needed big man this week, inking former Michael Jordan protege and #1 pick Kwame Brown. I don't necessarily love the deal, but it sure beats throwing huge dollars at an un-proven DeAndre Jordan in my eyes. I don't get the infatuation with Jordan, he can jump and rebound and cause havoc in the middle, but so can Epke Udoh and Brown will bring just that kind of presence if he's motivated and healthy. Not saying I think Brown's a better player than Jordan, just saying that the W's have overpaid their share for mediocre big men already. I'm glad they didn't waste a bunch of money in order to do so and got themselves a defensive presence in Brown. Kwame's never lived up to his #1 pick billing, so people will always look upon him with a frown, but he's a Warrior now and he's got my full backing. If the W's get the player who showed up in Charlotte in the 2nd half (10/7 per night), then he'll probably take the starting job from Biedrins without much of a fight. The only other center being possibly discussed was Samuel Dalembert, so Brown doesn't look so bad considering. What surprised me the most upon hearing this signing was that Biedrins was not amnestied, instead they used it on Charlie Bell. Should make for an interesting small preseason!
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Giants Notes:

On the Giants front, their offseason has been very quiet outside of two mid-range trades in which they've added Angel Pagan from New York and Melky Cabrera from Kansas City. With the two moves, the Giants appear to have done their major work this winter, with the chance of them still signing a utility infielder and a right-handed hitting outfielder before spring training. If they are indeed done though, I can't say I'm overly impressed with what Sabean has done. I like Pagan and Cabrera as players and believe the Giants made good deals, but they still need pop in that lineup. Someone who can hit more than the 20 HR's Pablo and Buster will give them. They're banking on Huff, Sanchez, Posey, Crawford and Belt all improving by standing pat, and that's a lot to ask. As always, for our daily, in-depth Giants talk, check out The Giants Baseball Blog!
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A's Notes:

Onto the A's, who have moved into full on sale mode once again. Luckily though, they traded the right pitching in my mind in Cahill instead of Gonzalez, but they still could deal Gonzalez away as well. They sent Cahill to Arizona for a speedy average hitting outfielder in Collin Cowgill, and a few young arms in Jarrod Parker (starting pitcher) and Ryan Cook (relief pitcher). Now, Parker is a nice young arm, who projects out to be a 3 or 4 starter, but Cook looks like a mid-reliever and I'd be surprised if Cowgill becomes a successful MLB regular. In other words, I think AZ won this deal hands down, getting a potential 23 year-old ace under control for years and not even near his prime yet. I know he had a hiccup in 2011, but he was still one of the most consistent starters in that rotation and again, he's 23! Seems to me for a 23 year-old #1-2 starter, they could have gotten an already proven everyday player (Drew, Montero, Perra?), as well as the team's top pitching prospect like Parker. I mean, Cahill's younger than Parker, and already has years under his belt!
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Raiders Notes:

I'm going on longer than I was planning, so I have to keep the Raiders notes short and sweet. This team hasn't tanked like everyone in the Bay Area media is saying they have, they've actually played quite well up until the last few weeks considering the QB change in season and all the injury problems on the O-line and wideout spots, but the ultimate missing piece has been Darren McFadden, who just made this offense go when he was on the field. No knock on Mike Bush, who's playing well in DMC's absence and is good enough to start in this league, but he doesn't catch the ball like DMC or have that game-breaking speed. Also, Denarious Moore and Jacoby Ford, arguably the two most vertical threats on the roster, who also have great rapport with Carson Palmer (who we'll analyze more since the trade soon!), have been non-existent the last month. Even so, the only game this team lost that they really shouldn't have since the bye was the game vs. Miami in week 13. They could have played better vs. Green Bay, but they weren't winning that game with Rogers having the year he is. All in all, the Broncos are in better shape right now, as they both have pretty equal ending schedules, but Denver hasn't lose a game since October!
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49ers: Since we do so many 49ers posts here and this blog has become a psuedo-49ers Blog, this post will be 49ers-free. Just scroll down for plenty of current Niners talk, including thoughts on Sundays rough loss here?

Also, please join our Twitter Feed here, (under GiantsBlogger) for news on new posts and breaking Bay Area sports news!

Lockout Unlocks: NBA Back in Business

Well, they've already missed about a month of regular season action do to on-going discussions regarding the new CBA, but things finally took a turn for the best over the weekend. As soon as the new deal is ratified, which should happen any day now, the National Basketball Association will be back in business.

