Davis: A : I don't throw A around to many people. As a matter of fact, I don't think I ever gave A to anybody. But, Davis and his 28 games with Warriors certainly deserve the highest grade. Ever since Warriors got him, we went 18-10, and ever since he started, we went 14-5. He was pretty much what we needed; a guy who can break down defense, distribute the ball, bring the excitement and winning streaks, and the most of all, hope. Wishlist: So far, he did fine job distributing the ball, and I really hope he doesn't become a shooting first PG. And, better condition would be nice, because if he breaks down, we will be in big trouble. Also, there is a reason why we received him for nothing. So, I hope he learned from his past mistake and do not let things go over his head. Richardson: A- : Before Davis, there was a Richardson, who averaged 30+ pts with clutch shots in 4th quarter. During the middle of the season, we we winning close to 50%, and when we lost him, we lost 9 straight ugly ugly games. Also, when Davis arrived, he didn't get into silly ego fight against Davis, and the way he played so far, he had every right to do so, which he didn't. Like Davis, he really became the key block for this club. Wishlist: Before Davis, ball handling was an option for Richardson to improve his game, because Richardson could handle the ball until right chance for him to strike. But now, he really needs to learn how to dribble, if he wants to take a next level, because Davis will handle the ball the most of times. Dunleavy: B : For Dunleavy lover, this season didn't exactly turn out to be a break out season, where he becomes a major stud for this club. But, for Dunleavy hater, he didn't exactly fall flat. Instead, he refined his game greatly and became an efficient player for this club. So again, there is no clear winner for 'Dunleavy war'. He won't be mistaken for a dynamic scorer like Mullin or a triple double threat, but quietly he is shooting close to 50% from FG and 45% form 3 pts with Davis. Also, not only he shined as PG and PF, he played satisfying SF in 2nd half. Wishlist: Well, I do think what we saw in Dunleavy this year is pretty much what he will become for a long time. So, all I wish him is that he doesn't demand a lot of money, when he gets his new contract. Murphy: B- : Effective 16/11 and limited basketball player as we all expected. In long term, we would like to replace him with defensive, shot blocking PF with post up games. However, it would be very tough to replace his 16pts/ 11 rebs, while satisfying all those, and without Murphy's production, we suffer a lot in terms of rebounding. Throughout the season, he was very efficient offensively including 3 pts and was a rebounding demon. However, he failed to put any defensive presence, and his shooting % is only 42%. Wishlist: Like Dunleavy, what we saw in Murphy will pretty much be what we will see from him. He won't suddenly improve post up games, and frankly, when he tried few times, it was rather painful to watch. So, I wish he improves his 42 FG% and 74 FT%. Also, little bit more defense will be nice too. Foyle: C : For first half, it was down right painful to see him 'playing'. His offense was ugly as ever, can't get up to grab a rebound or move around to defend his own man. With Fisher's picture, Foyle's face was in first page of 'where did our salary cap go' file. But, as season goes on, his condition and production got better, and provided desperately needed inside presence. He isn't Dampier or worth 8 mils per year. However, he brings what we desperately needs, and unless miracle happens (or Biedrins develops), we won't get bette guy then Foyle. So, whether you like or not, get used to him. Wishlist: Conditioning. Just play like how he played at the end of the season, and I won't complain. Fisher: C+ : Fisher probably was ripped the most because of the price tag. But, the fact is that Fisher didn't exactly put a gun to Mullin's head for that contract. As a player, sure he did take a lot of ill advised shots, which I would hate to see. But, at the end, he provided solid 12 pts/4 ast as a back up PG, and was a best 3 pts shooter for us. And, strange enough, his best moment in 2004-2005 came when he played starting SG. Again, his price wants me to trade him as soon as possible, but if the price was right, I definitely won't mind him as a back up PG. Wishlist: Well, he is a career sub 40% shooter, so I guess there isn't much he can do. But, somebody reminds him that once he starts to dribble, don't let him take the shot. Pietrus: B : Super sub and the best wing man defender. And the main reason why Dunleavy war becomes very intense. His production really jumped once he met Davis, and in April, Pietrus really stepped up in limited mins. He still is a raw player, and it's scary to think what kind of player he can be once he learned how to