I know, KG to GS threads have been posted quite a bit over the last year or so but discussion is slow on the W's board and I think this would be an interesting topic. I'm sure everyone knows about KG's statements (found here ) that if the T'Wolves don't improve he wants out. It got me thinking about what we can offer compared to other teams and what our team would look like if we did trade for KG. Pieces we have to offer that could be used in a potential KG trade would be Baron Davis, Jason Richardson, Troy Murphy, Ike Diogu, Andris Biedrins, Patrick O'Bryant, Mickael Pietrus, Philly pick, and future picks. Seems like a good mix of near all-star talent, young prospects (especially big men), solid role players, and picks. I would assume that the T'Wolves would rather have J-Rich than Baron and Ike over Troy. So would an offer of J-Rich, Ike, Pietrus, O'Bryant, Philly pick and an 08 first round pick be enough? Seems like alot to give on our part but we'll still have Baron, Troy, Biedrins, Monta, Dunleavy, Brown, McLeod, Foyle, Zarko, Taft, and our 07 pick while Minny gets a star SG, good young PF, valuable center prospect, solid young backup wing player, and 2 picks. Another offer could be J-Rich, Murphy, POB/Andris, Pietrus, Philly pick, and a future first round pick or two for KG and a bad contract (Hudson?). There's a ton of other offers we could give but the point is that if KG does become available I think we'll have one of the best shots at him along with teams like Chicago or Boston. I think our collection of young talent (especially young bigs) along with J-Rich and/or Pietrus could finally pay off and we'd still be left with some young players with a ton of talent that will improve around KG. Still a pipe dream but there's nothing else to discuss until at least training camp (unless Mullin makes a move).
I'm just afraid that Baron and KG being on the same team could be like Iverson and Webber a few years down the road. The winning teams, for the most part, space their salary out and get very good role player depth that can either start or come off the bench and have moderately priced contracts. But we'd have at least two true superstars. On the other hand, I wonder who would supply the inside scoring attack. KG is more of a small forward than a power forward. With Minny doing so poorly, I'd have to say it's because they haven't had a good center or a good point guard. Not since Sam Cassell. And Minny has never had a good center as those are hard to come by. If we did the Dallas thing with Dirk only replaced with KG, we'd need more all-star depth and a platoon of centers (rookies?) and consistent shooting combo guards that can dominate on isolations (Ellis + Davis).
The biggest thing isnt if you can come up with the best pieces to acquire KG, its if KG wants to come to Golden State. At this point of his career, KG has done everything he can for the Wolves, and it would only be right if the Timberwolves make the move for the well being of KG. With that being said, KG wants to go to a team where he can instantly become a championship contender. Can that happen in Golden State? I dont know, but its more of if where KG will want to go, rather than a bidding war to see who can come up with the best offer.
KG is pretty awesome, but I wouldn't blow up the roster for him. I mean, he couldn't single handedly bring you a championship. Statistically, he's been MVP caliber. But in terms of playoffs, he hasn't done squat in Minny. He's had some decent rosters too. I mean Garnett, Szcerbiak, Cassell, Sprewell, and Olowakandi was pretty decent and they didn't do much. Just like Paul Pierce hasn't done jack in Boston. He's a great player, but IMO having an elite, franchise player should put you into contention for the playoffs every year. As long as San Antonio has Duncan, they'll be in the playoffs. As long as the Heat have Shaq (and Wade), they'll be in the playoffs. As long as Cleveland has LeBron, they'll be in the playoffs. As long as Dallas has Dirk, they'll be in the playoffs. Melo, Paul Pierce Jermaine O'Neil, Vince Carter, KG -- these are the type of "franchise" players who will fill up a stat sheet, but will not guarantee your city a playoff birth. Don't get me wrong, KG is a top player in the league, and with the right help, could win a title. But I wouldn't want to "build" around him right now. Minny hasn't been able to do it. If you trade Beans, Diogu, JRich, Pietrus, picks, etc., you'll have Murphy, Dunleavy, Baron, and KG. That's not necessarily hands-down better than Wally, Spree, Cassell, and KG. I dunno. It's so tempting to imagine KG and Baron rolling together. But honestly, I wouldn't do it. I love KG and what he's done for the game. I hope he gets his ring somewhere. But I wouldn't blow up the roster to get him. I'll keep JRich and place my bets on Beans and Ike.