The Warrior Zone wrote:|---THE WARRIOR ZONE---|
Golden State Warriors: Under New Management
Posted June 20, 2009, 6:54 PM - You'd think the day Chris Cohan sold the Warriors would be a joyous one among Warriors fans. Sadly, next to Cohan himself and James Dolan, we got the worst case scenario. Charles fucking Barkley. Public enemy #1 during the "We Believe" era, Barkley has always been a nemesis of the Warrior faithful. Why he decided to acquire the ownership is beyond me.
However, anything is better than Cohan the destroyer, and the replacement of Chris Mullin with Liam Washburn is an exciting one. While Mullin constructed the "We Believe" team, he also spearheaded the Patrick O'Bryant drafting, the Harrington-for-Crawford trade and the Corey Maggette signing. Liam did a fantastic job during his tenure with the Hawks, ending the NBA's longest running playoff drought and making them an exciting young up-and-coming team. (though injuries ruined this last season)
Warriors, meet your new owner!
The caveat with Washburn is that he left the Hawks due to their incompetence as a franchise and feuds with ownership. Now hes going to work for the WARRIORS. With respect to the Clippers, the Warriors are the gold standard for mismanaged NBA teams. The new Barkley ownership might fix this but... Despite this, Liam seems like a great guy and should be an excellent GM. I personally have high hopes. Knock on wood, it could be time to get excited about Warriors basketball again.
The draft is coming up fast, and with his one first-round pick during his Hawks tenure, Washburn selected Al Horford, who would go on to be the best rookie of the year (but get robbed of the award) in 2008. The Warriors need a point guard due to Monta Ellis being dumb as a brick and Marcus Williams and CJ Watson being terrible. They're in luck, as it is the best point guard draft since the CP3, D-Will class. If we do something stupid like draft BJ Mullens, I'll quit. For good this time. I mean it.
But with Washburn at the helm, this shouldn't happen. With Cohan out, we could see playoff basketball return to the Bay Area as soon at this season. Again, knock on wood. At the same time, the Warriors could suffer another 50+ loss year.
The Warrior Zone wrote:|---THE WARRIOR ZONE---|
2009 Warriors Draft Workouts
Posted June 23, 2009, 5:37 PM - With the draft just two days away, The Warrior Zone managed to obtain the results from the pre-draft workouts held. 8 players were brought in: Ricky Rubio, James Harden, Jrue Holiday, Stephen Curry. Tyreke Evans, B.J. Mullens, Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill. Rubio and Harden were the most impressive, while Evans, Hill and Mullens looked like busts in the making. Below are the results of the workouts.
Workout 1: Ricky Rubio vs. Marcus Williams: Spanish point guard prodigy Ricky Rubio matched up against backup point guard Marcus Williams. Williams, being a fellow point guard could be fighting for his position on the roster. Williams got off to an excellent start, hitting a pair of long balls to take a 5-3 lead early on. Rubio then kicked it in to high gear, playing lockdown defense and even hitting a couple from long range itself. Rubio ended up winning the game 11-6, recording 4 steals and going 2-4 from 3pt range, showing improvement in his much criticized outside game. Rubio 11, Williams 6 - NBA comparison: Steve Nash/Gary Payton
Workout 2: James Harden Vs. Marco Belinelli: Marco Belinelli has been a disappointment, being considered a bit of a bust. Despite that, the Warriors believe he can still be a solid backup, and is a great shot. Harden destroyed the Italian swingman, exposing his lack of defense. Belinelli hit a pair of long balls, but was stopped from doing anything else. On the other end, Harden was able to score at will, and won 11-4. Harden 11, Belinelli 4 - NBA Comparison: Manu Ginobili
Workout 3: Jrue Holiday Vs. C.J. Watson: We put combo guard Jrue Holiday up against third string point guard CJ Watson. We had expected Holiday to win rather easily, but it was actually a very long game. Holiday, who had been climbing up draft boards with impressive workouts, had a tough time with Watson. Holiday scored the first five points of the match, but Watson answered with 4 straight of his own. They would then go on to trade baskets, and Holiday won 11-9. His inability to prevent Watson from answering all of his scores was a disappointment, but overall, a decent workout, as he defeated Watson. Holiday 11, Watson 9 - NBA Comparison: Delonte West