play. Wishlist: Pretty much everything. Refine the game, add reliable midrange game and so on. Zarko: B : Surprisingly effective, and I believe he can fill in Dunleavy's spot nicely, if Mullin decides to trade Dunleavy for future salary reason. He may not be as nimble as Dunleavy, and (gasp) worse defender than Dunleavy, but he brings a spark from the bench with either ouside jumper or drive. And, it seems like he regained his confidence. Wishlist: Better defense, rebounding, and more reliable outside jumper. Biedrins: C : It was exciting to see 18 years old kid playing/picking up 6 fouls in 6 seconds. And, time to time, he brought a surprising production. Still, he is extremely raw, and it will take at least couple more years for him to be a force. Wishlist: Must be a smarter defender and add more strength. Also, better FT. Some offense will be nice as well. Monty: C+ : At first, it was a disaster. He tried to install his old system at first, but we couldn't stop anybody or score 80+ pts. We got blown out once in two games, and some people even asked for his neck. Then, he made a nice and suprising change; he decides to run and gun, so that we can outscore other team. Of course, at first, we couldn't stop other teams from shooting below 50 pts, but at least we became very competitive again, and it was exciting to watch. Then, Richardson elevated his game to the next level, and brought wins, even before Davis. Then, we got Davis and we know what happened next. For his first year, I thought he did decent job. He showed great adjustment, instead of forcing his way till the end, and he didn't show typical college coach's ego either. His real grade will come out next year though. Mullin: C+ : Well, talk about extreme to extreme. Until this year's midseason, Mullin got big fat F. But, his moves in midseason deserved big fat A. Mullin really had rough beginning, mainly because of his misjudgements and inexperience. It's clear that Mullin saw him in Dunleavy, and he wanted to build a team around Dunleavy at the beginning. That's why Mullin gave away Jamison for practically nothing. Also, Mullin vastly underestimated how hard to make a winning club, and probably believed that once he took over, everything will turn out right. That's why Rowell made an idiot comment like "2003-2004 club was underachiving", and fired Muss, despite the success he had in two years. Mullin believed that he had PO team in his hand, and wanted to make a successful club with hard working, classic players who gives 100% for the team, like many fans would like to see. That's why he let Dampier go without trying to resign while did all he can do to resign Foyle, and signed Fisher for PO experience. That club dropped like a rock in first half, and his club made last year's 37 winning ball club like Bulls with Jordan. It was the worst time for me ever since I rooted Warriors. Also, he tasted his first defeat against agents, and ended up overpaying them like previous GMs. Mullin had no intention to resign either Richardson or Murphy. But, because their agent threatened Mullin a bit, Mullin caved in and gave them extensions at the last day. At the beginning, Mullin made no right move, except drafting Biedrins, while wasting entire caproom with overpaid players. Then, Mullin learned from his failure and luck followed him quite a bit as well. Robinson for the exception was rather nice trade, and he was able to get Zarko, whom he wanted from the draft day, for two 2nd rounders. Then, Mullin brought Davis. In a sense, Davis trade is anti Hughes trade, because while we were able to get Hughes, when 20+ teams in the league wanted it, we landed Davis when no team in the NBA seemingly wanted him. Hornets tried to trade Davis to number of teams, but they all refused his 'broken body' and his huge contract, so at the end, they 'settled' for two expiring contracts for Davis. So, in reality, we were very close not to land Davis, if one team brought little more in table. But, it wasn't definitely all luck. If Mullin maintained his earlier philosophy of 'character over talent', Mullin would definitely avoided Davis, because he had a lot of baggages with him. Also, because of his injured back, the trade was essentially make or break for Mullin. He threw all chips on the table with that trade, and at the end of this season, he made all GMs, who refused Davis when he was available for a penny, looks like idiots. And, he brought something previous GMs couldn't provide, a hope. Still, there are tons of problems ahead of him. Because of his early mistakes, our salary situation is mess, and without dumping some salaries, we have to give up some young talents very soon. Also, as exciting as this team has been, we still have obvious holes, which needs to be fixed. His future moves will determine where this team will go, and the margin of error is quite slim...
