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

Run BJM · Jul 11, 2010

I doubt Wright is better than Buke. Hes bigger and probably better on defense. Azu was a very good shooter and would seemingly always find a way to get about 18 ppg whenever he was starting. Both seem like good rebounders. Sounds like Wright actually has the better handle and passing.

Zhone · Jul 11, 2010

Assuming Azu's injury last season hasn't affected him, I'd say Wright is a downgrade offensively and maybe a tiny upgrade defensively (Azu really had bad awareness on the defensive end on the perimeter). But offensively, Azu was always a tremendous deal for his price as a role-player, especially in our system which emphasized transition and three's, which are his strong points.

But as been pointed out, Wright's deal compared to the others this offseason isn't that bad. Outlaw just signed for 5 years and $35 million, and Outlaw's situation and numbers are similar to Wright's (though he has more interior skills than Wright).

HiRez · Jul 11, 2010

This is a good signing, and Morrow is probably a bit overpriced. But essentially the Warriors only have one 3-point shooter now, Curry. They will miss Azubuike's and Morrow's outside shot. Morrow was too one-dimensional for my taste but Curry can't be the only outside threat. Monta's outside shot improved last year but I wouldn't say he's a major threat from there yet.

Run BJM · Jul 11, 2010

Good article by Laurdisen on D. Wright but also Morrow and B. Wright:

The Warriors’ roster changes continue, but one thing remains a constant — Brandan Wright can’t stay on the basketball court. Wright’s consecutive game streak in the Vegas summer league ended at two. It’s unclear whether the DNP in Sunday’s third game was purely precautionary or the result of taking a shot to the shoulder in Saturday’s match-up, but whatever the cause it will do little to ease concerns over Wright’s durability. As if questions regarding one injury-prone Wright weren’t enough, the Warriors appear to be on the verge of adding a second one — free agent small forward Dorell Wright.

The Warriors’ busy July continues with three major developments over the weekend: the signing of Dorell Wright, the Nets’ offer sheet to Anthony Morrow, and Brandan Wright’s brief Vegas appearance. While not David Lee/Anthony Randolph level events, all three could impact the shape of the Warriors’ rotation this fall.

Dorell Wright — I’ve been as critical as anyone of Larry Riley’s front office moves, but the Wright signing is a great one. I’ve been a fan of Wright for a few years, even including him in my June 2008 armchair GM post about potential acquisitions. He’s had a bumpy road with injuries and off-the-court issues, but he’s an ideal small forward for an up-tempo squad. He has the length and quickness to lock down small forwards in one-on-one defense, he’s a good rebounder for his position, he can get down the court in transition and hits his mid-range jumper with enough consistency to keep defenses honest. He’s not going to be a future all-star, but he’s precisely the type of defensive, hustle-focused glue guy the team needs to round out the rotation. Although he doesn’t have the offensive skills of Williams (who had his best summer league game Sunday night, showing the effortless offense we’ve come to appreciate), he has legitimate size to play the new breed of NBA threes.

My only fear in the signing is that — like Maggette before him — Nelson won’t be able to pass up the temptation of playing Wright at 4, next to David Lee at 5. That line-up would leave Lee exposed defensively, as he has been the last two years with the Knicks, and set Wright up to be overpowered under the basket. Wright arguably played his best game as a pro against the Warriors — logging 19 points and 18 rebounds in December 2007. But just because Wright can do that to Al Harrington and Matt Barnes at power forward, doesn’t mean that he can do it to the rest of the NBA. With that big caveat, I expect Wright to have a career year providing a bit of the slashing, leaping presence the team lost when it traded Randolph.

Anthony Morrow — Regardless of whether the Warriors match Morrow’s deal, I’m happy for Anthony. After climbing from summer league scrub to explosive NBA scorer, Morrow’s hard work has paid off. He’s going to get his pay day this year, and it’s well deserved. That said, we’ve seen enough of Morrow’s game to recognize his limitations. He’s a below average defender, not a great passer and doesn’t move enough without the ball. He does other things to cover for those flaws — shoots the lights out, rebounds well for his size, hustles every minute on the court — but he may never develop into more than a one-dimensional specialist.

Given Morrow’s limitations, I could live with the Warriors not retaining him. It would be a tactical error, however, to let him go for nothing. Since the Nets tendered the offer sheet, the Warriors could use their restriction over Morrow’s contract as leverage for getting back the first round pick owed to the Nets in the Marcus Williams trade. Because the Nets are under the salary cap, the Warriors wouldn’t have to sink additional money in Morrow (or take a contract back) to get some return on their asset. The posturing required to pull off the deal requires a game of contract chicken — the Nets need to believe the Warriors intend to match — but given our cap room and relatively lack of small forwards, the matching threat is a reasonable one.

And if the Nets refuse to deal, then the Warriors should match. We’ve given away too many assets for nothing, and Morrow shows signs of still improving. With a more structured offensive system likely arriving sometime in the next three years, he’ll likely be even more effective as a spot-up shooter. The price of his deal is unlikely to make or break the team’s free agency chances in the next two summers and — as we saw this year — a little extra depth never hurt. Although the Warriors just traded Morrow’s closest friend on the team (Randolph), he’s also close with Stephen Curry. If you’re going to give $3-4 million to a young player for three years, Morrow is about as low risk an option as you can find.

