W's sign Dorrell Wright to 3 year, $11 million contract

Does this mean the Warriors now have the "Wright Brothers?"

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/dorell_wright/career_stats.html

He's 24, 6'9", long, athletic, he's been in the league 5 years, was the 19th pick in the 2004 draft, his best year was 2 years ago when he had 8ppg/5rpg in 25 minutes over 44 games...

Played in 72 games for Miami last year, shot 39% from three, averaged 7ppg/3rpg in 20 minutes a night, basically a young draft pick who was hyped and has yet to do anything in the league after 5 years...

His nba.com picture is a fashion shot of him in a sport jacket...?

I'm confused about this -- this is basically the same money as Morrow, and yet Morrow has way better numbers (13ppg/4rpg/46% from three) and has already proved he can play in the league, dropping 37, having some big games, and being consistently one of the best shooters over a 2 year span.

How do you sign this guy over Morrow?

I mean, I like his potential, and it would be nice if he can fill the SF void, but will Nellie really play him at SF? I see him getting the Al Harrington treatment if anything.

Also, for being a tall, seemingly explosive SF, he doesn't block any shots (last year 0.4 per game). Is he really defensive-minded?

I mean, I hope so. Ideally, maybe he'll have a breakout year, claim a starting role at SF, give Curry a good target on the perimeter, finish some plays, and whatnot -- but right now it seems like this signing is based more on potential than production. Let's hope he can step his game up this year (and start blocking some shots?)

Here's a pretty flattering mix:

[video=youtube;OBkcKKwib4w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBkcKKwib4w[/video]

 

csn couldn't find a picture of him blocking someone over 4'11"???




Actually, looks like he missed the block...

 

Yeah, what Run said. Morrow is a specialist and a scorer. Nothing more. I really like this move. We get him cheaper than Morrow. He's a true SF with size. He is the perfect SF for GSW. We just need one more of him. Matt Barnes!

 

LMAO

 

AO, I don't really think this was about hoping DWright could become something. He is what he is, a role player. He addresses a need for a defensive minded SF. I like that he has size. That's important especially with our undersized backcourt.

 

Yeah, after reading up a bit and watching the tape, he seems pretty explosive and exciting. And apparently he is a good defender (though I'm surprised he doesn't block more shots). If Nellie will promise to play him at the SF and not the PF, then I think it looks like a very good fit for GS. With Nellie though, you never know...

Good point, it definitely adds size and length to help the undersized backcourt. It kind of brings some of that Anthony Randolph length and explosiveness to the team.

Also, he's only been getting 20 minutes, and he's only 24. He does still have time and room to become a good starter. I have read that he is a very underrated defender, and that he has shut down a few of the star guards/SFs in the league for limited stretches. That's pretty encouraging (seems similar to Corey Brewer).

I was just looking at Wright's career bests -- of course, one of those was against GS, he had a career high 18 rebounds in 2007:

http://www.nba.com/games/20071207/MIAGSW/boxscore.html

He went 8-14, 19 points, 18 rebounds, 3 blocks, 0 turnovers... of course he was going up against Stephen Jackson/Al Harrington that night...

 

Re: Warriors About to Sign Dorell Wright

Love this signing. Riley said on KNBR that he plans to match Morrow's offer though.

 

Re: Warriors About to Sign Dorell Wright

When did he say that? That would be nice, but I think they can get someone like Matt Barnes for cheaper and for less years. That being said, all reports indicate they won't match the offer.

 

Re: Warriors About to Sign Dorell Wright

This was a good signing. I was hoping Dorell Wright was one of the guys the Warriors were considering. I'm not sure if he'll make starter, but he should be a good fit with the young Warriors. Finally, the W's are thinking about defense and getting players who can play D. Actually, I think Wright could start for this team.

With Brandon Wright, we got the Wright Stuff!

 

Re: Warriors About to Sign Dorell Wright

I also like the signing, reported to be 3 years, $11.4 million. For me, Wright really flew under the radar as I kind of forgot about him, but I think that the deal is good value. Mainly I'm glad that we didn't overpay for someone else, and still got a young guy who should be a decent role player for the team and has the chance to earn plenty of minutes. Wright was really raw when he declared for the draft 6 seasons ago, but last season he finally showed that he could put it together decently. Since then he's clearly improved his shooting percentages and range and definitely has a better understanding of the game. He's somewhat limited offensively despite his athleticism; the strongest part of his game is mid-range jump shots. Defensively he's not great or bad (he does seem to have a high number of blocks per minute and rebounds well), so I wouldn't call him a defensive player like some of the news items have said. He doesn't seem to have any major weaknesses or flaws, he just needs to keep doing what he's been doing. I'd say his ceiling would be like Trevor Ariza (who, as a random factoid, he is childhood friends with).

The deal is especially good considering Wesley Matthews has signed a 5 year, $34 million deal with Portland and J.J. Reddick has a 4 year, $19 million deal with the Bulls. I do hope we retain Morrow too, and I still would have preferred Childress or Brewer, but this will end up being a better value as far as production-for-the-dollar and an easily movable contract.

 

Blah, posted in the other thread before noticing that this one was older, though I assume they'll be merged and this post won't make sense anymore!

But just to mirror what I said, good signing from a value perspective. Wright's much better than anything we would have found in the D-League and a good role-player, with a decent work ethic, so he can continue to improve.

 

Here's a little interview by DIME Mag with Wright. Talks about a little Oden-esque scandal he had...

http://dimemag.com/2010/04/dime-qa-dorell-wright-talks-heatceltics-and-twitter-scandal/

 

Re: Warriors About to Sign Dorell Wright

Well, man, this D Wright signing is looking better and better. Apparently, Portland is trying to lure Wesley Matthews away from Utah (RFA). They just signed him to a 5-year, $34 mils contract!

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5370235

He played in all 82 games last year as a rookie, starting over half of those, but I mean... he averaged 9.4ppg / 2.3rpg / 1.5 apg...

Now Portland is giving him nearly $7 mils a year...?

I don't know much about Matthews, but this makes Larry Riley's D Wright signing look like solid gold.

Even without comparing it to others, I have really warmed up to it. Wright has a very high ceiling, IMO, and could get a lot better. But what he brings right now seems like a very good fit at the SF for the Warriors.

 

According to some Heat fans, Wright can average 20 points in the Warriors offense.

 

I'm okay with Dorell Wright starting at SF and Reggie backing him up. Wright is an upgrade from Azubuike, no? Who knows, Monta Ellis may play some SF under Nelson's crazy offense.