He doesn't get to make that read. It's his job to aggressively pursue all best options, up until the last second. That's his job. Not to say "well, I don't think we'll get anything done, so let's abandon ship and give away one of our best trade assets for nothing." There are always a market for expiring contracts. They are the hottest thing right now, with 2010 FA coming up. You know what's not very hot? D-Leaguers... Exactly. There is NO EXCUSE whatsoever for cutting Claxton. Show me an argument for it, and I'll show you the door. Riley may be gone soon. That's not his asset to throw away. That's the team's asset. That's Ellison's asset, perhaps. Giving it away makes the Franchise all the more unsavory for purchase (if that's possible). Riley, you won't be around much longer. But that cap room would have been. Or the value thereof. This dude is in over his head. Next thing you know, he'll lock up Mikki Moore to a 5years/$50 mils for fear of losing him to FA.
Noooo. I was going to post about getting Tyrus Thomas. The Bulls would ship him out for expiring contracts. Thomas' salary is $4.7 M, so Claxton's contract would have done it. Even if we do not renew Thomas, his last year is worth $6.26 M expiring next year. The Bulls want to be players in the 2010 FA and could land Dwyane Wade and Joe Johnson with enough salary cap room. As I argued Thursday, Mike D'Antoni's Seven Seconds or Less system is not for everybody, with the travesty that is the Knicks offense offering proof. Harrington is actually a decent fit as a long, clever, fearless shooter. But the New York roster is certainly missing a few key ingredients. Like a passable passing point guard. And a gifted interior passer. And more shooters. And big men who can rebound defensively, sprint the floor and finish at the rim. Thomas fills only one of these roles (and not the most important), but oh! how he could fill it. Thomas is, statistically at least, one of the best interior defenders in the league. He finished fourth in the league in total blocks last season, and captures defensive rebounds as frequently as most centers. On his career, he averages 1.5 steals per 36 minutes -- steals are typically a good way to judge a big man's defensive skill, provide the big man in question (like Tim Duncan) doesn't play in a system which eschews playing for the steal at all times. On offense, Thomas wouldn't be the prototype for the D'Antoni system -- he doesn't pass well enough to fill a Boris Diaw type role, he's not a consistent enough scorer to memorialize Amar'e Stoudemire, and he certainly can't shoot like Channing Frye. He may, however, be able to turn himself into a modified Shawn Marion: a skilled sprinter who murders in transition and offers stellar solo defense. At this point in each's respective careers, Marion was much further along the development path. But Thomas is exceedingly young (just 23), and no one has ever denied his possession of incredible raw tools. The main draw of T.T. on offense is his ability to finish: almost everything he gets around the basket, he dunks. He doesn't have the best touch on those vital 5-10 foot shots, but he's solid, and there's no doubt that (like Josh Smith) he can get religion under the proper tutelage. No offense to Vinny Del Negro, but I think D'Antoni can reach Thomas a bit more easily, given that D'Antoni and Thomas have no beef, while Del Negro and Thomas have nothing but beef. Certainly, while David Lee is the better rebounder and more efficient (by far) offensive roleplayer, I'd be more ready to hand New York's power forward position to the current Bull than the career Knick. He just has the defensive and interior finishing tools D'Antoni needs. Of course, there's the matter of contractual issues: Thomas will be a restricted free agent at year's end. That means that in order to keep its right of first refusal, the Knicks would be forced to present a qualifying offer in excess of $6 million, which effectively ties up $6 million of cap space heading into the vital free agency period. New York would still be able to offer a max contract to a free agent, should the opportunity present itself, but that would likely result in relinquishing the Bird rights to Lee, who is already on schedule to become an unrestricted free agent but who currently can receive a longer, bigger contract from the Knicks. That'd go out the window, and it probably wouldn't make Lee's camp too happy. http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/12/04/tyrus-thomas-to-the-knicks-yes-please/ I can't think of a reason why Riley would do this when MT2 laid out his options.
Just like when they used their $10 mils trade exemption from the JRich/BWright trade to get.... well.... nothing...?
