Warriors trade for Skita and White from Nuggets!

Geez, the things that happen at the trade deadline...

I checked the rumors last night and it looked like all was going to be quiet, I come home and hear that Webber was traded, then I hear that just about everyone else in the league had been traded as well. Oh well, on to the trades...

I absolutely LOVE this trade. Sure Flores had potential, but with Baron and Fisher signed long term, he was never going to see any minutes, especially since Dunleavy would take over at pg if Baron were to go down.

Skita was the guy I originally wanted the Warriors to draft in '02, sure it would have been a bust, but I still think the guy has a ton of potential, he just has to start producing.

This is an excellent move from a salary standpoint. Since they traded for Baron, they definately aren't going to have any salary cap space in the near future, but getting rid of Najera's contract means they can probably get some breathing room from the luxury tax.

Just from reading the espn article on how the collective bargaining negotiations are going, it looks like the owners are going to get about everything they wanted, among which is a limit on the size and length of player contracts (the max length will go from 6-7 years to probably 3-4 or 4-5). Now that Mullin has Skita on the roster, my guess is that he's definately not going to sign Skita or Dunleavy to an extension, but rather give them a year an a half to prove themselves, then sign the one he prefers. (I really doubt White will be re-signed, since the Warriors have Pietrus and Richardson).

Being a tall white guy with a jumpshot, I feel like I can live vicariously through most of the team now. Hey, who knows, maybe Mullin will give me a tryout...

 

Hey WT I got a question for you:

Your prediction was that GS would either trade their draft pick to get a stud or draft a PG. They Traded for a stud without giving up the pick. PG is pretty full now, what's GS gonna do with that pick?

GS has the 5 mil exception, young talent and a top 5 pick? Thinking Summer-time Trade?

 

I love all the trades. Mullin must be in GM heaven now that he's off the hook for a while with the Baron Davis blockbuster trade. I liked Speedy but was never that attached to him. Najera I liked too, but he wasn't going to give us what we needed in a low post presence or outside shot and was pretty much a tweener in the mold of Brian Cardinal/Brian Scalabrine. I have been a fan of Bdiddy since he came into the league out of UCLA. I think he's one of the few point guards who has the whole package of skils which makes him elite and the rest of his team better. Conditioning and injuries are a problem, so I think we're better off just resting him and going at his pace, but what can I say, he is undoubtedly an All-star. We need more all-star calibre players after losing one and giving up another. He gets it done on both ends of the floor so that will help our backcourt matchup against guys like Arenas, Marbury, and Nash a lot better since he can see over the defender, post up, and contest shots easier. We aren't making the playoffs this year anyway so I hope we don't overwork him and we just let him get ready for next season by playing him in very few minutes. 7 foot tall Skita I like since he has a resemblence to Dirk Nowitzki, but he absolutely sucks on defense. Still if you've got a piece on your roster that can dribble the ball like a guard and possibly rebound like a center, block some shots and develop some post game, that's wonderful. Rodney White seems like a nice backup when our scoring goes anemic, but he also is pretty bad on defense (His contract is friendly with a team option on it next season). Flores I think will be a decent player, but there's really no need for him anymore and Denver wants his outside shot. It's not like he's a dynamo athlete and elite playmaker either. All in all I think there's nothing to complain about in giving up Flores who was a third string guard anyway (Pietrus will be better than him and we need Pietrus to be the stud defensive stopper for this team). There's definitely risk when it comes to trading for these guys, but it's good risk since Biddy is proven to be awesome when he's healthy and Jrich and him are good friends (I think both competed against each other in the slam dunk contest at one point) and Tskita is a great project with trade value that other bottom feeding teams might want to try out. Rodney White has a lot of offensive talent and even some post game. Plus, It's not like we were going to pay Speedy more than we do with Fisher and then also keep Dale Davis. We didn't even give up any draft picks either.

Hopefully, I'm not getting my hopes up too high, but next season BDiddy could very well be what we missed out on in Nash this season. We just need that Amare Stoudamire type player since we have our Qrich (Derek Fisher), Joe Johnson (Dunleavy), The Matrix (Jrich). Okay that part, I was humoring you guys. I think we need some low post presence in the worst way and if Murphy can't give that to us, we have to find some other way to get that because Foyle ain't giving that to us and Biedrens is still a project. We also need more depth since you don't want to play injury prone guys like Baron Davis, Troy Murphy too often because they will break down during a season. Hopefully no more than 36 min a game should their average. Also Jrich is bound to pick up some injuries since the guy is absolutely overworked and always in the air. I like the fact we also have 3 Euros that are highly athletic for their size (Biedrens being the most impressive). It is great trade bait too if we don't plan to sign anybody. Of the 3 projects, I'm excited about Biedrens and Skita getting more time. Skita will be dope even if he sucks hard on defense. 7 feet tall, shoots and dribbles the ball like a guard and can play 4 positions? Looks like Mullin got his Jonathan Bender.

