Warriors could have had Mayo and Thabeet

http://www.csnbayarea.com/02/19/10/...mphis/landing.html?blockID=183483&feedID=2539

 

Wow, to tell the truth, I would of done that in a heartbeat. Guess Monta is viewed as the face of the franchise.

 

yeah, it would have given the warriors young talent and cap wiggle room

 

Yep, this would have been the 2008 #3 pick in Mayo, plus the 2009 #2 pick in Thabeet. Thabeet is 7' 3" and damn he is intriguing, like the article said leading the league in blocks/minutes. And that Iranian Hamed Haddadi isn't a toss either -- 7'2", only person to average a double double in the 2008 Olympics, another very TALL intriguing young prospect at only 25 years old. Even though he didn't play a lot last year, he was 5th in the league in blocks/minutes for players who played more than 10 games. And we all know Mayo.

Two guys several inches over 7 feet. Two shot blockers. And a star young guard in the making. For an undersized Allen Iverson clone. Sheesh.

I'd have done this in a millisecond.

Honestly I think Larry Riley blew this one too.

 

Yes, this is interesting. I didn't know Thabeet and Haddadi were included. Certainly no "throw in's."

 

This deal is supposed to happen over the summer because the Warriors did not want Thabeet. The sticking point were the players the Warriors had to take back. I want OJ Mayo, but don't want Thabeet. Thabeet's contract is worse than OJ Mayo's. Memphis needs to re-sign Marc Gasol after next season and want Thabeet's contract off their books.

 

I don't mind Thabeet, the guys on a rookie contract. Monta's making $11M. OJ is going to be a solid player and the Warriors are not going to be worse off, that's for sure, they can't get any worse.

 

But's it's a huge rookie contract as the #2 pick. How much is Thabeet going to play? He's a project and making something like $4.5M and rising, that's too much for a guy sitting on the bench for 35+ minutes every game. And remember the salary cap is supposed to go way down next year, which the Warriors are already up against, and they'll probably have to pay a new top 5 draft pick next year as well. The more I think about this the more I think Memphis was trying to unload Thabeet on an unsuspecting GS team in desperate need of big men more than offering him as a true trade incentive. I do think Monta will need to be traded, but I think we can do better for him (probably in a package), and I also want to see what our draft pick is before deciding how to rebuild things. That trade will probably still be there in the summer if the Warriors want to revisit it.

 

So now, allow myself to contradict...myself...

While it's true Thabeet makes too much, both his contract and Mayo's expire years before Monta's does. So that does make it interesting. If they aren't working out, they could both be off the books before Monta would be. But again, that deal might still be available after or during the draft.

 

Thabeet has next year at 4.8 mils, then it would be team options after that...

Here's Hollinger's Take:

 

Warriors blew it. If Memphis reups, they better do the deal.

 

Is OJ Mayo really that good? And I think Thabeet is going to the D-League. Are these guys really worth Monta Ellis? I know I have not been following this team this year, except for Stephan Curry who is on my fantasy team, but I'd think Monta Ellis is worth more than OJ Mayo and Thabeet. It's also not as if Ellis is old. He's still very young. I'd rather see the Warriors trade Monta Ellis for something better if they had to trade him. Why not something like Ellis for Bosh? (though I guess that idea in particular may not work due to contract situations, but just an example).

 

Because the Warriors suck and Monta Ellis is a reflection of that. No matter what trades will be thrown our way, they will all be inequitable.

 

Monta is a scorer who goes for the flashy defensive play (great steal for a fastbreak) rather than the solid position D who just gets the hand in the face to alter the shot in a subtle way. I admire his skill and effort but he's just not someone who is going to make those around him better. That's so obvious now.

 

Monta Ellis seems like a pretty damn good player. Just because the team sucks doesn't mean they have to be like they always are and trade him for nobody. He has some flaws, but he's not keeping the team from winning. I mean it's not as if his contract is a big handicap on the team either, right?

 

Monta has devolved into a one dimensional player. If you don't watch out, he's going to be Ricky Davis. Am I down on him? Yes, because his body language and current play makes me think he's getting that big scorer head. Scoring 20 a game is not easy, but I look around the league and I see teams that are winning without that 20ppg scorer, but a team of team players. That's the kind of team I want to root for.

Do I want to give him away? I am getting there. They stink now with him and they can hardly get worse. Did you hear how Doug Collins and the rest of the media were laughing at even the possibility that he was a potential All-Star? Whatever the stats, he's not even close to that.

 

I don't think it's laughable at all. I think it's very valid. Based on his all-around stats, he contends with most of the other all-stars. With that said, I would still package him for a star PF...

 

You can't place the blame all on Monta. His supporting cast really doesn't allow for the team to really be a winner. Also, you guys don't have a decent bigman to pair with him. If you had a decent big, it would hide some of his defensive shortcomings. Biedrins was supposed to do that, but he's regressed a ton this season and even at his best he's not really an impactful player.

Without looking at contracts and solely focusing on ability, not making the trade was a good call for GS. Mayo and Curry are too similar on offense. At least with Monta you have someone that causes the defense to collapse. With Mayo and Curry, opposing teams don't even have to protect the paint.