Kawakami had more details on why the Warriors did this . Kobe next? Here’s what the source told me: Don Nelson loves D-Leaguers, and continuously tells the front office that his coaching can turn $660k players into players worth $4M. Nelson, I’m told, wasn’t happy about having to give up Cartier Martin when Martin was due a guaranteed deal and was released instead. Nelson loves Tolliver even more and can’t stand Vladimir Radmanovic (for obvious reasons), so he was going to fight the Tolliver thing to the limit. Nelson likes Anthony Morrow and Kelenna Azubuike and Coby Karl and we probably couuld go on and on, as long as they’re D-Leaguers, cheap, malleable and willing to go along with his grand eccentricities. http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawaka...s-throw-away-claxtons-5-2m-expiring-contract/
Even if it was Don Nelson's pushing to keep another healthy body around and his love of D-Leaguers, Riley should have been able to swing these contracts to a team that is even cheaper or looking for cap space more than the Warriors in exchange for a second round pick or a young, healthy player that's been underachieving. C'mon, Riley, don't give into your friend just because he got you the job. Instead, use good basketball sense to actually do your job right. Yeah, that underachiever that we could have had could have failed, too, but expiring contracts are totally useless to this team, because we won't have any cap space next season either. I literally threw my head into my desk when I heard about this move. *Edit: A short history of the Riley era 1. Rejects C.J. Watson trade, reportedly a pretty good offer. C.J. angry and unlikely to resign with Warriors, Magic angry, fostering a bad future trade relationship. 2. Trades Crawford for Claxton and Acie Law. Turns Claxton into nothing, and Acie Law with Jackson trade. So basically Crawford for nothing. 3. Trades away Belinelli, who turns into a decent if unremarkable rotation player for Raptors, for money. At least he got money back for this, but it was almost giving him away for nothing. 4. Signs Mikki Moore, later waives him since his foot is broke. Moore is a good soldier, but basically cannon fodder. 5. Manages to trade away Jackson for broken-wrist Raja Bell, plus a tall white guy who's being paid about $11 million over the next two years. I can't say this was a bad move, but it certainly can't ranked as "good" either. Even though it was certainly unlikely, now scenarios where desperate teams like the Bulls, 76'ers, Suns, or Wizards (or probably more, but those teams are all in the most common rumor-mill targets) are almost totally void. Unlike other poor seasons of Warriors past, couldn't even add hope for the rest of this season as a reason to watch the Warriors.
I can only guess Riley believes Nelson because Nelson has kept his job through the turmoil and will be here at least through 2010/2011. Job security is job # 1 for Riley. There is no need for you to bang your head through your desk because we do not need to make a trade when Don Nelson can pull $4M players out of the D-League hat . What I like to see Riley do is try and dump Maggette's contract and keep the rest of the team intact. Maggette's contract is not that bad when compared to contracts of Iggy and Caron Butler. Then all we need is a center who can run, make outside shots and pass. Maybe a 3-way with Chicago and Phoenix where we get Channing Frye, Bulls get an expiring contract and the Suns pick and the Suns get Tyrus Thomas. As for the Don Nelson fans, I decided if you can't beat Nelson, then live with him. But the Warriors should vow to never hire another ex-Warrior for the front office or coaching position . Even Mullin, who had the most success, had mixed results. After that, we can work to get rid of Cohan.
In my right hand, I have something that can be replaced at any moment at little to no cost at all by me or anyone else. In my left hand, I have something that I can't use right now, but is of value to others. Because I don't want to swallow additional cost in the future, I'm going to just destroy the object of value. How does this make sense ANY way that you look at it? Speechles....Sad....Depressed.... How is this guy (Rowell) in any position of power? He made his name on revamping the club level to bring in more money, when in reality, Mullin put the team together that the Bay finally spent additional money to watch. Because the product was worth it. Cohan is a moron. I hate him. I can honestly say, that there is nobody more inept than him in all professional sports. I'll say with 100% confidence that he's the worst owner in American Sports, and without knowing much about sports in the rest of the world...I'd say he's probably the worst owner in the world. He still makes money in spite of the team and the Bay, not because he knows what he's doing. The Niners and Raiders went through a drought. This could be the best show in town, yet he's content with making witless moves and turning a profit. I'm flat out sick of it. I'm mad as hell, and I can't take it ANY MORE!!!
I hate to break up the Riley bashing, but here's more news about Tyrus Thomas. Can Riley get Thomas with just the exception? I don't know, but he should try if he has any left. Thomas could be another Shawn Marion on the right team and makes $4.74 M this year. The Bulls announced Saturday afternoon that forward Tyrus Thomas has been suspended for one game for conduct detrimental to the team. He won't play against the Heat tonight at the United Center. Maybe more details will follow, but this probably stems from unhappiness about his playing time. Even with Joakim Noah out, Thomas played just 16 minutes in Friday's loss at Atlanta -- his fifth straight game of 20 or fewer minutes. Here's what coach Vinny Del Negro said about the suspension before Saturday's game: “It’s disappointing, but I feel it’s the right thing to do. In the short run, there’s a responsibility. No one player is bigger than the team. There’s a responsibility to do things right. "I think by handling the situation the right way, which I think we are –- I know we are -- it’s not one person it’s a group. You have to be committed to what your role is on the team. You have to be committed to your teammates, your coaches, your organization. That goes for everybody. Guys know how things run around here and that’s how it’s going to be." Thomas had a couple of nice games when he first returned from a broken left arm on Dec. 26, but since then his playing time and his contributions have been sporadic. Team insiders have said coach Vinny Del Negro has made it a policy to hold players accountable, but how exactly that relates to Thomas isn't clear. As every Bulls fan knows, the fourth-year forward can make some poor decisions on the floor and he can dominate games with his defense and athleticism when plays well. I'm hearing there isn't much trade interest in Thomas right now, so the Bulls may end up just renouncing his rights this summer when he becomes a restricted free agent. http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/3401