Imagine this bench lineup if anyone of these guys develops a reliable post game in addition to their perimeter shot:

Dunleavy - pg 6'9
Pietrus - sg 6'6
Zarko - sf 6'11
Skita - pf 7'0
Andris Biedrens - c 6'11

 

^drool to the bench. Yeah, I think Bender two is here. I never imagined Mullin doing this much on the deadline. When Pietrus wasn't playing I though, Nene for Pietrus= done deal. But then he pulls of B-Diddy and White + Tskitishvili!

 

So the big question is to one of our forum gurus, Wtwalker,
"Who will the Warriors draft in 2005?" We now have BDiddy and you said earlier that we would get Chris Paul or trade down for Raymond Felton. What is your next prediction now that we don't have to worry about re-signing Speedy?

 

The last thing the Warriors need to do is draft for more potential on their bench.

If they don't get lucky and get the number one pick (and draft Bogut), or use their lottery pick in a trade to acquire the number one pick (and draft Bogut), I think they should just draft a Euro and leave him overseas.

Let the players on this roster play and develop, not add another prospect who needs minutes he won't get for a couple years.

 

Who else would be on the block during the offseason? Why not trade our pick? I mean Baron Davis and Jrich are going to be with us for at least 3-5 more years and we need a big man. I'd like to build on that with players that are veterans who could run with these guys and play defense. Atlanta needs a center and will probably be grabbing Bogut if they are lucky enough to get #1. Hornets probably need a point guard with both speed, playmaking and range, so I'd say they go with Chris Paul unless Speedy or Dickau is their future. If not they'd probably go with another big that could play next to Okafor (So that could be Taft or Andriskuviucus-whateverthehell). I don't think there are any great small forwards or shooting guards that really blow anybody away except for a few that are projected low because of lack of experience playing on a higher level. So if all the top bigs are taken Bogut, Andri---<whatever>, Chris Taft, we could be looking at a lot of point guards, some twos, and tweener type small forwards...

 

Obviously the best thing would be ping-pong luck and a shot at Bogut. More likely is plan B, a front court player with enough credentials that we would not be waiting several seasons to get results. I REALLY like Danny Granger and Sheldon Williams. Hakim Warrick is slim,but quick, tough and savvy. If Ike Diogu declares he'd be worth a look. Elsewhere some "expert" was pretty much sneering at the idea S Williams and Diogu were blue chip,saying basically unidentified scouts/insiders and prophets had problems-that Diogu,usually listed as 6-8 is just 6-6. BFD,Barkley was 6-5 and yet often was THE power guy on the floor. All Williams has is that he's a top 5 guy in both boards and blocks. He's about 6-9 260 and,like Ike,gives full intensity always. Granger is a quick 6-8, is just under 10rbd per + just under 50% 3pt,while for a F his assist and shotblock stats shine. As we may be picking #4,5 or 6,we might find we can trade down and still get one of this group. Sheldon W and Diogu are juniors,so there is no certainty either will declare. With 3 Very tall but unproven East Europeans aboard adding another would hardly seem logical,so an established,productive college player who'd be a fairly safe pick,yet with ability to become an impact guy,would make sense.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting custodianrules2:</div><div class="quote_post">Who else would be on the block during the offseason? Why not trade our pick? I mean Baron Davis and Jrich are going to be with us for at least 3-5 more years and we need a big man. I'd like to build on that with players that are veterans who could run with these guys and play defense. Atlanta needs a center and will probably be grabbing Bogut if they are lucky enough to get #1. Hornets probably need a point guard with both speed, playmaking and range, so I'd say they go with Chris Paul unless Speedy or Dickau is their future. If not they'd probably go with another big that could play next to Okafor (So that could be Taft or Andriskuviucus-whateverthehell). I don't think there are any great small forwards or shooting guards that really blow anybody away except for a few that are projected low because of lack of experience playing on a higher level. So if all the top bigs are taken Bogut, Andri---<whatever>, Chris Taft, we could be looking at a lot of point guards, some twos, and tweener type small forwards...</div>

The Hornets have Magloire, so they don't really need a center prospect (which Andriuskivicius is).

And I doubt Charlotte is inclined to draft a Euro big man like Andriuskivicus when they already have a Euro center in Brezec who has contributed nicely this year and will give them more in the next couple of years than a skinny 18 year old like Andriuskivicius, who still needs to develop his game and his body. And they went big last year with Okafor.

Therefore, other than Atlanta the Warriors might not have to worry about too many other teams in the top of the draft lottery, if they want to get Andriuskivicius.

If the W's can't get Bogut, I'd like to see them draft Andrius... and leave him overseas for a couple of years, though they should make sure he gets on some kind of weight lifting/workout program.

The word on him is he's a young, more athletic - and I assume less injury prone - version of Ilgauskaus. If they can get him into the weight room and transform his body like Milicic has done in the last couple of years he could turn out to be a great addition to the team down the line.

I'd still prefer to package the #1 plus some other pieces for Bogut - whose game I like, and who can come in and start next year - but Andriuskivicius is a good #2 option.

Also, The problem with trading down in the NBA draft is that the drop-off in value from the top of the lottery to the bottom is huge, and I'm not sure the Warriors are that good a team to accept the difference they'd be getting back for trading down - and probably taking a sg like McCants whose projected to go around #10 overall - for what could be a top 4 draft pick.