Kawakami is reporting that Monta's agent is going to meet with management on Thursday. Reports say that Don Nelson told Monta to "be quiet" when Monta tried to address the team for their poor performance against the Clippers. I've been super critical of Monta because he hasn't been a leader, among other things, but if that report is true, I would be discouraged to take on that role. Regardless of this report, I still think Monta is a flawed player and he's right, he can't play with Curry. He won't play with Curry. And Curry is the better player. However, what I fear is Don Nelson antagonizing Randolph and then Curry and then everyone else that shows promise. This is bad, folks. Here's the link: http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawaka...ll-boil-at-thursday-meeting-trade-inevitable/
Unbelievable. Oh by the way Bell is going to have surgery on his arm: http://twitter.com/PDcavsinsider And Azu is officially out for the year. FML.
The constant is always Nellie. If the Warriors can get a talented big man for Monta and hopefully dump Maggette in the process they should go for it. Then fire Nellie and start rebuilding the team with a coach who knows how to develop big men and is focused on defense and scoring from the inside-out. Emeka Okafor is rumored to be on the block.
That's another black eye for this team. A player would rather have season ending surgery than suit up with the Warriors.
I think Monta has a lot more value than Sjax and will be easier to trade. Look at teams that need scoring. I know I got torched for this, but Chicago needs scoring and they have Kirk Hinrich that would be a good fit with Curry.
I like the Curry-Morrow backcourt and it would work really well if the Warriors added a big man who could draw double teams freeing these guys up for spot up 3's.
It makes a lot of sense for Bell and I expected this move. He's going to be a free agent next year and it's a lot easier to get a contract with a wrist that's...you know...not broken. And he probably wouldn't be able to help the Warriors do much this year anyway (especially with a gimpy wrist).
Monta has a big market, contract or not. He's a young, fast, scorer, he could be AI in a couple of seasons, just unstoppable. He's marketable and will probably net a good return (plus attractive enough to make someone take Maggette back.) They always talk about Memphis hankering for him, how about getting a Gasol and Mayo? (Not Gay, that guy was non-tendered for a reason.) Look at what the Hawks have done; Rockets, Bucks, even the Kings. They've shown that you can rebuild to be respectable. Rebuilding stinks, but you cannot have a malcontent be your star (and alienating your two best young stars is not a good recipe either). Just read Kawakami's blog for insight into the Monta situation and I really want him to stay. He gets it, he tried to address the team as the supposed leader after the Clips disaster and Nellie cut him off and told him "to be quiet." Okay, Nellie is an idiot and the sooner the better. I was rooting for him to get the record as a W coach simply out of respect for his past, but his acts now, like that Monta incident and giving Curry 2 mins. at MSG is unforgivable. He's King Lear, worried that someone is going to pull a coup. GOODBYE NELLIE!!
It may not be that bad of an idea at this point. Hinrich's salary also declines while Monta's is constant. Including Monta's final year player option, this deal would save the Warriors something like $28M over the next 4+ years. So it saves money but certainly makes the team worse, again. But as you say, Monta does have value so I would like to see him used to move Maggette if possible. Let's really clean house if we're going to go there. What makes these moves difficult is we just don't know how long Nelson will be here. Nelson leaving could change a lot. Right now it's hard to see how Nelson stays even until the All-Star break under these conditions, but who knows?
Yeah, I failed to bring up the finances involved. Hinrich's contract is for 3 more years, including this one: 9.5 (this season) - 9.0 (2010) - 8.0 (2011). I honestly don't think it makes the team worse. Watching Hinrich D up Paul Pierce last post season was pretty impressive. I doubt Maggette could be packaged in with Ellis. Their contracts combined are just too much for one team to take unless they offload a bad contract on us. At this point, they should not look to add salary beyond what they have right now. Wouldn't that be something though, if the Warriors somehow managed to offload all of their long-term contracts in one season. Would I be inspired by it, not really. It's just an admittance by the Warriors that they made horrible business decisions. What makes us think they'll make better choices going forward?
Yeah, at this point, it seems like the Warriors have been rebuilding for the last 15 years, and yet everything they have done up to this point has been completely pointless. All the players that have come and gone. All the draft picks. All the trades. All the contracts. All the promises... Still at square 1. And going down hill. The only effects from their rebuilding are Monta (who wants to leave), Wright (who is in Nellie's dog house), Randolph (who is in Nellie's dog house), and Curry (who may be the only piece of the puzzle to stay in Golden State). This really couldn't have gone downhill any faster, after that PO run against the Mavs a few years back. Just all down the toilet. I really like Morrow, Randolph, Biedrins, Monta, and Curry... but at this point I won't be surprised to see them all get packaged for aging vets who opt for surgery or buyouts or whatever. The Nellie era really does have to end for anything else to begin, it seems.
A couple things. The Bulls are angling for a free agent next year, and Ellis makes more than Hinrich, so that's not going to work. I also don't see Ellis as a very good fit next to Derrick Rose. We need someone who can shoot three pointers. Monta isn't that guy. He's basically Rose with less pure PG game. I think if I were trying to sell Monta, I'd be looking at a team that conceivably needs a long-run solution at PG. The Pacers, Hawks (Given Bibby's age), Sixers, Rockets. The Knicks would certainly take him if you took one of their shitbag contracts (Jeffries or Curry) back.
I can't believe we're having these discussions again... How can the public put pressure on Cohan to sell. Seriously, enough is enough.
"FOX 40 Sports just spoke with Golden State Warriors Guard Monta Ellis who confirms he expects a trade. The Jackson native and former Lanier Bulldog says he expects a trade to either the Houston Rockets or Miami Heat. Ellis' agent is meeting with the team." http://www.my601.com/content/sports/story/Monta-Ellis-Expects-Trade/WqsyBEulKkibzvL_lqp2RA.cspx
Wow, didn't expect the rumor to actually have some merit. It's kind of sad and it's really not Monta's fault at all, yes he messed up with the scooter, but he's moved past it and kept playing. If GS doesn't obtain at least 1 first round lottery unprotected draft pick, or equivalent young talent that was recently drafted, then it's not worth it to give up Monta. You have to rebuild while maintaining some talent, not just blow it all up. No team can with with high draft picks alone, you have to build a team.
Looked at the Heat and the Rockets to speculate on potential offers, but not exactly too thrilled. Of the two possibilities, the Rockets look much better. The Heat would give some combo of either Haslem or QRich (both expiring), filler, and possibly a draft pick which would end up in the 20's. The Rockets could do better, with a combination of several players on shorter, extremely reasonable contracts (some combination of Battier, Landry, Scola, Lowry I'd imagine, although there is the longshot of putting together Maggette and Monta for expiring contract McGrady or Yao or something similarly insane) but it's hard for me to get an exact combo that would make me pull the trigger on either side. To be honest I rather just trade our front office for Darryl Morey, who's my favorite GM right now.