It is hard to grade based on this season-because it was like 2 seperate seasons. Season A.we won 1 of 3,or less,were among the 5 worst. Season 2 we won 2 of 3,were among the 5 best...or close to it. Perhaps like Chris Columbus,Chris Mullin had a plan A-which abruptly turned into a much different,much better plan B. Either way,the crew that ended the season yesterday has to look like some serious s--t to the Suns,Kings,Rockets,and especially them Lakers who for so long thought winning was automatic. The W's were so good they couldn't even find a way to lose one of those last 2,saving themselves 2 or 3 draft slots. Mullin was looking to get the W's in a decent Cap situation-eventually. That was a main part of waving bye to Jamison and Dampier. Losing Arenas was an embarassment the front office did not wish to repeat. Irregardless of the strategy shift,a team that looked like they could hit rock bottom,evolved into a group able to beat almost anyone-which last happened about the time the Beatles broke up. Considering that progress-Mullin and Monty deserve at least a B+
I really can't think of anything that really differs from Kwan's rankings other than what is an A- versus a B+. I'm not a strict grader, really. I think part of my wishlist on Richardson is that he improves his free throw percentage and works on trying to get under control with his ballhandling. We've lost close games because he would miss two free throws or dribble off his foot for a turnover. He improves those, he can start getting to the foul line more and helping putting the other team over the limit. Since Baron Davis arrived, his midrange game kind of retracted so I would like to see more of that when Baron is sitting. My wishlist for Baron Davis is that he not take so many silly shots. I know he can make some difficult trick shots from the perimeter from time to time, but it's a 30% shot he's flinging up. Other than that, he's fundamentally pretty solid all around and a smart player. He's risky, but his unique flashiness is exciting. C'mon, dribble behind the back pass to himself, 360 degree spin in the lane, with a no look, behind the back pass to Jrich for a 3 point shot? You got to be kidding me. It's like video game stuff. Dunleavy looks like a good chemistry player as long as you don't expect too much from him on the defensive end due to his problems with matching up with quicker players. I wish that he could work on his strength conditioning in the offseason so he can develop a post game and a reliable turnaround fadeaway jumper. Getting stronger and inviting contact would give him a strong advantage in being able to overpower the smaller, quicker guys and get them in foul trouble to take them out of the game, plus score a 50%+ shot around the basket. Also it would be nice to see Dunleavy unphased by contact as he finishes around the basket. See Jrich and Baron Davis in terms of finishing with finesse or power and being body bumped while doing it. I think he improved the game he most needed to mesh well on offense which was his catch and shoot game from the baseline. He's been railing in a lot of shots consistently late season. Everything else he does he probably makes Baron and Jrich better because he is always aware on offense and on team D. He gets to the line when there's an opening and plenty of spacing to move. He passes and cycles the ball around to the open shooter or finds cutters. He rebounds. He does a little bit of everything and plays like he wants to win. He also dropped the Shakespearre a lot and has worked on his man to man defense since getting chewed out by Cliff Robinson and getting benched during the 4th quarters. Troy Murphy - I wish that guy would develop the mentality to play some defense, improve his shooting to at least 46%, pass the ball more often when there's no where to