Now, don't expect to see free agents signing anywhere once the CBA has been ratified, as free agency wont start until December 9th. However, do expect teams and players to start discussions immediately, and deals to be unofficially announced even before that date. Speaking of free agency, this class isn't necessarily stocked with premium talent and has nowhere near the star power it did in summer 2010, but there are still a few nice players on this market that could come in and help a team like the Warriors. I've been thinking that the W's best chance to upgrade their roster would be via trade, but the one spot where the Warriors are weak happens to be the most stocked position on the free agent market, center. Andris Biedrins is currently the starter and is making over $10M this season, but has really had a rough couple of seasons since Barron Davis left the Bay Area. I'm not sure the Warriors are confident in starting the season with the thought of giving Biedrins huge minutes at center. They could deal him, or cut his work load way back, but it shouldn't keep them for exploring ways to improve themselves. The two guys I'd like to see them at least inquire about are Nene Hilario and Mark Gasol. Nene would bring the type of defense that Biedrins has failed at while Gasol would bring consistency, athleticism and scoring to the front-court. Nene is unrestricted, so would be an easier target, yet he's the consensus #1 free agent out there, so he could be tough to snag.

Now, as far as the details in the new Labor Agreement, I'm not going to go through each thing and ramble about it here, although here is a list of the changes to the new agreement. The only thing that jumped out at me when glancing over the new agreement is that the league will still be able to squeeze a 66-game schedule out of this by having teams play on back-to-back-to-back nights on numerous occasions throughout the season. Tip for Warriors head coach Mark Jackson, get your team in shape and keep youngsters for that bench because those 3 consecutive game nights will drain a team. Luckily for the Warriors, their average age in their starting lineup is 25, so it could be an advantage for them especially if Jackson has them running offensively. We don't know yet exactly when the tip-off for the regular season will be, as the new CBA has yet to be ratified, but NBA officials have stated they're shooting to be open before Christmas, which is their biggest non-playoff night of the year as far as television ratings. David Stern is way too greedy to let that cash cow slip by him, so I fully expect the NBA to be in regular season mode by the end of December. The real question is, how long is it going to take teams to start playing their brand of basketball after such a long layoff and virtually no training camp? Time will tell, but it's certainly great to have the NBA back... Fantasy Draft Time!

Warriors Grab Klay Thompson With Pick 11

At first, I cringed at the pick, but the more I've looked at it up and down, the more I'm starting to see some logic in the selection of Thompson. I would have liked more of a power guard like Burks or a power big-man like one of the Morris', but Thompson should provide a key component for the Warriors; a sharp-shooter who can put up 20 ppg with ease.

As for the draft as a whole, I thought it started out great for the Warriors chances with all the European guard/forward hybrids going so highly, while players like Brandon Knight (the guy I really wanted to see the W's move for) and Kemba Walker waited and waited to hear their names called. In fact Walker didn't go until one pick ahead of Golden State at #1, and I can only imagine the dilemma that Larry Riley and Mark Jackson wound have faced had Walker fallen to them at 11? I think it would have been a draft Walker/trade Ellis scenario if that were the case, but it wasn't. Instead, the Warriors went with Thomoson, the Jr. out of Washington State which, again, kind of left me a little curious at the moment. Immediately after Thompson went, the guys I was hoping for, SG Alec Burks or one of the Morris brothers, Marcus or Markieff, were taken off the board in succession, so that had me thinking again; did the W's make the right move, or is Jerry West stuck in the 70's. Burks is more of that in your face, take it to the rim, true 2 guard who really reminds me a little bit of JRich and Stephen Jackson. As much as I like watching Ellis and Curry play together, I think this team needs a big 2 guard, one who can defend the likes of Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durrant and one who can get to the line 10 times per night. But one thing neither will likely do as well as Thompson, especially in their rookie year, is score the basketball!

Now, they had their chance to do that with Burks, or even re-make their front line with a Morris, but hopefully by passing on them, Larry Riley has something up his sleeve, cause the team is a little deep with guards now who will want minutes. You can't forget about 2nd round pick Charles Jenkins, who many projected as a 1st rounder. Riley, West and Jackson have to figure out the guard situation where Thompson, Wright, Curry, Ellis etc... will all be in the mix, or he's gotta deal Ellis. In reality, they could use a 3-man rotation at the guard spot with Thompson learning behind Monta, then if Thompson asserts himself, Monta could become a big trade chip come February, but then you run the risk of damaging chemistry. Unless they have a plan to keep everyone happy and playing, it may have been wiser for Golden State to have taken that big man who could play 25-30 minutes per night right off the bat and allow their guard situation to gel as is, if that's what they want. Now Thompson makes you wonder a bit. The Warriors didn't need another scorer, certainly not a perimeter scorer. Now if they can deal one of these guards for a true big man, say an Al Jefferson from Utah, then I'd absolutely have an improved view on this pick. As of now though, I can't give them anything higher than a C+/B- for adding a guy who'd be lucky to be another Dorrell Wright-type.