Brandan Wright — It’s premature to sound the alarm regarding Wright’s shoulder, but this isn’t exactly how his summer league performance was supposed to play out. Although he’s scored well and shown flashes of NBA-level moves in the post, he’s also been non-existent on the glass and tentative against physical contact. Summer league was supposed to show him that he can take hits, bang down low and live to tell about it. So far, it looks as if it’s only creating more doubts about his ability to handle the rough-and-tumble world of the NBA post.

We’ll learn more in the following days, but if Wright is going to be touch-and-go all season, the Warriors are once again going to have depth issues on the front line. Udoh may be out to start the season (or longer) with his wrist injury. Gadzuric, no matter how Larry Riley spins it, is not ready for major minutes at 5. Biedrins is coming off a significant injury that could be re-aggravated. If our frequently injured players injure themselves (as they have a tendency to do), that leaves us with a front line consisting of David Lee. Once again, the Warriors are making their own bad luck. We’ve traded away front court depth (Randolph, Turiaf) or let it walk (Tolliver, Hunter) and haven’t brought back rugged, workman replacements. We’re setting the stage to be short-handed once again and — if Nelson remains coach — running the same small ball that got the team abused so badly last season. There are limits to what this team can do given the salary cap, but I’d feel much better about our front court if we had one additional player who wasn’t coming off a season-killing injury or on his last NBA stop, a la Mikki Moore.

Overall, as we roll into the middle of July, the Warriors’ roster is beginning to take shape. There are still major holes — back-up point guard in particular — but the signing of Dorell Wright goes a long way towards answering our questions at small forward. And unlike the Lee trade, which made us significantly worse defensively, the Wright signing may actually help the team stop opponents from scoring points. Wright’s only one player, but he’s a step in the right direction.
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http://blogs.mercurynews.com/warriors/2010/07/11/the-wright-direction/
I like that Laurdisen likes him because hes one of the most knowledgeable writers we have IMO. Haven't seen a ton of the guy but seems like anyone who has seen a lot of him with the Heat likes him a lot. Sounds like hes a big time energy guy.

Clif10 · Jul 13, 2010

Wright had a good April where he averaged 11.9 ppg. at 50% with production around the board. I am hoping he first stays healthy and second he adds onto that production. Looking briefly at his gamelog when he got PT he did relatively well.

The lack of outside shooting from this team is an interesting and valid comment. Wright did well shooting the three so that will help. The team however will lose its top get to ft line guy and now three point shooter. But it also now has a new force in Lee. I am hoping Curry and Ellis Inc will fill in for the loss in these two areas of getting to the line and knocking down threes.

jason bourne · Jul 13, 2010

We should see what we can get for Brandan Wright. Does any team want to take a chance on him? I'd settle for a TPE. It's hard to believe, but we're short of PFs again. I think Taj Gibson would be a good fit. He'd be like Udoh, but with less offensive skills, but good defensive skills.

I kinda forgot about Tolliver. He can play both PF and C, so he would be a good re-signing. Who would you rather re-sign? Watson or Tolliver? If we can dump Brandan Wright, then we can sign both.

Doctor Kajita · Jul 13, 2010

jason voorhees said: ↑

We should see what we can get for Brandan Wright. Does any team want to take a chance on him? I'd settle for a TPE. It's hard to believe, but we're short of PFs again. I think Taj Gibson would be a good fit. He'd be like Udoh, but with less offensive skills, but good defensive skills.

I kinda forgot about Tolliver. He can play both PF and C, so he would be a good re-signing. Who would you rather re-sign? Watson or Tolliver? If we can dump Brandan Wright, then we can sign both.
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I think we should take a chance and stick with Brandan Wright. It seems the Warriors' brass have higher hopes for BW than they did for AR.

I think signing Watson is important. Having a back-up PG to Stephen Curry that knows the system is going to be helpful if Curry gets injured. That would be a huge blow (knock on wood), but this is the Warriors.

Tolliver would be a decent pick-up but I would rather have Chris Hunter. He's bigger and tougher and does more "bigman" things than Tolliver.

AlleyOop · Jul 13, 2010

I thought people were saying Charlie Bell is a solid back-up PG (I don't know his game). If that's the case, and we really need a 3rd string PG as safety, then we should go Summer league / D League and try and get another Watson who won't want $4 mils per...

I also want Chris Hunter back. I think one of the best things about him is that other teams won't want him at this point. In a few more years with GS, he'll be another Morrow/Watson/Barnes/Azu type guy leaving the Warriors for $4 mils...

But right now, he'd probably come back for less than $1 mils, right? That's perfect for a Nellie-approved big man who likes to rebound and bang. He's also got a butter mid-range jumper.

I would let Tolliver go as well. He was decent but seemed to play beyond his ceiling for that stretch last year.

I would look into trying to get another SF with the $4 mils trade exception, and then use the Summer/DLeague to get another PG and big man.