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm just afraid that Baron and KG being on the same team could be like Iverson and Webber a few years down the road. </div> I don't see that being an issue at all. People forget that Baron was number 2 in the league in assists. He enjoys getting everyone involved.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AlleyOop:</div><div class="quote_post">I dunno. It's so tempting to imagine KG and Baron rolling together. But honestly, I wouldn't do it. I love KG and what he's done for the game. I hope he gets his ring somewhere. But I wouldn't blow up the roster to get him. I'll keep JRich and place my bets on Beans and Ike.</div> Yeah, I think if we just wait and have a lineup down the road of Baron, J-Rich, Dun/Pietrus/07 draft pick?, Ike, and Biedrins/POB with Monta off the bench that will be a solid playoff team but even if we traded half the team for KG we'd still have guys like Monta and Biedrins who could be very good plus KG and Baron both make all the role players better. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The winning teams, for the most part, space their salary out and get very good role player depth that can either start or come off the bench and have moderately priced contracts. But we'd have at least two true superstars. On the other hand, I wonder who would supply the inside scoring attack. KG is more of a small forward than a power forward. With Minny doing so poorly, I'd have to say it's because they haven't had a good center or a good point guard. Not since Sam Cassell. And Minny has never had a good center as those are hard to come by. If we did the Dallas thing with Dirk only replaced with KG, we'd need more all-star depth and a platoon of centers (rookies?) and consistent shooting combo guards that can dominate on isolations (Ellis + Davis).</div> Both Baron and KG have 3 years left (KG has a player option so he could even opt out after next year) so I don't think it would totally screw our cap situation, though it could create problems. Also, as much as fans hate Cohan he's been willing to spend the money, even on players who suck so if it were possible to get a big name like KG I think he would spend the money. I agree that KG isn't your typical inside post player a la Elton Brand, Duncan, Shaq, etc. but he still shoots 50+% from the field and is a tough matchup. The Pistons managed to win a championship with a jumpshooting/slashing team so it's not out of the question. I also agree with you that Minny hasn't been successful because they've always had a very poor center and their best PG has been Cassell. I think if he comes here we'll still have Baron, who looks very good when he's got reliable teammates and he's got the killer instinct that KG seems to lack, Biedrins, who will hopefully develop into a very solid center, plus Monta who has star potential as well as guys like Taft, Devin Brown, Dunleavy, Foyle who are all/will be solid role players. In a year or two a lineup of Baron, Monta, Dunleavy, KG, Biedrins could be very solid. To be honest I would like to get JO as much or more than KG because he's a true inside post player and I don't think he would cost us as much since he's had injury problems in Indy. I think Mullin needs to wait patiently and once any franchise big man becomes available we'll be able to offer a ton of young talent and picks.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Run BJM:</div><div class="quote_post">I think Mullin needs to wait patiently and once any franchise big man becomes available we'll be able to offer a ton of young talent and picks.</div> I agree Mullin needs to be patient, but personally I wouldn't want to offer a ton of young talent to get a big man when that young talent consists of 2 potentially solid big men in Beans and Diogu. I just think Monta, Beans, and Diogu all have enough promise to at least give them a chance to show what they can do. I'm not being a homer either. I think Detroit gave up on Darko too soon. I think the Bulls gave up on Elton Brand too soon. I think the Raptors gave up on T-Mac too soon. I think the Clippers gave up on Wilcox too soon. Maybe "gave up" is wrong; how about "used as trade bait." I'm not saying that Beans, Ellis and Diogu will be stars. I'm not saying Darko will be either. I'm just saying that when a young player comes along and shows a rare combination of either size and/or athleticism to go with talent, you may have something special and it's worth playing out. I can't really imagine any trade scenario right now in which I'd be willing to part with Beans, Ike, or Ellis. Unless it was a complete no-brainer like DWade for Beans. But there are no such trades in the NBA (except for the Baron for Speedy Claxton trade).
