<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Warriors getting busy filling out roster By Geoff Lepper CONTRA COSTA TIMES OAKLAND -- After weeks of inactivity this offseason, the Warriors roster is rapidly filling up. Ten-year veteran forward Austin Croshere is expected to sign a one-year deal with Golden State this morning, team sources said. And the Warriors have inked 2006 draft pick Kosta Perovic to a multiyear deal, according to Perovic's agent, Bill Duffy. The moves mean Golden State -- which had no official comment on either signing but is expected to announce both deals today -- has 14 of its 15 roster slots filled. That includes restricted free-agent forward Mickael Pietrus, who is on the Warriors' books at the team's qualifying offer of $3.47 million, and doesn't leave much room for rookie forward Stephan Lasme, a second-round selection, unrestricted free-agent forward Matt Barnes or any other new acquisition they might be targeting. Croshere, 6-foot-9 and 235 pounds, averaged 3.7 points and 3.0 rebounds last season in limited action for the Dallas Mavericks (11.9 minutes per game). His best season came in 1999-2000, when he averaged 10.3 points and 6.4 boards per game for an Indiana Pacers team that went to the NBA Finals. At his peak with the Pacers, Croshere shot nearly 40 percent from the 3-point line, but he hit only 28.6 percent from distance last season. Croshere, 32, is well-known by several Warriors. As the No. 12 overall selection in 1997, Croshere spent his rookie season with the Pacers as a teammate of Warriors executive vice president Chris Mullin. In addition to Mullin, Croshere played in Indiana with current Warriors Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson and Sarunas Jasikevicius. Croshere also has ties with star guard Baron Davis -- the two were teammates as prep stars at Crossroads School in Santa Monica. Perovic, 7-2 and 240 pounds, is much more of an unknown. The 38th overall selection two summers ago signed off Wednesday on his deal, which Duffy said "shows a commitment to (Perovic)." It's believed Perovic will receive approximately $5 million over three years, although $1 million of that will go toward Perovic's buyout from his European club, Partizan Belgrade. The total buyout was $1.5 million; the Warriors, per league regulations, are allowed to pick up only $500,000 of that tab. Croshere is believed to be receiving the league-mandated minimum of $1.22 million, but since he's on a one-year deal, the team will be responsible for only $771,000. The league will pick up the rest of Croshere's salary, thanks to rules meant to keep veteran free agents from becoming prohibitively expensive when rounding out a roster. If Pietrus returns to play out the one-year qualifying offer, the Warriors will have $60.2 million committed to their 14 players in 2007-08, leaving them $7.8 million under the luxury-tax threshold. "There's intentions to continue to make this team better and to put the resources in position and to manage the resources properly to be able to accomplish our objective, and that is to put a better basketball team out on the floor than we had last year," team president Robert Rowell said on KNBR radio. "I think we're putting those things in motion, and we're not finished doing what we need to do." Notes: Last season, the Warriors couldn't have asked for a better slate of games to open with -- 13 of their first 17 contests were at Oracle Arena. In the 2007-08 NBA schedule released Thursday, the Warriors have anything but a cushy October and November. The Warriors will be featured on national television 11 times, with six games on ESPN and five more on TNT. Before many of those games take place, however, they'll have to survive a rough opening stretch that features nine road games in the first 16 contests. Even more daunting, six of the home games during that stretch are against teams that won 50 or more games last season: Utah (Oct. 30), Cleveland (Nov. 6), Dallas (Nov. 8), Detroit (Nov. 14), Phoenix (Nov. 26) and Houston (Nov. 29). The Warriors will reap the benefits of all that early pain in February with nine home games and only one night on the road. Among the other dates for fans to circle: Jan. 13, when former longtime Warrior forwards Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy -- the latter a target of frequent booing at Oracle Arena -- return with the Indiana Pacers, and Feb. 1, when Jason Richardson, for years the face of the Golden State franchise, comes back for the first time as a member of the Charlotte Bobcats.</div> http://www.contracostatimes.com/warriors/c...?nclick_check=1 I've been waiting for them to sign this guy. I like it. I think it sends a statement to POB to either fight for his life or get out of the league. With our need for rebounding, I really hope Mullin gives Lasme, Wright, Powell, and Perovic some quality minutes early to see what they can give.
I don't get it... He (Kosta) has not even played in summer league once, and W's will end up with 3 centers that will not see the floor time.
I think maybe he didn't play in the summer league because of his contract status? But either way, Mully and Nellie have seen enough to lock him up for 3 years. Remember, POB is in the last year of his deal. 2008 will be a team option, so he needs to prove something now. But Kosta might surprise some people with his touch around the basket.
I just don't understand how a guy who's athleticism is called into question in every scouting report is going to see any PT......
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I just don't understand how a guy who's athleticism is called into question in every scouting report is going to see any PT...... </div> I never understood the up in arms approach to prospects. If he's not ready, he won't play. Let's see what he can do first.
<div class="quote_poster">CohanHater Wrote</div><div class="quote_post"> If he's not ready, he won't play. </div> Yeah, and in the meantime he takes up a roster spot and a little capspace.
I think the Warriors are trying to go a different direction post-Nelson. If we think about it, Nelson might retire the next year, so now is a good time to start collecting pieces the next coach would want to use (which includes power forwards and centers). Does anyone agree? I mean Nelson is good at small ball, but like many fans have said, it only works up to a certain point. Then we have to be versatile in playing both big and small lineups. Whatever it takes to get the upper hand instead of just playing one way. Of course for that, we need a franchise big player. Hopefully that is somebody soon. I know probably not Perovic.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah, and in the meantime he takes up a roster spot and a little capspace.</div> A "little" cap space is right. And the position he's moving into will eventually have an opening when POB gets dumped. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I think the Warriors are trying to go a different direction post-Nelson. If we think about it, Nelson might retire the next year, so now is a good time to start collecting pieces the next coach would want to use (which includes power forwards and centers)</div> I think that's a part of it, but if you look at the trend of the league, it's moving towards the quicker leaner front court players. It can't hurt to grab guys that will fill up minutes in those roles.