The Dubs did get a big man though, sneaking in a late first rounder in a deal with Charlotte, but Jeremy Tyler is hardly the guy Warrior fans had in mind coming into this draft as the post factor they needed.

WRD Grade for Warriors Draft: C+

More NBA Draft Coverage to Come!

Warriors Draft Preview

The Draft is creeping up quicker than I anticipated, as the Golden State Warriors' brass, including the new comer, Mark Jackson, are currently cramming together their last minute game plan for the 2011 NBA draft.

There has been all sorts of names tossed out there from the Spanish "Dikembe", Bismack Biyambo, to Washington State SG Klay Thompson and Kansas PF Marcus Morris or even the free-falling Jimmer Freddette. It appears almost certain that the top-6 will be PG Kyle Irving, PF Derek Williams, PG Brandon Knight, C Enes Kanter, F Jan Vesely, and PG Kemba Walker. Obviously, you can tell it's a point guard heavy draft, and it just so happens the teams selecting high in the draft could certainly use a strong guard. That could also bode well for the Warriors, should they decide to try and pawn Monta Ellis off onto one of those teams in order to move into position to get an Enes Kanter or Derek Williams, but that's all speculation. What I do believe though, is there is going to be somebody worth drafting when the Warriors select 11th in Thursday's NBA Draft. A lot of basketball people feel Washington State junior SG Klay Thompson would be a nice fit. A big, 6'6" 2 guard who can shoot the lights out and could look very nice along side Steph Curry in the backcourt. Problem with Thompson though, is that he lacks defense, and isn't a great play-maker yet.

The guy I'm hoping will fall down to the W's, who's know projected to go #10 to Milwaukee (according to DraftExpress), is the post-dominant Marcus Morris. The thing I like so much about Morris is that he reminds me of a young Elton Brand and is a guy who lives in the paint and succeeds. As much as the Warriors were hoping David Lee would be that guy last year, that really just isn't his style, he's more of a free-playing power forward who runs around. I think the Warriors could draft Morris and use him with Lee on the front line a lot, giving the team 2 completely different looks up front. Then they could use Epke Udoh and Andris Biedrins as purely rebounders and defenders with no obligation of scoring. It would also enable the team to keep the duo-guard threat of Curry and Ellis, which appears their plan. Either way, if the Warriors are indeed going to deal Ellis, it better certainly be for a sure thing, and not another Jason Richardson deal! They better get a Brandon Knight or Kyle Irving or a young, all-star NBA point guard which would allow Steph to move into his more natural spot.

5 Possible Draft Scenarios:

-Draft a true PG, trade Monta, move Steph to SG
-Draft big man scoring presence, the type David Lee did not provide (Morris)
-Draft big bodied defender/shot blocker, the Adonal Foyel that never produced (Biyombo)
-Scoring SG (Thompson), allowing a trade of Ellis or Lee for another big scoring threat
-Trade down

Dark Horses:

SG Alex Burks, Colorado: Burks is a bright young scorer who reminds me very much of Jason Richardson with a twist of Dwayne Wade the way he gets to the hoop. Not quite polished from beyond the arch, which may hurt him, but I still think he's a better all-around player than Klay Thompson.

SF Chris Singleton, Florida St.: Super defender, but may not have a place in Golden State with the emergence of Dorrell Wright, but would compliment the 3-point sniper, as well as come in and overpower strong SG's with ease. Still isn't quite a polished scorer, though that could come.

My Hope: Marcus Morris or Alex Burks (latest poll has him dropping out of top-10... He and Steph would be amazing.. Kidd and Terry Pt. 2, but better, and no Monta attitude!). I really think Freddette is a great talent, but he's basically a Stephen Curry clone, and what the heck would they do if they ended up with Freddette, Curry and Ellis, all 6'2" tweener guards? That said, my draft philosophy in all draft, unless your picking in the top-10, is take the best player available and that's what I think I see the W's doing. If they don't like any of the top-15 players, they should trade down a few spots and target Marcus Morris's brother Markieff Morris, a real physical center (6'11'', 260 pounds) who has the skill-set to come in and take the job right away from Biedrins.

My Guess: SG Klay Thomspon or F/C Bismack Biyambo: The Warriors are gaga over Thompson, and I have a hard time seeing them pass on him if he falls to them... If he doesn't, Biyambo should, and the W's will see the defensive upside and go for it!