I think KG trade is the one trade that can solve a lot of problem we have. KG does have massive contract and his trade kicker isn't exactly a good thing either. Also, in order to get him, we have to give up awful a lot, including young talents and most likely Richardson. That has been said, unless we go into a dramatic salary dumping, we can't resign our young players. With the same logic, if we want to resign our young players, we have to dump our good players like Murphy, Davis or Richardson, simply because we can't dump Foyle or Dunleavy. Either way, it's a lose-lose situation. So, if we trade our young talents and some big contracts for KG, we may solve both problems at once. We are one of few teams that can offer sufficient young talent for Wolves and still have enough talents to not to go through the rebuilding process. And, if we do offer Richardson, I don't think there is that many team that can top the offer. Do I like KG? Er... Well, he is a great fantasy player, who can do everything. However, he can't do one thing dominant and lead the team to the title like Shaq or Duncan. But, at this point, I would gladly take PO appearance...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AlleyOop:</div><div class="quote_post">I agree Mullin needs to be patient, but personally I wouldn't want to offer a ton of young talent to get a big man when that young talent consists of 2 potentially solid big men in Beans and Diogu. I just think Monta, Beans, and Diogu all have enough promise to at least give them a chance to show what they can do. I'm not being a homer either. I think Detroit gave up on Darko too soon. I think the Bulls gave up on Elton Brand too soon. I think the Raptors gave up on T-Mac too soon. I think the Clippers gave up on Wilcox too soon. Maybe "gave up" is wrong; how about "used as trade bait." I'm not saying that Beans, Ellis and Diogu will be stars. I'm not saying Darko will be either. I'm just saying that when a young player comes along and shows a rare combination of either size and/or athleticism to go with talent, you may have something special and it's worth playing out. I can't really imagine any trade scenario right now in which I'd be willing to part with Beans, Ike, or Ellis. Unless it was a complete no-brainer like DWade for Beans. But there are no such trades in the NBA (except for the Baron for Speedy Claxton trade).</div> I don't think Mullin can afford to wait that long to begin with. It already has been two years and this team regressed under him. Considering that he didn't show any promise and other GMs never got that many years to change the luck, he may have two years at best. He needs an immidiate talent to improve this club right now, and I consider Harrington and 10+ mils offer for 6 years that kind of move. 'Patience' is definitely not a word that describes Mullin. Signing Fisher is one and resigning Richardson, Murphy and Dunelavy after 3 years is another sign. Also, Mullin seems to love home run moves. I don't recall a single trade rumors, which involve big name players, that didn't include Warriors. If KG is out there, Mullin would definitely jump on that bid...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting custodianrules2:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm just afraid that Baron and KG being on the same team could be like Iverson and Webber a few years down the road. </div> Or it could be like Stephon and KG of years of old! I personally would think a trade involving Jrich, Diogu and some other players would be realistic. I would be willing to give up anyone on this team to get someone like KG...
