This year, Josh Powell, Mickael Pietrus, Matt Barnes, Kelenna Azubuike, and Sarunas Jasikevicius (can opt out of a 4$ mil contract) are all free agents. Pietrus, Powell, Azubuike are all restricted FA's, which means the Warriors can match any offer made to either one. Barnes and Azubuike are all unrestricted, which means they can leave the Warriors easily. This year, only Barnes and Pietrus were in Nelson's playoff rotations, but only Barnes made significant contributions. Matt Barnes: Age: 26 Height: 6-7 Position: Point Forward, Small Forward, Power Forward, Center Pros: He's been a journeyman his whole career, and after finding a home in Golden State where he can take the ball up court, shoot the three at a good %, rebound, and hustle, it may be hard for him to leave an enviroment so well suited to his needs. Barnes is also a better passer than expected by many teams, and he is more athletic than his game shows and is a versatile player, on offense and defense going anywhere from point forward to center. Called Don Nelson the best coach he's ever had. Cons: He has a tendancy to do dumb things with the ball when overconfident, he often makes stupid fouls, and he just hired Bill Duffy, notorious for bringing in big $$$. Likely Asking Price: 3,500,000-5,500,000 $ Let Him Go or Stay?: If we can keep it under 4.5 million, and not for too long, keep him, but if he asks too much, look for another type of Barnes in the draft (Dominic McGuire) Mickael Pietrus: Age: 23 Height: 6-6 Position: Shooting guard, small forward, power forward Pros: Freakishly athletic, very quick, excellent defender on man to man, good shotblocker on defense, can hit the corner three with consistency, and can rebound well for his size. Does excellent D on Kobe and frustrated Dirk in the regular season. Loves Don Nelson and said he wants to play with the Warriors all his life. Cons: Horrible decision maker, it'd be best to have the point guard feed Mickael all his points, not let him make any decisions, 4 out of 5 times it will result in a turnover. Tends to jump on pumpfakes, gets many fouls called on him, will want a lot of money. Likely Asking Price: 5,500,000- 8,000,000 $ Let Him Go or Stay?: If Pietrus had a brain transplant with Mike Dunlevay, he'd be an All-Star. Let him go. Josh Powell: Positions: Power foward, center Age: 23 Height: 6'9 Pros: Excellent mid range jumper, can handle the ball well for a power forward, good hands, good at setting screens, good rebounder, above average shot blocker, good jumper and athlete, has all the potential to be a good post player. Not many teams know much about Powell, so he'd be very cheap. Cons: Didn't play for the Warriors in the playoff run, so he might not be sold on staying here if it means less playing time. Slightly undersized. Likey Asking Price: 450,000 - 1,200,000 $ Let Him Go or Stay?: I love Powell's game and heart to death. Keep him. Kelenna Azubuike: Positions: Shooting guard, small forward, could potentially be a combo PG/SG Age: 23 Height: 6'4 Pros: Good shooter, very good ball handler and passer at SG, makes good descicions, excellent fundamentals, good defender, good rebounder, very good at going to the hoop, very strong, explosive leaper. Played well for Warriors when we had limited bodies. D-League's leading scorer. Don Nelson seemed to like him. Cons: Small at the 2 guard, at 6-4. D-League's leading scorer, could attract teams in need of a solid back up SG. Likely Asking Price: 7,500,000 - 1,500,000 $ Let Him Go or Stay?: He has all the potential to be a good 17 + ppg scorer in the league, but other teams will see him as well. Keep him if we can. Sarunas Jasikevicius: Positions: Point guard Age: 31 Height: 6'1 Pros: The european Steve Nash. Amazing shooter, great passer, has good connection with Andris Biedrins, can make his free throws, G.O.A.T bench cheer leader. Cons: Slow, liability on defense, didn't play a lot under don Nelson Likely Asking Price: Opt Out Let Him Go or Stay: We can't do anything if he opts out, but it's 4,000,000 $ less on the cap.
I like certain aspects of all these guys' games. I think in the end, it boils down to what weaknesses will override their strengths. I kind of like Azu and Powell based on observations. Azu seems like he can do a lot of things well and is a good athlete. Powell is a good rebounder supposedly (I'm not sure if he can be a dominant or top 10 rebounder, but he's very active and long.). He also has some shooting outside of 15 feet. Defensively, he doesn't seem to suck. That's all I really got to go on because if we see more of them, I'm bound to pick on them more for their weaknesses rather than compliment them on the things they do very well for the team. But that's only if their combined strengths don't outweigh their weaknesses. The slowest, or weakest guy that doesn't contribute much on offense or affect the other team's defensive movement is the guy that brings everyone down. We saw that with guys like Dun and Foyle and how headcoaches like Montgomery, Musselman, and Nelson didn't know what to do with them until rookies or other teams' players got to replace them. I'm just so glad that Mullin was able to remove his own 3 out of 4 extremely bad signings. I just hope we don't gamble too early on guys that are supposed to be bench players. Powell and Azu are supposed to be backup players unless they can tear it up.
