I think GS should be concerned with Beans and Monta, not Barnes or Pietrus. I don't think Pietrus will want to break the bank, but his agent will want similar $$ to Dunleavy, IMO, and Barnes will probably come much cheaper. I'd rather have Pietrus, just because he has been an abundance of heart and soul for Warrior fans. I want him to stay. I'm just thinking about the cap. Or, rather, I don't know enough about the cap to know how much $$ we can afford for each player. I just have a hunch that Pietrus might be the odd man out. On the McRoberts thing, he looks pretty good. I think the Warriors MUST address the PF spot one way or another.
<div class="quote_poster">REREM Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">So far,Powell's minutes were with Biedrins out-so in Nelly-think he has replaced Troy-Ike in the spare center role. The trouble I have now is that REREM wants a classic PF type who REBOUNDS well...yet such a guy-I fear-would not ever get to BE a PF. We don't need guys rusting away as the #4 center while Pietrus plays PF. At 245,Harrington plays like a SF/PF mix,but there is no def presence inside,and the rebounds are a matter of chance. Would Nellie use him at SF if we got a rebounding PF? The disconnect between what I think we need and what Nellie tends to do makes it difficult to pick a player,trade,draft,whatever,who'd fill both profiles.</div> Amen! A playoff team is only as good as their backcourt and their big man presence. If we only have one or the other, we're not going very far. Plus, both the backcourt and big men have to have some sort of impact on BOTH ends of the floor. We've never had anyone like that. That's why I'm hoping Ellis continues to practice being a point guard and Biedrins develops an offense game until we can find that awesomely talented power forward/center to pair with Biedrins. It's the feeling that with Minnesota, you can have an awesome player like Kevin Garnett and still fall short because you have neither the backcourt or center to make a real competitive team.
<div class="quote_poster">AlleyOop Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I think GS should be concerned with Beans and Monta, not Barnes or Pietrus. I don't think Pietrus will want to break the bank, but his agent will want similar $$ to Dunleavy, IMO, and Barnes will probably come much cheaper. I'd rather have Pietrus, just because he has been an abundance of heart and soul for Warrior fans. I want him to stay. I'm just thinking about the cap. Or, rather, I don't know enough about the cap to know how much $$ we can afford for each player. I just have a hunch that Pietrus might be the odd man out. On the McRoberts thing, he looks pretty good. I think the Warriors MUST address the PF spot one way or another.</div> Damnit I'm still reeling from tonight's loss. I'm with you AO in getting some cap space to re-sign Monta and AB when the time comes, but before we get there there are some other issues like are we going to trade for another big man before the trading deadline? If we are, then MP is our most valuable trading chip. This week could be our make it or break it week. Our team will have to win on the road to prove they are worthy of playoff contention. We are going up against sub .500 teams, so we should have a good chance of winning. Tonight, we were supposed to have a good chance of starting off on the right foot (with LeBron out), but we laid a big fat goose egg. It's still not over, but if we don't do well on the road against the weaker teams, then we likely won't do well against the winning teams after the all-star break. We may as well admit we're going to suck and draft for the 13th straight season. After tonight, I can see some people are thinking about the draft, but my mind can't go there yet. What's difficult is I know what I'd do, but I'm not sure what Chris Mullin and Rod Higgins would do. Those guys can be pretty slow to evaluate and decide to stand pat. OTOH Don Nelson has been pretty quick to make an evaluation and know which players he wants to keep and which ones to let go. Change is a constant with him, but I'm starting to think he needs to go with a bigger lineup on the road. He can't just expect to play small ball and keep the same energy level as when the team is at home. Tonight the Warriors were not 100% physically to illness or dental problems, but they should have had the personnel to deal with it. Instead the whole team looked flat and no shuffling of bodies could fix it. So, if I was Mullin I'd talk to Nelson about moving Harrington to the SF position and playing Powell at PF along with Andris. I'd tell him we need a bigger lineup on the road. Also, he needs to have a set lineup to start the game. We're too far along in the season to continue experimenting on what works and what doesn't. Matchups are one thing, but having a regular starting lineup is another.
For Sarunas' contract, he has a player option (which he has said he plans to exercise) for $4 million next year. He just hasn't formally exercised it, which is why some places may say that it expires after this season.
I agree with the reasoning, but I don't think Nellie would start Powell. We have nothing to lose in trying it, but considering Nellie likes to go small, coupled with the fact that Powell is a young player, it might not happen. I wouldn't mind benching Harrington if we actually had a legit PF. Make him the 6th man super-sub: Baron Monta JRich / SJax Powell / David Lee / Gasol / Ak-47 / Camby / Boozer / Haslem / O'Neal / etc Biedrins with Harrington off the bench. It would work with Nellie, because he'd still want 3 true guards in there to run the break. I don't think Harrington is a PF, but I don't see him as a Nellie-type SF either. I just don't see there being that many trades that the Warriors really have the right chips for.
I'm starting to agree with what CR2 has been saying and that is we have to go bigger on the road. Of course, the rub is we don't have any big men to go to. Nellie tried Foyle, but we already knew he wasn't the answer. Thus, that leaves Powell, AB and AL. Powell's not a starter, but there isn't much choice. Nellie needs to find a big lineup that he can have out there when we're getting killed on the boards and our shots aren't falling. And I think MP can backup Powell at PF while SJax backs up AL at SF. MP did have that 14 rebound game a few games ago or Barnes can scrap inside. Getting JRich back ASAP will help, but it still doesn't solve the lack of size on our front line. I dunno if we should make a trade now for Nazr, Stromile or Steven Hunter??? Or just bite the bullet. If we lose tonight, then it is likely the beginning of the end.