Not to dawn on your guys parade but you set your goals to high. Harrington didnt come and alot of others so dont count on kg
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kwan1031:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't think Mullin can afford to wait that long to begin with. It already has been two years and this team regressed under him. Considering that he didn't show any promise and other GMs never got that many years to change the luck, he may have two years at best. He needs an immidiate talent to improve this club right now, and I consider Harrington and 10+ mils offer for 6 years that kind of move. 'Patience' is definitely not a word that describes Mullin. Signing Fisher is one and resigning Richardson, Murphy and Dunelavy after 3 years is another sign. Also, Mullin seems to love home run moves. I don't recall a single trade rumors, which involve big name players, that didn't include Warriors. If KG is out there, Mullin would definitely jump on that bid...</div> I dunno. I don't think Mullin's job is in any jeapordy. I mean, when Mullin came on, Cohan finally surfaced and showed his face for the first time in like 10 years. He even publically, vocally turned the reins over to Mully. This was a "leap of faith," "change of attitude" move by Cohan, and I can't see him bailing on it any time soon. Remember this was a gigantic PR move to put Mully's face on the cover of the franchise. And if he can't do it, who can? What will Cohan do if he fires Mullin? IMO the ship will finally have sunk if that happens. Despite Mullin's mixed successes/failures, it is probably in Cohan's best interest -- financially and competitively -- to stick with Mullin's plan through thick or thin. When Mullin took the job the first thing he said was that it was going to take time, to build around the right pieces. And if Mullin's plan is to cultivate all the young talent he has amassed (which it should be, the way he has drafted and promoted the young players) then the best course of action is to be patient and not make any hasty, knee-jerk reaction type moves. It seems Mullin's plan has been to cultivate the young players. He made a gross misjudgement thinking Foyle could be the team's starting center. So his plan has needed to undergo change to accomodate that "bump" in the road. It looks like the same will be true of Dunleavy, though that will be officially decided the first 1/2 of this season. But otherwise things are staying the course. Beans is on schedule IMO, Ike is on schedule, Monta is a flat-out delightful suprise, and the JRich/Murph signings look like they are turning out to be going rate deals. In any given position on a chess board, there is always a move which the board is asking you to play. You may be an agressive attacker, but the board asks for a quiet positional pawn advance. Or, you may be a reserved, defensive player, and the board asks for the all-out blitz sacrifice! Right now, this roster is asking for a bit more patience to let Ellis, Beans, and Diogu emerge. I'm not saying they shouldn't try to win this year, and if it goes well they could very well make the playoffs. I know it will be tough to retain the young prospects, although I think the team has the Gilbert Arenas clause on Monta's contract. But IMO that is what needs to happen. Let them develop this year, and if one emerges a star, find a way to clear room for them. Why trade Murphy and a young prospect for Harrington. You have the same cap situation, minus the prospect. Why trade JRich, Pietrus, Beans, Diogu and a pick (or whatever works) for a few years of KG? If KG couldn't do much in the playoffs in Minny, will KG, Baron and Troy get you a ring? Probably not. What's worse is that it'll put the breaks on developing a "young core." Mullin made 3 bad mistakes with Dunleavy, Foyle, and Fisher. He corrected one of them. The Fisher to Utah trade is brilliant IMO. One of the best off-season moves of any team IMO. Mullin had the guts to realize Fish was a mistake, and he got three moveable 1-year deals for it. Brilliant!!! I trust Mullin made that move because he realized how valuable his young prospects could turn out to be. Good enough that he'll probably let Pietrus walk. I hope he'll find a way to move Foyle or Dunleavy, but I suspect he'll at least find a way to make room for Monta, beans and/or Diogu through a Murphy trade, for example. If Mullin wants to bail on his "core" plan and trade away the young pieces to get a vet who might give them a year or two of flirting with the playoffs, then Cohan should find another GM who can come in and carry out Mullin's original plan -- being patient and developing the young core.
If the Warriors could find some way to keep Jason Richardson and Baron Davis while acquiring, I think the Warriors could be instant contenders. One of the Warriors main problems which has yet to be addressed these past few years has been not having a reliable big man. Adding Garnett in the mix, a Hall of Fame, multiple all-star, would take the Warriors to the next level. Being great both offensively and defensively, Garnett would be the perfect asset to make a championship run. Still, I doubt Garnett is getting traded... at least not this offseason.