I think Powell can contribute a good 15 mins, he's not a Milsap, but he'd be a good contributor off the bench for us. Azubuike is a shorter, smarter, less athletic Pietrus. I'm happy with both.
They're all back-ups. 1) I love Pietrus because of his joyful attitude and love for the fans. Unfortunately that doesn't win ball games. 2) Based on minutes given, and performance, Azibuike was probably the most impressive. I mean, in his first few games he got 10, 15 minutes but scored big time. Didn't he have a 20+ point game with like 15-20 minutes? This from a guy who never cracked the rotation. 3)Out of all these guys, Powell is the one big man, a PF, the one position we are so weak at. And I've been harping on his game since about 5 days after the Pacer trade. I think this guy has just as much potential overall as Diogu. Diogu has potential as a scorer on the block, but factor in defense, passing, rebounding, and overall I like Powell's potential more. If I knew then what I knew now, I'd have drafted Powell over Diogu. I hope he gets a chance to stay because I really think he can be someone special. He went up against JO every day in Indy and learned a bunch. The sleeper? This kid has an ice-cold knock-down jumper from 18 feet out. 4)Sarunas. I thought he'd be my hero. He's been a 4 mils bust in that trade. He's got much more to offer but we'll never see it under Nellie. Nellie doesn't like 1-dimensional PGs. Heck, he can have Jax or even Harrington bring the ball up court. If you're going to crack it at PG for Nellie, you best be able to penetrate the lane and kick out, something the slow footed Sarunas is not suited for. He's a slow, methodical sharp-shooting PG who is primed for a more conventional pace, not relentless attack of the rim. 5)Barnes. Probably the most important player of the bunch. Funny, because you have Pietrus getting 5-8 mils, with Barnes only getting 3-5 mils. Personally, I would flip flop those numbers. Barnes proved, even throughout the POs, that he can do a little bit of everything: toughness, defense, running the break, shooting the three... He's an ideal 6th man jack-of-all-trades. I'm not saying he's going to be a star every year, but what he brings is not a fluke -- it's hard work, determination, and hustle -- that's a choice, and Barnes makes it. I think he was a key to much of our late season and PO success. The most important piece to bring back in order to compete next year? Barnes. The piece I think is most important long term... Azibuike! He can be a super SG and he'll offer the team the flexibility to move some of the higher-rated contracts and still fill in as a viable starter. Plus Nellie loves scoring guards. The piece I want to personally see stay the most: toss up between Piety and Powell -- Piety for his heart and soul, Powell for the potential I see.
Wow Alley, i think i agree with you on 98% of your posts..... but we disagree completely on bArnes..... i think he cost us as much as did positive for us. As i said before the guy is a complete moron and you can see his ego exploding already feeling he is entitled. The mistakes he makes are ridiculous. I hope, I pray, that BArnes is nowhere to be found come camp. he is one my list of 3 that i never want to see in a warriors uni again : foyle, barnes and roonie ( as much as i love his attitude). Barnes is a dime a dozen and we will easily find another barnes in camp or in the draft.
<div class="quote_poster">boogielew Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Wow Alley, i think i agree with you on 98% of your posts..... but we disagree completely on bArnes..... i think he cost us as much as did positive for us. As i said before the guy is a complete moron and you can see his ego exploding already feeling he is entitled. The mistakes he makes are ridiculous. I hope, I pray, that BArnes is nowhere to be found come camp. he is one my list of 3 that i never want to see in a warriors uni again : foyle, barnes and roonie ( as much as i love his attitude). Barnes is a dime a dozen and we will easily find another barnes in camp or in the draft.</div> I think Barnes had more 20 pt games than most of last years rd 1 picks. Roy may be the main exception. I'm sure he out produced any other min-price walk on too.