go, and to stop getting stuffed by players almost more than a half a foot shorter than him. That's just embarassing. Everything else about his game I like, especially the toughness in rebounding and his soft hands. I like it when he dunks two handed like in that Milwaukee game where he did a sick double pump dunk on (Marcus Fizer?) and he did another dunk which was a putback dunk off the rim. Foyle - I like his shotblocking, his occasional hook shots/dunks, and his tenacity to get the offensive rebound. I wish we can trade his ugly contract, but not his off the court nice guy attitude and mentality to work his tail off. Since he's probably not going anywhere, I wish he could improve pretty much all his game, especially recognizing that he needs to get position right away before his assignment gets too deep in the paint to stop. Also improve his post defense at least on the level that Kurt Thomas has (pick at the ball, force travels by "pulling the chair" out from under them). Fisher - Good shooter when he's not putting the ball on the floor. Good passer when he looks to pass rather than force the action. I wish we can trade his ugly contract, but not his uncanny catch and shoot skills. 4-5 assists a game is pretty good for a backup. Pietrus - Decision making. I like his fearlessness, one-on-one play, and his ability to hit a lot of 3's again and again. Very risky, but exciting and flashy. He kind of kills momentum when he looks for the extravagant play rather than the simple. He works hard and seems pretty happy to be a Warrior from what we can tell. He's always representing the W's. Zarko - His rebounding and defense could stand to improve. The rest of his game is pretty solid and he's suprisingly fluid and fundamentally sound for a guy his size, even one-on-one off the dribble. A fine cross between Dirk/Toni Kukoc. His haircut could probably stand to improve. Reminds me of Paul Reiser if he grew his hair out a little. Biedrins - Must improve his free throws and trying to alter shots rather than go for the monstrous swat. Love the mentality, but it doesn't work in a 48 minute game with only 6 fouls to give. He's got some post game, but it's not going to be there at his stage in growth unless he physically matures. I hope he doesn't lose that quickness of his. Best move of the season was the baseline move while posting up Michael Ruffin and he threw a 180 dunk on top of his dome. Mullin - I like his Baron Davis/ Zarko Trade and his trade to dump Najera's bad contract. Hated the offseason signings after they pretty much played as feared. They still seem pretty burdonsome with three or four good players to think about re-signing. Monty - This guy shouldn't even be graded until next season. He had to put up with a lot of adversity and inherited a team that basically sucked and wasn't even a "Monty" team. Monty's team is more like the early season Jazz (I mean if Jerry Sloan likes Curtis Borchardt and Jarron Collins and these other jump shooters that can pass and provide even distribution of the ball (as well as defend), then I'm sure Monty would love coaching that team). He's done well with opening the floor up for his players to just let them do their thing and then studying them so he can figure out how to play them when the time comes to develop some quick play sets. He experimented a lot and got them to stay close in games despite lacking a franchise player or any inside presence or a true floor general. He's been a good pragmatist and didn't let ego get in his way of coaching. I like his personality despite hating the FoxSports Net commercials with him talking about winning more games than we lose. I think he'll probably be better than Musselman because he Monty knows basketball, it's just a matter of adjusting to the NBA. He's a humble guy and I respect that in a coach.