Well, here is my reason why Mullin's job may be in danger relatively soon. When Mullin stepped in, he ripped Saint and Muss' job in public like TV and KNBR. You probably won't rip others, who will be replaced by you, if there is a chance that you may perform similar level or even worse than that person. Because, if you do criticize their works, not only you are drawing the line that you won't do any worse than that person, it also looks really idiotic when you rip that person and you do worse. However, Mullin went out and rip them in public. That means Mullin never even dream about not making PO under his command. I mean, two years ago, we won 37 games despite losing Jamison and Arenas for nothing and suffered significant injuries. And, because Mullin would just build up from that foundation (and significantly underestimated contributions from Muss and Dampier), he really didn't think this team would perform any worse than two years ago. And, that's what he probably said to Cohan, and Cohan probably opened the vault, not because he is Chris Mullin, but because Mullin promised PO and beyond under his command. With that cash, Mullin gave long term deals after long term deals in one offseason, followed by Dunleavy's extension next year. If Mullin ever thought that it would be a long way to PO, he would never ripped Saint and Muss, and he would be hesitant to throw long term deals, making our financial situation extremely inflexible. Two years later, we exhaused all our financial resources and amazingly enough, we did worse despite not going through significant injuries. Also, making PO in next season is not a sure thing either. If I am Mullin, I would be sweating right now. Because, I promised immidiate result, and that's why Cohan signed Fisher, Foyle, Richardson, Dunleavy, and Murphy for around 260 mils and no less than 5 years, and I even received Davis for expiring contract, which should worth around 70 mils. Despite spending those 330 mils investments, this team got worse. Unless Cohan is an angel, any owner would be angry by now to say the least. That's probably why Mullin is desperately chasing Harrington right now. While there is a good chance that Harrington may help this club more than Murphy in short term, Murphy, 6'11" with double-double, will have more value than Harrington, 6'9" twinner who may average around 15/6 with this team. So, in long term view, Harrington's signing is not a good news. But, Mullin doesn't have a leverage to wait that long, because he promised immidiate result. Even if Cohan trusted Mullin unlike any other GMs, I don't think it will last more than 4 years after wasting countless $. Besides, fans opinion on Mullin changed dramatically from two years ago. Back then, many people viewed Mullin as a savior. Right now, there are more negative views than positive view, and if he manages poorly next two years, fans will demand his head. So, I don't think his firing will be a public disaster. And, Mullin's initial plan wasn't developing young talents, or he would never create this death trap two years later. In 08 offseason, we have to resign Biedrins, Monta, and Taft. In that year... Davis: 17.2 mils Richardson: 12.2 mils Murphy: 10.1 mils Foyle: 9.8 mils Dunleavy: 9 mils (assumed) Total: 58.3 mils Our 10 men without those 5 contracts this year = 15.3 mils (about 1.5 mils per player) Total = 73.6 mils This year's luxury tax line = 65.4 mils. It is indeed a rough preview, and if we cut down those minor contracts to 5, we could save roughly 7.5 mils. Luxury tax line may also bump up and Cohan may bite some sort of luxury tax too. That should put right around luxury tax line. That means, we are in mercy of Cohan and his willingness to pay luxury tax to just sign one player, and if we wish to have any breathing room and have a chance to sign one or maybe two, we must dump any of existing long term contract. Anyway, even in best situation, we may keep only two out of Biedrins, Ellis, Taft, Pietrus and Zarko. Also, the story does not end here. Even if we resign some of our rookies, we still have to deal with the same mess next year when Davis' and Diogu's contract ends. And then next season, there is POB... Bottom line is that this team just isn't equipped to develop young talents and resign them when they become worthy. Not only dumping a contract alone is a tough task, if we dump Davis, Richardson or Murphy, that would be an immidiate downgrade for this club as well. So, if we become patient and make no move, we can't resign young talents. So, if we move existing contract, we will immidiately get worse. Either way, it's a lose-lose situation. That's why I like KG type of trade. If we can't keep both long term contracts and young talents, why not cash in? I do recognize that this is rather desperate proposal, and in normal situation, I would rather develop our young stars and go from there, especially in today's NBA, where keeping their own star is much easier than before. But, as I said before, if we stay put, the ground will sink in two years due to weights of our contracts. So, if we have to make moves, I would rather see us cashing in, instead of just dumping contracts to create another long term contracts...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting VinsanityVC15:</div><div class="quote_post">Not to dawn on your guys parade but you set your goals to high. Harrington didnt come and alot of others so dont count on kg</div> Dude, you keep coming in here bagging on our team and cant even spell right or use simple english. It is rain on your parade, or down on your parade. Your team is one player away from being the Clippers of a few years ago...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting VinsanityVC15:</div><div class="quote_post">Not to dawn on your guys parade but you set your goals to high. Harrington didnt come and alot of others so dont count on kg</div> Not to let the sunrise on your breakfast or anything but 1) Harrington hasn't gone anywhere yet 2) most people on this board don't like the Harrington trade anyway 3) most players in the NBA would rather play alongside Baron and JRich than Kobe's ball-hoggin a$$.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AlleyOop:</div><div class="quote_post">KG is pretty awesome, but I wouldn't blow up the roster for him. I mean, he couldn't single handedly bring you a championship. Statistically, he's been MVP caliber. But in terms of playoffs, he hasn't done squat in Minny. He's had some decent rosters too. I mean Garnett, Szcerbiak, Cassell, Sprewell, and Olowakandi was pretty decent and they didn't do much. Just like Paul Pierce hasn't done jack in Boston. He's a great player, but IMO having an elite, franchise player should put you into contention for the playoffs every year. As long as San Antonio has Duncan, they'll be in the playoffs. As long as the Heat have Shaq (and Wade), they'll be in the playoffs. As long as Cleveland has LeBron, they'll be in the playoffs. As long as Dallas has Dirk, they'll be in the playoffs. Melo, Paul Pierce Jermaine O'Neil, Vince Carter, KG -- these are the type of "franchise" players who will fill up a stat sheet, but will not guarantee your city a playoff birth. </div> that team is crappy compared to the clippers who lost in the second round. KG has never even haad a team worthy of the playoffs until the 03 team.