<div class="quote_poster">boogielew Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Wow Alley, i think i agree with you on 98% of your posts..... but we disagree completely on bArnes..... i think he cost us as much as did positive for us. As i said before the guy is a complete moron and you can see his ego exploding already feeling he is entitled. The mistakes he makes are ridiculous. I hope, I pray, that BArnes is nowhere to be found come camp. he is one my list of 3 that i never want to see in a warriors uni again : foyle, barnes and roonie ( as much as i love his attitude). Barnes is a dime a dozen and we will easily find another barnes in camp or in the draft.</div> I know you aren't a fan of Barnes, boogie. Heck, if I didn't know you better (from your overall content here on JBB), I'd think Barnes darn near robbed you at gun-point outside of 7-11 or something I mean, you have had it out for this guy since day 1 ( or day 17, 32, somwhere in there -- you know, the week when Barnes had a few knuckle-head performances that really gutted our momentum in the standings). I don't completely blame you. I was right there with you when he had a few of those, and it seemd he was playing more for ego or future-contracts than he was to be a good teammate for the coach. Boogie, here's the thing: you have to look at Barnes' story as a whole: Here is a guy who got bounced around the league, and never found a home -- who's pro-sports career was on the brink, to the point where he was considering trying out for the 49ers as a Wide Reciever He managed to turn some heads in camp last pre-season. How did he do that? By going balls out, playing aggressive, laying into guys defensively (see Bruce Bowen's strategy for staying in the league), by pretending that he deserved the ball on every possession, by making his moves, by playing his game, by taking his shots, and then taking some that weren't his. Barnes scratched and clawed and hustled his way above waterlevel, he stayed afloat on athleticism, persistence, and hard work. You can be sure he didn't do it by laying back quietly and hoping to get recognized. IMO Barnes' mentality was "okay, I'm about to get kicked out of the league, I got nothing to lose, let's lay it all on the line." That sense of desperation did INDEED lead to some nights where he was taking shots like he was Jordan, but making shots like he was Derek Fisher We all know that Barnes had some nights where he was determined to try to score on every possession, and it could be aggrivating. But, ask yourself this: Why, oh why, oh why, did Nellie keep going, keep going, keep going, back to Barnes, Barnes, Barnes? I'll tell you why: back in November and December, when Troy Murphy was fossilizing into non-existence, and Mike Dun-whoever was proving he was a complete nobody, Matt Barnes was LOUDLY, assertively putting up games with 24 pts, 32 pts, 20 pts, 25 pts, 17 pts, 36 pts, all while racking up rebounds, assists, and steals to boot. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/teams/schedule?team=gsw Let's not forget his good shooting from outside (37% from 3pt). While Dun, and Murph, andf Peity, and the rest of those no-shows were floundering in neutral, Barnes earned his way into being one of Nellie's favorite players who he actually depended on for many of those stretch games. Of course he made mistakes. Of course he was over-aggressive, trying to do too much, trying to make the extra play - he was trying to avoid a pay-cut to get battered up in the NFL! Nellie loved Barnes, and Barnes produced big-time down the stretch. Oh, and in the POs, where he made a solid impact throughout. Here are some numbers: <u>Matt Barnes</u> DAL game 1) 10 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast DAL game 2) 4 pts, 1 reb DAL game 3) 7 pts, 4 reb, 1 ast Dal game 4) 8 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast Dal game 5)16 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl Dal game 6) 16 pts, 11 reb, 7 ast Look how he came on strong to finish the Dallas series. A key in the close-out. Then in Utah: UT game 1) 20 pts, 10 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl UT game 2) 12 pts, 7 reb, 2 stl UT game 3) 8 pts UT game 4) 7 pts, 7 reb UT game 5) 14 pts, 6 reb, 4 stl Well, he was very good in games 1 and 2 -- but overall the whole team stunk that series. Nonetheless, he definately contributed in Playoff time, while other players did not do as well. IMO, I took the good with the bad with Barnes, and his pros definately outweighed his cons. I mean, c'mon Boogie -- he wasn't a complete moron -- sure he's got an ego, but so does every other NBA player if they plan on staying in the league. Now, how he deals with his ego is a different issue. But watching him frisk-down SJAx like a criminal during the Playoff Pre-Game intros -- you have to admit that was priceless...
Fisher put up decent numbers as a warrior and i wouldnt want him back if we had to play with 4 players..... murphy was a double double guy with nice numbers from 3 point range..... on papaer he looks good too both decent production.. I watched every game but one...... all season..... i hate the way barnes plays, his demeanor on the court, the attitude, the clown act like he is a tough guy, his nonchalanting the ball, his no llok passes to the crowd, his soft touch fouls that always resulted in easy three point opportunities for the other team. He is streaky as a 3 point shooter and had a long cold streak. What i hated most about him was when he made an error nine times out of ten he complained, pointed fingers at team mates and immediately would react as if someone else was at fault. I got sick of that really fast. That and his tunnel vision court awareness with the ball where he pushes it up and usually turns it over or shoots it himself. Like i said, if he is willing to accept a contract similar to what he just played for then sign him..... he is a bench player and that is it. For every hustle rebound, big three or big shot he made, he made more stupid passes, ball handling errors, poor shot selection, soft fouls and mental brain farts. The numbers dont tell all
Alley wrote above as you were writing yours. He may not have robbed me at gun point but you should be working Pr for him. And why did nelson turn to him..... there was no else. Ok, barnes benefit of the doubt,,,, he isnt a complete moron, but a lot of times damn close, he has had moments when he has had me cheering.... but he always seems to answer that good play with a frustrating one. I still think we are better off moving on without him. i would not want to see us invest any more than 3 million in him and a 2 year contract at most. so offer him 6.5 mil for two years and i am good with that. but great post Alley ..... good food for thought on barnes
Heh, thanks boogie -- and I agree with you - there's no way we should break the bank for the guy. But out of our current FAs, he had the most + impact, IMO. A 2 year deal for 6.5 mils, like you propose, sounds right to me. If he wants a big deal, good for him. Let him find it elsewhere. We have Monta and Beans to concern ourselves with.
Let's find another NBDL guy. Anyone check out Randy Livingston or Darius Rice? Livingston would be another point. Darius Rice would be a 6'10 combo forward probably best suited towards SF.
