State of the Warriors: Missed Chances At The Trade Deadline
Published February 26, 2008
Okay, I'll admit it, I'm a little peeved at being a Golden State Warriors fan. You might ask why? After all, the Warriors are still soaring following the playoff upset against the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA playoffs last year and having a superb season despite being in a Western Conference that is, for lack of a better term, insane.
No, I'm not peeved that they are finally doing well. I'm peeved that I'm not the ONLY fan anymore. All of these people suddenly wearing Baron Davis jerseys are the same ones that can't wait to tell you how Monte Ellis has the best mid-range jumper since Rip Hamilton decided a face mask can improve your jump shot. But I remember being awfully lonely when the most clutch player on our team was 5'5'' and named Earl. I also remember the team when they happily took in above average players from a decade before and proudly displayed them in the arena. Shall we run down the list?
John Starks? Check. Vinny Del Negro? Check. Mookie Blaylock? Check. Bimbo Coles? Wait, who?
Check mate.
Okay, so I'm just venting. Somewhere down deep inside I'm glad I no longer have to be ashamed to be a Warriors fan. Even better, I can now talk to other human beings about the team since I'm not longer the only multicellular organism watching them play. That being said, I have some other ranting to do.
One franchise-changing trade later, we're still here.
Make no mistake, the Warriors pulled off two trades that finally changed the ill-fated fortunes of a franchise destined for failure. The first was trading for Baron Davis, a powerful PG with a propensity for big shots while seemingly addicted to the injury reserve list. The second was the off loading of Mike Dunleavy, Jr., Troy Murphy, and Ike Diogu for Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington (Yeah, there were other players involved, but where are they now?) Both moves made it possible to forget that Adonal Foyle was ever drafted... almost.
One year later, here the Warriors are staring at the bottom seeds of a conference that defies logic. All of the major teams in the Western conference made trades that could make or break their championship aspirations. Now Kobe has Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki has Jason Kidd, and geez, even Deron Williams has Kyle Korver. What do the Warriors have?
Chris Webber. Don't call a timeout, Chris, I know you want to.
Someone please tell Chris Mullin that it's not 1994. I don't see Doc Brown or a flux capacitor, so get that idea out of your head. This is not the Webber from those dominant Kings teams, this is Webber at the twilight of his career. And while he is serviceable (but certainly not a starter), what the Warriors really needed was a big man who could rebound and pound it down low...not a guy that only shoots the elbow jumper.
- State of the Warriors: Missed Chances At The Trade Deadline
- Published: February 26, 2008
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Sports
- Filed Under: Sports: Basketball
- Writer: Tam Hoang
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I like Webber. In the NBA you have to be able to play fast and the half court game. Webber helps them in the half court game. He is a terrific passer. To say, don't call a timeout is lame, outdated, and unoriginal. Part of the reason you don't like Webber is because of a timeout he called when he was 20?
"To say, don't call a timeout is lame, outdated, and unoriginal."
No, that's actually still funny. Like Nolan Ryan putting Ventura in a headlock.
I've watched every game Webber has played in, and I can say that he has not had a discernable effect on the Warriors. Granted, he is rusty, but at the moment his only offense is indeed the elbow jumper and his defense is limited to being a big body. His passing was excellent several years ago, and it is still adequate today. But there is a reason he plays 14 mins in the 1st half and you don't see him again the rest of the game.
And I don't hate Webber. I was upset when he originally left, not so much at him specially as I was at everyone involved. But I do think that it was a mistake to sign him when you have young, big men on your bench with talent.
And yes, the time-out thing is still funny. It's not the reason I dislike the guy, but I can't help myself. You must have had money on Michigan =P
You pointed it out yourself. The reason they made no moves is because they have so many players who need to be signed in the offseason. If we had made a trade, we'd have added another contract and risked losing Baron, Monta, or Biedrins. Why get rid of young talent in order to move a spot or two up in the west? Our future is bright and we may not do much damage this year, but the coming years will be great. They made the right decision.
Well, let me play devil's advocate here. What if we aren't able to resign 2 out of the 3 players you just mentioned? If we lost Baron and Biedrins, could we field a team that could compete night in and night out as we are doing now?
I guess my problem is that every team has a window where they have the best shot at winning a championship. I'll use the TWolves as an example. When they had Garnett, Cassell, and Sprewell they had a window there. It was a fairly short window and partly due to losing those players, and while those players are much older than alot of our young, talented guys I think the example still fits. I don't know how big out window of opportunity is. You could argue we have such young talent we should be competing for years. But I'll stay reserved for the moment and I'm of the opinion that there's a good chance that we won't be able to resign some of these guys. Baron is almost 30 now and injury prone (not so much this year), and he's going to want a max contract. Is he worth the investment? I think so. But I'm not the one making that decision.
I think its fine to feel good about our future, but to me we have an incredible opportunity right here and now with this squad. This time next year we might not have Captain Jack or Baron, and so much of our success is based on team chemistry. I really hope you're right, but being a Warriors fan, you know we're bound to get a bad ball bounce our way.
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I think that webber can help the warriors against Boozer- he needs to keep improving his conditioning.
The warriors can handle the spurs. (2-0 so far this season). Just look out for the Jazz and the Lakers in the playoffs. Dallas might be troublesome. Brandon Bass was a good addition to their squad as a 1 man anti-warrior unit.