People quickly forget that The SF Bay Area is one of the top markets. Pulling a free agent or getting a player to want to play here because of exposure shouldn't beas big of a deal as it is. It's too bad that Cohan is a moron and knows nothing about basketball. I mean when Jerry West went to Memphis the Warrior team was in a decent position as far as talent and salaries. All they had to do is pay a little extra for him and things would've been right in the world. <a href="http://www.nielsenmedia.com/DMAs.html" target="_blank"> http://www.nielsenmedia.com/DMAs.html</a> RANK Designated Market Area (DMA) TV Homes % of US 1 New York 7,375,530 6.692 2 Los Angeles 5,536,430 5.023 3 Chicago 3,430,790 3.113 4 Philadelphia 2,925,560 2.654 5 Boston (Manchester) 2,375,310 2.155 6 San Francisco-Oak-San Jose 2,355,740 2.137 7 Dallas-Ft. Worth 2,336,140 2.120 8 Washington, DC (Hagrstwn) 2,252,550 2.044 9 Atlanta 2,097,220 1.903 10 Houston 1,938,670 1.759
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kwan1031:</div><div class="quote_post">Well, here is my reason why Mullin's job may be in danger relatively soon. When Mullin stepped in, he ripped Saint and Muss' job in public like TV and KNBR. You probably won't rip others, who will be replaced by you, if there is a chance that you may perform similar level or even worse than that person. Because, if you do criticize their works, not only you are drawing the line that you won't do any worse than that person, it also looks really idiotic when you rip that person and you do worse. However, Mullin went out and rip them in public. That means Mullin never even dream about not making PO under his command. I mean, two years ago, we won 37 games despite losing Jamison and Arenas for nothing and suffered significant injuries. And, because Mullin would just build up from that foundation (and significantly underestimated contributions from Muss and Dampier), he really didn't think this team would perform any worse than two years ago. And, that's what he probably said to Cohan, and Cohan probably opened the vault, not because he is Chris Mullin, but because Mullin promised PO and beyond under his command. With that cash, Mullin gave long term deals after long term deals in one offseason, followed by Dunleavy's extension next year. If Mullin ever thought that it would be a long way to PO, he would never ripped Saint and Muss, and he would be hesitant to throw long term deals, making our financial situation extremely inflexible. Two years later, we exhaused all our financial resources and amazingly enough, we did worse despite not going through significant injuries. Also, making PO in next season is not a sure thing either. If I am Mullin, I would be sweating right now. Because, I promised immidiate result, and that's why Cohan signed Fisher, Foyle, Richardson, Dunleavy, and Murphy for around 260 mils and no less than 5 years, and I even received Davis for expiring contract, which should worth around 70 mils. Despite spending those 330 mils investments, this team got worse. Unless Cohan is an angel, any owner would be angry by now to say the least. That's probably why Mullin is desperately chasing Harrington right now. While there is a good chance that Harrington may help this club more than Murphy in short term, Murphy, 6'11" with double-double, will have more value than Harrington, 6'9" twinner who may average around 15/6 with this team. So, in long term view, Harrington's signing is not a good news. But, Mullin doesn't have a leverage to wait that long, because he promised immidiate result. Even if Cohan trusted Mullin unlike any other GMs, I don't think it will last more than 4 years after wasting countless $. Besides, fans opinion on Mullin changed dramatically from two years ago. Back then, many people viewed Mullin as a savior. Right now, there are more negative views than positive view, and if he manages poorly next two years, fans will demand his head. So, I don't think his firing will be a public disaster. And, Mullin's initial plan wasn't developing young talents, or he would never create this death trap two years later. In 08 offseason, we have to resign Biedrins, Monta, and Taft. In that year... Davis: 17.2 mils Richardson: 12.2 mils Murphy: 10.1 mils Foyle: 9.8 mils Dunleavy: 9 mils (assumed) Total: 58.3 mils Our 10 men without those 5 contracts this year = 15.3 mils (about 1.5 mils per player) Total = 73.6 mils This year's luxury tax line = 65.4 mils. It is indeed a rough preview, and if we cut down those minor contracts to 