Warriors Hire Jackson, Shift Focus to Draft

Well, it's not breaking news to anyone who follows the Warriors closely, but since we've been so wrapped up in baseball lately, we just haven't had a chance to touch on it yet.

The Warriors now have hired their 3rd head coach in as many seasons as their first attempt to replace Don Nelson with Kieth Smart last season didn't go as planned. In comes Mark Jackson, the former Indiana Pacers point guard who has been a basketball analysis on cable and has stayed very much within the realm of the NBA since his playing days ended in the early 2000's. I think Jackson is a guy who could relate to the team very well, as he's been there and was a star NBA point guard himself not to long ago. After having the ancient Nelson and his protege Kieth Smart, I think the younger coach and new approach will be a sight for sore eyed Warrior fans. Still, Jackson has no coaching experience, and doesn't appear as if he's entertaining the idea of bringing on a big name assistant, Del Curry's name has been tossed out there as a possible assistant for Jackson, especially with his relationship with Warriors consultant Jerry West. I don't mind Jackson wanting all control of things, I actually see it as more confident than cocky. He has an idea of what this team should look like and he said all the right things during his press conference. Again though, only time will tell as to whether or not he'll pan out, but so far, so good as far as new coach Mark Jackson is concerned.

The Warriors now can turn their focus fully to the NBA draft, where they'll be selecting 11th in a few weeks. I really like that big Enes Canter out of Kentucky, as he's scaring away all competition in workouts. Top ranked Power Forward Derek Williams, who is essentially a lock in the top-3, refused any workout scenario that involved him going up against Kanter, which I think tells you a little something about the 6'11" 260 pound Kentucky center! But the guy I have my sight set on is the guy who was aguably college basketball's best post-presence in 2011, and that is Kansas' 6'9" PF, Marcus Morris. The Yahoo Mock draft has the advanced offensive post-player falling down to #10, just 1 slot below Golden State, if they can move up a spot or 2 to ensure they land this guy, I would be all for it. As far as Yahoo's Mock draft goes for the Warriors, they have them selecting Span Forward/Center Bismick Buyombo, but judging the Warriors last few overseas draft picks, It wouldn't surprise me to see them stay in the states with this one. If that's the case, Morris would be my guy by all means necessary!

Warriors Roll to 5-2 Start

The Warriors are off to one of their better starts in recent years, and with good health, they have the talent in their starting 5 to keep it up all year long.

Much like with the Giants, we do a lot of our in-depth Warriors stuff over at The Warriors Rundown, but we'll do plenty of GSW hoops talk here as well. I just wanted to touch on a few things, cause this team looks pretty darn good through the first 2 weeks. The big thing that I'm noticing, is that they're doing it without big contributions from their bench. Gone are the days when Anthony Morrow would come in and give you 20 off the bench, or Kellenna Azubuike would come in and really give opponents match-up nightmares. They were counting on Brandan Wright stepping up and being a big part of this rotation, and he looked a little better in the win over Toronto, but he's been obsolete for the most part. The biggest weakness right now though is the lack of a true back-up point guard. Instead of having C.J. Watson, Keith Smart has been relegated to the services of Rodney Carney (7 ppg, 3 rpg, 1 apg) and Jeremy Lin (don't even want to post his low numbers) as the main backup's to Curry and Monta. The Warriors also haven't gotten much out of last years breakout player, Reggie Williams. After averaging 15 points and 4.5 boards per game in his rookie year, he's gotten off to a horrendously slow start so far. When he's playing good, it allows Smart the chance to rest Ellis or Curry, otherwise the W's are at a bid disadvantage with both of them resting together.

Now, as far as the starters, they're really doing their job, especially Dorrell Wright, Monta Ellis and the injured Stephen Curry. Wright is having a breakout year, and is showing his wide array of abilities now that he's not completely overshadowed by Dwayne Wade. He's averaging over 16 points, 4.4 boards and 2.7 assists per night so far, and I think the Warriors have found themselves their small forward of the future. He's a tremendous 3-point shooter, is very athletic and is a lanky 6'9" so he got great reach on defense. The one area that I'd like to see him improve on a bit is rebounding. With his height and length alone, he should be grabbing 6-8 boards a night. If he can manage that, with his shooting and defense, he's going to be a very good player. He kind of reminds me of a hybrid between Rashard Lewis (length and shooting) and Caron Butler (aggressive, active defensively). The one guy who has yet to really breakout in the Warriors starting lineup is newcomer David Lee, but I think we could be in store for something Wednesday night when he visits his old stomping grounds. Lee's been solid, averaging a double-double, but he isn't scoring at the rate he did while in New York.... This Warrior starting looks solid, good enough to go to the playoffs for sure, but I just don't know that they have the depth at this point.