Run BJM · Jul 13, 2010

Heat writer gives us a scouting report on Dorell Wright:

Here's more information on Dorell Wright, the 24-year-old small forward expected to sign a three-year, $11.5 million deal with the Warriors.
The scouting report comes courtesy of Thomas Johnson, the Miami Heat examiner who broke away from the LeBron James-South Beach lovefest long enough to get us some first-hand knowledge.
First of all, Thomas confirmed that Wright is 6-foot-9. Some web sites reported his height at 6-7, but that was his height when he was drafted 19th in 2004 at the age of 18. Since then, he's added two inches.
Now, some key things to know about Wright, who should compete with Reggie Williams for the starting small forward job:
Q: What are Wright's strengths and weaknesses?
A: Dorell's strengths are his long wing span and versatility, as he can be a strong rebounder and solid defender. Last season, he added range to what was already a fairly solid mid-range jumper (from the top of the key and the baseline), and became one of our most consistent three-point shooters. From watching him all of last season, the baseline corner is where he made the majority of his three-pointers. He also has solid court vision and is a very willing passer.

In terms of weaknesses, I think the biggest thing is consistency and attacking the rim. Given his size and athleticism, he should be a better slasher and attacker, but often did not attack the rim with the kind of authority and aggression that many expected. Despite having a 40-inch vertical when he came into the league, I don't remember a single occasion when he really dunked over a defender. On many occasions, he would get past his defender but pass the ball off instead of taking it hard to the rim and drawing a foul.
Q: Is the comparison to Bruce Bowen fair and legitimate?
A: Having seen both play in Miami, I think the comparison to Bruce Bowen has some merit, but is a bit too flattering to be honest. While he does posses Bruce Bowen's three-point touch, I think Bruce Bowen was a far superior defender, in terms of his instincts, aggressiveness and lateral quickness. Wright is a solid enough defender, but I would not call him a stopper. Not yet anyway. You only have to look at how Paul Pierce had his way with him in the first round last year. He does, however, posses the tools to possibly get somewhere near Bowen's level at some point in the future.
Q: What was Wright's role with the Heat?

A: Last season, he was usually the first guard/forward off the bench. On many occasions he replaced Wade in the lineup and sometimes played point forward.
Q: How would Wright fit into the Warriors' up-tempo style of play?
A: I definitely think the Warriors' style of play is more suitable for Wright than the Heat's was. He possesses the athleticism to excel at that tempo and if memory serves correctly, some of his best games came against run and gun teams like the Warriors and Suns.
Q: The West is full of talented guards like Kobe Bryant, Deron Williams and Brandon Roy to name a few. Can Wright be expected to guard that quality of player?
A: I think Wright could guard some of those guys, depending on the match up. He's had his moments against Kobe (I remember him blocking a couple of Kobe's fade-aways a couple of years ago), but again, don't expect him to be a defensive stopper. His versatility does allow him to also be able to defend smaller players.
Q: Do you think there's anything about Wright the Heat will miss in the LeBron, Wade, Bosh era?

A: I am actually quite sad to see Wright go. Obviously, having LeBron and Bosh more than makes up for it, but I think Wright really turned a corner last year and I think his versatility and shooting could have helped this current Heat squad.
Q: Wright started 34 games in 2007-08, but only one since. Do you think he's an NBA starting small forward?

A: The biggest reason why Wright has not started since 07-08 was injury. His 07-08 season was cut short because he tore his ACL. This also made him miss almost all of the 08-09 season. Then last season, Miami had Quentin Richardson, who Spoelstra felt was a better fit in the starting lineup. I've always felt that it was a shame that Wright got injured because he played some of his best basketball during that 07-08 season including a nine-game stretch of 14 points and 7 rebounds per game.

Overall, I think he's a good pick up for the Warriors, especially when you consider his contract and the market. I'd much rather have Wright for 3 years/ $11 million than Travis Outlaw for 5 years/$35 million.
Warriors fans, it seems, also think it's a good move. Two out of every three respondents to a poll here have graded the Warriors' offseason moves either an A or a B -- and that poll didn't even mention the trade of Corey Maggette and his big contract.
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http://www.examiner.com/x-24396-Gol...ting-report-of-soontobe-Warrior-Dorell-Wright

AlleyOop · Jul 13, 2010

Sounds pretty dang good...

Doctor Kajita · Jul 13, 2010

There's some good media on the Warriors site: http://www.nba.com/warriors/news/warriors_sign_dorell_wright_071210.html

AlleyOop · Jul 13, 2010

Doctor Kajita said: ↑

There's some good media on the Warriors site: http://www.nba.com/warriors/news/warriors_sign_dorell_wright_071210.html
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Great video interview with Jumpin Jim, he seems like a great kid. This is an exciting move...

Shapecity · Jul 15, 2010

"[Dwyane Wade(notes)] said it was ``very tough'' to lose Dorell Wright(notes) to Golden State (three years, $11 million), but he's happy for Wright. ``Dorell is one of my best friends. He's going to bring something to that team they probably haven't seen in a while -- there might be a little defense out there.'"

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

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

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