5, we could save roughly 7.5 mils. Luxury tax line may also bump up and Cohan may bite some sort of luxury tax too. That should put right around luxury tax line. That means, we are in mercy of Cohan and his willingness to pay luxury tax to just sign one player, and if we wish to have any breathing room and have a chance to sign one or maybe two, we must dump any of existing long term contract. Anyway, even in best situation, we may keep only two out of Biedrins, Ellis, Taft, Pietrus and Zarko. Also, the story does not end here. Even if we resign some of our rookies, we still have to deal with the same mess next year when Davis' and Diogu's contract ends. And then next season, there is POB... Bottom line is that this team just isn't equipped to develop young talents and resign them when they become worthy. Not only dumping a contract alone is a tough task, if we dump Davis, Richardson or Murphy, that would be an immidiate downgrade for this club as well. So, if we become patient and make no move, we can't resign young talents. So, if we move existing contract, we will immidiately get worse. Either way, it's a lose-lose situation. That's why I like KG type of trade. If we can't keep both long term contracts and young talents, why not cash in? I do recognize that this is rather desperate proposal, and in normal situation, I would rather develop our young stars and go from there, especially in today's NBA, where keeping their own star is much easier than before. But, as I said before, if we stay put, the ground will sink in two years due to weights of our contracts. So, if we have to make moves, I would rather see us cashing in, instead of just dumping contracts to create another long term contracts...</div> I don't remember Mullin publicly ripping Muss and Saint. I thought Saint was Mullin's "mentor," and while I know he didn't want to keep Muss around, I just don't remember him verbally calling him out. I could be wrong. I also don't remember Mullin immediately guaranteeing playoffs. I know he said that was the ultimate goal, of course, but I though when he came in it was something to the effect of "we're going to try to build around our young core" and "it is going to take some time." Again, I could be wrong. But you paint a convincing picture of the doom and gloom that awaits in 08/09 Kwan. GS will be struggling under the weight of those hefty contracts for sure. I'm just saying that whatever Mullin is thinking/feeling, looking at it from a talent perspective GS has three young kids who could turn out to be very, very good players here shortly. I want to see them make a playoff push, but I don't want to see that push fizzle out in a few years as the young prospects leave and the "core" grows older. I think part of GS' playoff aspirations should include the vision that Biedrins, Ike and Monta will help get them deeper into the playoffs. They have to be part of the vision, not casulties/sacrifices in order to get there. Now, of course, they can't be if there's no $$ mils $$ to give them. That's why it's paramount, IMO, that this year GS must find a way to make some room. Mullin made about the most brilliant move I could possibly have ever hoped for with the Fisher deal. Not only did he move a big, bloated, long-term deal and a player who made this team plain stagnant, he got back three 1-year deals for it!!! I mean, wow, that's about the best thing I could have ever imagined this off-season. Just think if he traded Foyle today for an expiring Dale Davis or something. Sounds impossible, right? Well that's basically what he did with Fish. Now I'm not saying it will be easy to move Foyle/Dunleavy/Murphy. Frankly it will be impossible to move Foyle. But those are the three contracts Mullin should be trying desperately to move for shorter deals. Even if we could package one of the prospects (of course right now preferably Taft or POB or Zarko <not that Zarko is really a prospect lol>) with Foyle and get back a deal that ends even 1 year sooner, that would be better. I know Mullin said this off-season that he wasn't satisfied, that this team underachieved, and that he will make trades. I just think something like the Harrington trade will make this team interesting for a short while but do nothing for the long term vision. I'm not saying it will be easy, but IMO Mullin should be trying to find some way, any way, to create enough flexibility to keep Beans, Ike and Monta. Even if one doesn't pan out, at least he'll have more room. So far, the Fisher trade was superb in that regard.