I was very surprised that we swapped both Murphy and Diogu. Either one,no surprise. Both? It becomes cliff diving. You commit and accept the consequences. We traded size and rebounds,we got speed,3's and some eventual cap savings. Now we are looking around for the 10 rbd guy...we thought they grew on trees...and suddenly,there ain't any. We lost an option to play bigger. I guess it was an option Nellie did not much value. We made our strength stronger and our weakness weaker. It COULD set up the Next Big Move....which could mean smooth sailing or iceberg related disaster. Out postseason agenda is different now-but I can't say what it is. We have in Jax and Jazzy 2 guys I do not see as keepers.....and they salary up at $10 mill combined. We have Barnes-Azubuike-Powell who are open market...no Bird rights/RFA,plus Pietrus-Zarko with RFA+Bird rights. We HOPE we soon have J Rich 100%. We HOPE POB is a keeper.
I'd be wary of "temps" costing $4-7 mill to be depth/role guys. Jazzy + Jax are the cost of moving guys out. If we lock in to Nazr or Swift....we are tied to salary for guys that teams appear to think is more than they are worth. I don't want to go back to the days of Chris Mills,John Starks,Bimbo,F Spencer etc etc when we had a roster full of guys nobody would take,had very few options.
Hey, it's time for the team to turn to Biedrins on offense. The guy is shooting 63% from the field. He only averages 7 FG's attempted per game. If we really want to get inside scoring then someone has to tell the others to just feed Biedrins 12-14 times per game. Andris has improved so much on his post game. If the Warriors really focused on his improvement and his abilities in the paint, then this team won't have so many droughts or become too perimeter on offense. Andris can even handle the ball. There are two things that will happen. One Andris will score and succeed most times going one-on-one vs most centers he faces. Two if teams start recognizing Andris then the perimeter defenders start turning their heads when the ball goes inside and then the others start to get better looks. I would much rather see the Warriors start each game giving Andris 5 touches on the block than see them come out everygame and launch threes. Yes when they go in like vs. the Bobcats they are great. But man, there are better ways to get the team going. Get the opponent on their heals by getting the ball to Andris. Then the opposing defense will be shocked and on their heals and adjusting, then going back to the normal Warriors basketall will open up better for the team's offense and things will be good. Shooting 63% this far in the season while even scoring 30 points in one game so far equates to deserving more FGA's than 7, especially for a starter. Biedrins should have gotten 30 points vs. the Nets the other night. Who on that team was going to guard him especially without Kristic? I mean he only had 8 FGA in that game.
<div class="quote_poster">Clif25 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Hey, it's time for the team to turn to Biedrins on offense. The guy is shooting 63% from the field. He only averages 7 FG's attempted per game. If we really want to get inside scoring then someone has to tell the others to just feed Biedrins 12-14 times per game. Andris has improved so much on his post game. If the Warriors really focused on his improvement and his abilities in the paint, then this team won't have so many droughts or become too perimeter on offense. Andris can even handle the ball. There are two things that will happen. One Andris will score and succeed most times going one-on-one vs most centers he faces. Two if teams start recognizing Andris then the perimeter defenders start turning their heads when the ball goes inside and then the others start to get better looks. I would much rather see the Warriors start each game giving Andris 5 touches on the block than see them come out everygame and launch threes. Yes when they go in like vs. the Bobcats they are great. But man, there are better ways to get the team going. Get the opponent on their heals by getting the ball to Andris. Then the opposing defense will be shocked and on their heals and adjusting, then going back to the normal Warriors basketall will open up better for the team's offense and things will be good. Shooting 63% this far in the season while even scoring 30 points in one game so far equates to deserving more FGA's than 7, especially for a starter. Biedrins should have gotten 30 points vs. the Nets the other night. Who on that team was going to guard him especially without Kristic? I mean he only had 8 FGA in that game.</div> Good points
<div class="quote_poster">REREM Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I'd be wary of "temps" costing $4-7 mill to be depth/role guys. Jazzy + Jax are the cost of moving guys out. If we lock in to Nazr or Swift....we are tied to salary for guys that teams appear to think is more than they are worth. I don't want to go back to the days of Chris Mills,John Starks,Bimbo,F Spencer etc etc when we had a roster full of guys nobody would take,had very few options.</div> I'm wary of temps costing $4 - 7 M, too, but Foyle is a $8.6 M temp. It's worth giving up a Pietrus to get rid of Foyle. Unless Nazr sucks, he should be able to be traded again. I'm not as certain about Swift because I saw him work out with Ewing during the Houston game last year and he didn't impress at all. Hunter has put up some decent numbers for a backup, but not sure how he'll do as a Warrior. Another temp I'd put in that category is Cabbages at $4 M, but think he's tradeable. And I think SJax will be trade bait during the off season, but he's another guy that could have questionable trade value. <div class="quote_poster">REREM Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I was very surprised that we swapped both Murphy and Diogu. Either one,no surprise. Both? It becomes cliff diving. You commit and accept the consequences.</div> The trade took us all by surprise, but without Diogu we couldn't get rid of Murfleavy. That made it worthwhile even though we lack rebounding. If we did keep Ike, I wonder if Nelson would play him? So far, Ike and Powell are a wash.
Will Nelly even write up a play for post players? I'd love to see Biedrins get more touches. He was a 15/10 player for a while and then it ended.