There is no way I can give Mullin better than C+. First, we were in very very good cap situation before last year's offseason. As a matter of fact, if we didn't give Richardson and Murphy an extension, theoritically, we were looking at 20+ mils caproom this offseason. Last offseason, Mullin completely went spending free, added Davis, Richardson, Murphy, Foyle and Fisher (worth more than $250 mils), and instead of looking for caproom, we won't see a caproom for at least next 5 years. Farthest thing Mullin did since he officially took over was to improve future salary situation. Second, was Jamison traded for future capspace? Partially yes. Mullin wanted to start fresh by dumping the biggest contract on the team, although at that moment, he was the only star we had. And, at the same time, that opened up a starting spot for Dunleavy. But, the Dampier trade is just inexcusable, because nobody expected us to keep both players, and Mullin simply chose Foyle over Dampier. Also, there isn't much salary difference between them, since Dampier gets 10 mils per year and Foyle gets 8 mils per year, unless you argue that 2 mils makes a lot of difference. To make things worse, Dampier had career year, while Foyle suffered injuries throughout the season. To make things even worse, we grabbed Foyle in first chance, vastly overpaid, and made him pretty much untradable, while Dampier was hung dry for few weeks, and if we had silght intention to keep Dampier, we could have signed him even cheaper than 10 mils during that period. To make things even more worse, Dampier simply was a better version of Foyle in every aspect, but Mullin chose Foyle over Dampier, because Foyle has a better character. To make things even more more worse, center is the hardest position to replace and we probably had to live with whoever Mullin chose last offseason. No matter how or when you look at it, choosing Foyle over Dampier was a mistake, and it may be the mistake that will haunt Mullin over and over. Third, if Mullin falls into Arenas situation, there is absolutely zero way Mullin can do differently than what Saint did. As a matter of fact, in financially, Mullin committed the most amount money then any of our previous GM committed, so even if we assume that Arenas has bird right right now for us, it would be very hard for us to sign him for max at this point. We will definitely repeat the mistake if we falls into the same situation. Forth, only reason I gave Mullin C+ is because he brought Davis and hope. But, in terms of our future salary, we are definitely in a big trouble, and it's quite serious than you may think. It's not too far fatched to think that Mullin has to dismantle the team, trade our young talents and picks just to keep the salary down, if Cohan decides to avoid luxury tax. We will probably be fine next year, but after that, things can go ugly. Pray that Cohan will open up his bank and new CBA will be kinder to us. If not, there is a decent chance that our new hope becomes next Webber/Spree era. You can say Mullin did good job despite the situation. But, it was also Mullin who changed the garden of eden into the hell hole in terms of financial situation. And, taking care of salary is his biggest homework to do so, while relatively maintain current roster and winning...
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">First, we were in very very good cap situation before last year's offseason. As a matter of fact, if we didn't give Richardson and Murphy an extension, theoritically, we were looking at 20+ mils caproom this offseason. Last offseason, Mullin completely went spending free, added Davis, Richardson, Murphy, Foyle and Fisher (worth more than $250 mils), and instead of looking for caproom, we won't see a caproom for at least next 5 years. Farthest thing Mullin did since he officially took over was to improve future salary situation</div> Ya that's a tough call. If he didn't sign both, JRich would be getting a max contract, and Murphy would probably walk. I'm not so sure that he made a bad decision here. Also I was extremely critical of the Fisher signing.. In Hindsight, I wish it were a bit shorter, however Fish (whom I hated in the years past) has earned my respect as a solid contributer from the bench. This leaves the Foyle signing, like you said earlier, we overpaid him, but in 2 years, we can move him easily and Biedrins should be ready to step in there. I'm not sure if we could've gotten a better bang for the buck (If he plays the way that he played at the end of the season) Also, one more note here, if we get a 4 that can play D, it'll make Foyle look that much better. He is constantly trying to cover for Murphy and Dunleavy's guy that's taking it straight to the hoop. I'd give mullin a B, now I'm not sure if he really envisioned this, or if he was just lucky. Either way.. he's done well.
I'm actually glad we didn't let Murphy walk. He's not a very good defender and has no post game to speak of but there aren't many guys who can average a double double. To the rest of the league his contract isn't even over inflated. After his BYC expires, Murphy could easily be dealt for an expiring contract, young talent etc. The best thing about him is that his problems aren't attitude or work ethic issues. If he gains strength and conditions himself better, he could improve his defense to be mediocre and his shooting % would go up. If he did that, he would be well worth his contract and I doubt he would be traded. I'd rather have Murphy then Swift, Curry, Chandler,etc. Murphy's flaws are easier to fix than those guys.