It's probably because Mullin's interview happened in KNBR, and I was lucky enough to catch it. Before he became official VP, he went to KNBR and said Saint didn't do a good job and Muss underachieved. I believe I heard him saying that at least twice. Yeah, at this point, the best deal is probably trading Foyle + some sweetner for one year shorter deal. Because Foyle is center, some team may have an interest. While Murphy has a value, it's bit hard to say some team will give 10 mils expiring contract, and there is no way for us to trade Dunleavy for expiring one. And, I also agree that the deal better be made this year. Longer we drag this one, it will cost more sweetner to make a deal. I probably won't level Fisher deal as brilliant, because Fisher did have a positive value unlike Dunleavy or Foyle. As a SG, who doesn't have to think about passing or leading the team, Fisher was pretty good player, who can put over 13 pts and around 40% from 3 pts. But, when we forced to put him as PG, the whole thing just collapsed. Also, his contract wasn't as insane as other contracts. Nevertheless, that deal was a very good deal in any angle, and I thought Mullin finally decided to become a responisible GM, who will dump contracts for the future. Then he went out and try to sign Harrington with possibly more than what Murphy gets. It is basicaly the same idea as Foyle, Fisher type of signings; "Talent now, worry later". If Harrington is a solutions to many problems we have, I would understand of trying to overpay him. But, while being an upgrade from our current situation, Harrington is hardly a solution for this club, and signing him would further complicate our financial situation. This hot pursuit to get Harrington is another reason why I don't think Mullin is preparing for the future. Clearly, Mullin isn't happy about this offseason, and he would and did try to make any kind of trade. However, Mullin quickly learned that it takes two parties to make a deal, and that's where the problem starts. I really think he was preparing for something big like KG, O'Neal or other big names on the market. However, they weren't on the market during this summer, so Mullin tried to get next best things like Iverson or Harrington. While I don't agree with his direction to get instant talents, he certainly tried hard. One of the reason why we are in such a financial mess and not in best situation to sign young talents are because Biedrins, Diogu and Ellis weren't factored in Mullin's original plan. After all, when Mullin inked Fisher, Foyle, Murphy, Richardson and Dunleavy, they weren't even drafted. Unfortunately, Mullin's original plan was to put every single chips to keep Richardson, Dunleavy, Murphy, Foyle as young core, develop them and add some veterans (Fisher, Davis) to help those young players. That's why he gave 5 to 6 years contracts without a hesitation. If he factored that his young draftees have a chance to be something special, he would have create some breathing room for the future. Obviously that didn't happen, and because Mullin exhausted every financial resource to accomplish his original plan, we are not in good situation to resign Biedrins, Ellis, Pietrus, Zarko or Taft regardless whether they are in a plan now or not. We are not in point of no return, and we also have a lot of young talents to develop or cash in. But, Mullin is in cross road right now, and he needs to make a choice one way or the other. He can either cash in young talents for immidate talents to make PO like he did before, or he can admit his previous mistakes, try to dump bad contracts any way possible, and resign our young cores for the future. But, he does need to make the direction fast, instead of wavering one way or the another like how he dumped Fisher in one hand then chase Harrington in another. Because more time we waste, other teams will realize our bad financial situation, and it will be harder for us to dump contract...