Jeez, I'm with you guys, CohanHater, Kwan, and Upsidedownside. It could have gone either way in terms of whether to sign them before the season or after, but the spending was just out of control. I'm kind of glad we just took care of it now since Jason Richardson will be an allstar and Murphy can at least step up when needed. UPDS could be right about Murphy becoming a better inside player by developing and practicing his footwork. It's not far fetched since he's got the touch and length to shoot over people in the post, but he needs to be more physical in getting his defender off balance, not to get pushed off the ball, and use pump fakes more to get defenders to bite. His footwork is really raw and awkard, but he's got potential. CohanHater, you'd probably love Marcus Camby as your athletic power forward. He can nail the 18 footer (I think only at the top of the key and not anywhere else), finish on the break, finish at the rim. You wouldn't love his injuries though, but that sounds like your kind of guy. Best weakside shotblocker in the game now and is probably one of the fastest guys at 6'11.
Also one thing to consider is that if we do get a big, bruising post player, he's probably going to be a lot like Dampier. I mean if you were 270 to 300 lbs and doing all this work to run down the floor and get position, pushing on the other guy and having him lean on you, it's grueling work and lot of effort. It goes to waste if one of your perimeter guys shoot a 3. That post player is not going to want to work hard on getting position with all that running. It's just tiring work. But luckily, we share the ball enough to make sure everyone gets a touch. Baron Davis, Jason Richardson, Zarko Cabarkapa and Michael Dunleavy Jr. are probably a few of our most unselfish players on the roster. Troy Murphy = black hole sometimes Rodney White = black hole Pietrus = Can be a black hole, but his job is to get fouled and take it to the rim. And he does it better than anyone on our roster next to Baron Davis because he's that quick and fearless. Bogut, now that I think about it, wouldn't seem that bad at power forward if his teamwork skills are as good as they say.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting CohanHater:</div><div class="quote_post">Camby, Sheed, style player. Is there a poor man's version of that guy out there?</div> They say Fran Vasquez is a poor man's Camby. Blocks shots, can finish alley-oops, same or almost same athleticism and quickness running the floor... Right Save Click As http://www.acb.com/video/200405_J19_franvazquez.avi As far anybody being a Rasheed Wallace. There's Johan Petro who is defensively like Sheed. He's so quick he can guard small forward, power forward, and center in the NBA. But he can't shoot 3's or midrange shots and his post up game is pretty raw. Andray Blatche is supposed to be a Jonathan Bender/KG type player in the making.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting custodianrules2:</div><div class="quote_post">They say Fran Vasquez is a poor man's Camby. Blocks shots, can finish alley-oops, same or almost same athleticism and quickness running the floor... Right Save Click As http://www.acb.com/video/200405_J19_franvazquez.avi As far anybody being a Rasheed Wallace. There's Johan Petro who is defensively like Sheed. He's so quick he can guard small forward, power forward, and center in the NBA. But he can't shoot 3's or midrange shots and his post up game is pretty raw. Andray Blatche is supposed to be a Jonathan Bender/KG type player in the making.</div> Not bad... Is it me or does the guy have disproportionally short arms?
I don't get why we gave Fish a deal that paid that much,and lasted beyond his prime. There were some reasons why they chose Foyle and not Damp. Damp had missed most of 2 full seasons injured before last year and before that was generally inconsistant. Foyle was seen as more dedicated on D,at least on a consistant basis. Finally,there was a sense Damp wanted out. He'd been bashed for his turnovers,his low fg% for years and the local media took the position he was overpaid,and would be gone for sure. While a bit more muscle and bulk would help several guys,if they try to bulk up too fast,they likely will sacrafice quickness. Zarko and Andy are very quick for their size and they use that. murph put on 20lb,became a better board guy,but lost some spring and speed. Right at season's end,however,he got some of it back. I'd send all the bigs to Tahoe for a month,have them ride bikes 20 miles a day at altitude. Pietrus is doing the right stuff as is,he should learn a few of the tricks of the trade,especially on D,add some finesse. His high velocity assault style is a plus-don't get "careful"...except don't get spilled on the dunks and miss a week injured. Baron? stay creative and hyper as a point,but don't go flinging 3's if you're 2's are missing.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting CohanHater:</div><div class="quote_post">Not bad... Is it me or does the guy have disproportionally short arms?</div> Hmm... yeah sort of. I think the reason why Fran Vasquez is rated so low on some drafts is because he's kind of raw... his defense isn't as good in the post because of lack of strength or he's not smart on playing one-on-one defense, he doesn't really box out well and he's foul prone because he tries to block everything like Biedrins does. He's a tweener too. Half way between power forward and half way between center. The highlight clips of him look pretty sweet. But yeah he's pretty much looking pretty limited in terms of what he can do. New York might go for him since they've had interest in getting Marcus Camby back in a Knicks uniform for a while. And he's exactly what Isiah needs, a shotblocker that can run the floor. They don't need more guards or power forwards, they need some defensive presence.
How does every post turn into a draft thread? I guess it's just what's on our minds. As far as the original post, I agree with Kwan on almost everything, especially so on Mullin. I was fine with rebuilding and giving the Warriors time to grow, but now, we either will succeed or fail tremendously. We built well through the draft but never landed that marquee player drafting - unless J-Rich proves me wrong. We got lucky bringing in Davis, but we need more, and there's few ways we can get it. We can only hope that our young guys develop well or we will be in a tight spot for another few years.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting REREM:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't get why we gave Fish a deal that paid that much,and lasted beyond his prime. There were some reasons why they chose Foyle and not Damp. Damp had missed most of 2 full seasons injured before last year and before that was generally inconsistant. Foyle was seen as more dedicated on D,at least on a consistant basis. Finally,there was a sense Damp wanted out. He'd been bashed for his turnovers,his low fg% for years and the local media took the position he was overpaid,and would be gone for sure. While a bit more muscle and bulk would help several guys,if they try to bulk up too fast,they likely will sacrafice quickness. Zarko and Andy are very quick for their size and they use that. murph put on 20lb,became a better board guy,but lost some spring and speed. Right at season's end,however,he got some of it back. I'd send all the bigs to Tahoe for a month,have them ride bikes 20 miles a day at altitude. Pietrus is doing the right stuff as is,he should learn a few of the tricks of the trade,especially on D,add some finesse. His high velocity assault style is a plus-don't get "careful"...except don't get spilled on the dunks and miss a week injured. Baron? stay creative and hyper as a point,but don't go flinging 3's if you're 2's are missing.</div> With Fish's increased production in his stats (especially assists) and his friendly character, we could probably unload him to a team looking for character and a combo guard with playoff experience, but with that contract size and length, nobody wants a backup for that much when they got rookies to re-sign. I see like one team interested in him but it all depends on where Michael Redd and Ray Allen go. I can see him being a Cleveland Cavalier because they need a 3 point shooter and a guy that won't flake out like Jeff Mcinnis does for having Eric Snow start over him. Lebron will have the ball in his hands a lot so a scoring point guard that can pass well would be a benefit. And on a matchup that's not too difficult, he can play some really tough defense, something Jeff Mcinnis doesn't play much at all. I don't see him being a Celtic because of Delonte West. I'm doubtful about Memphis, but maybe. Minnesota maybe... Portland maybe (only because they don't really have any form of leadership in the lockerroom and probably they need a better mentor for Telfair)... Sacramento... maybe but it's awful lot for a backup and the reason they traded Webber was to shed salary. Everybody else could use Fisher's services and his off the court personality but not when they have salary cap issues they want to keep in mind. He's a hard sell, luckily Fisher has admirable traits that make him a commodity in the league. Players like Fisher, and fans eventually like Fisher when he comes through in the clutch. Remarkable shooter when he has his feet set in advance. Oh and he came in second to Baron Davis in the skills challenge in the 2003 allstar weekend so you know he can pass well at stationary targets (unlike Stephon Marbury who can't even complete a simple chest pass or a bounce pass some times).