Workout 4: Stephen Curry vs. Marcus Williams: Marcus Williams was once again matched up in a workout, this time against Davidson combo guard Stephen Curry. Curry started out very impressive, nailing all of his shots en route to an early 7-2 lead. However, Williams got back into the game with solid defense, and shrunk the lead to 9-8, before hitting a long 2. Curry answered right back with a two of his own. With win by two rules in affect, Williams was able to tie the game at 11. Curry responded with an easy layup. Williams hit a 2 off the check to get the lead. A stop led to a Marcus Williams game winning dunk. Williams 14, Curry 12 - NBA comparison: Jason Terry
Workout 5: Tyreke Evans vs. Anthony Morrow: More like "I reek" Evans. This guy was bad. We put undrafted rookie Anthony Morrow against him, expecting Evans to win. However, he hit none of his shots, and played very little defense. From the outset it looked like he would be perfect for Nellieball. However, he ended up losing 11-3, with Morrow hitting all 4 shots from three-point range. Morrow 11, Evans 3 - NBA Comparison: Larry Hughes (post 2005)
Workout 6: BJ Mullens Vs. Brandan Wright: Mullens was pit against bust Brandan Wright. Mullens was brought in as a potential second round pick or trade down selection. However, he made glass man Brandan Wright look like a lottery pick. He didn't play defense, and only managed to score on Wright once. Horrible. Wright 11, Mullens 1 - NBA Comparison: Patrick O'Bryant
Workout 7: Chase Budinger Vs. Anthony Morrow: Slipping Chase Budinger could fall into the second round, so the Warriors decided to bring him in, seeing him as a possible steal. He didn't disappoint, outperforming Tyreke Evans to actually defeat Morrow 11-8. Morrow's shot was off, and Budinger took advantage. Budinger wasn't too impressive on D, but looked like he could become a good shooter off the bench in this league. Budinger 11, Morrow 8 - NBA Comparison: Kyle Korver
Workout 8: Jordan Hill Vs. Anthony Randolph Hill, perhaps unfairly, was matched up against combo forward Anthony Randolph. Randolph destroyed Hill. Hill, sans dreads, was killed on the boards, couldn't stop Randolph from constantly dunking on him, and lost 11-2. No chance he gets picked by Golden State, unless he slips to the second round. Randolph 11, Hill 2 - NBA comparison: Brandan Wright
Workout Rankings:
1. Ricky Rubio - He will probably go before #5, but if not, the Warriors will definitely pick him up. He would be their answer at the point for years to go, and maybe even their franchise player.
2. James Harden - As impressive as Rubio. If available and Rubio isn't, Warriors take him. However, he is a shooting guard, which Golden State has far too many of.
3. Jrue Holiday - A little disappointing. Will likely be gone as the Suns seem enamored with him, but the Warriors would actually see him as a stretch at 5.
4. Chase Budinger - If he is available at 34, the Warriors will pick him up without a second thought. Budinger exceeded expectations and should make a living in this league as a shooter.
5. Stephen Curry - One-dimensional scorer that can't play D. Not terrible, but he is too much of a stretch at 5.
6. Jordan Hill - He had the stiffest competition, but he was still bad. No dreads either. No reason to take him unless he slides to 34 and Budinger is taken.
7. Tyreke Evans - An even shittier version of Larry Hughes. Evans will not be a Warrior.
8. B.J. Mullens - There is talk of him moving into the lottery. The Warriors wouldn't take him at 34. Just horrible.
7 Players Move, Warriors Jump To #2 In Draft in Three Team Blockbuster
Oakland, CA; June 24, 2009 - The night before the draft, the Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves have made a trade that will move seven players and three draft picks. Golden State is trading for the future, acquiring expiring contracts and moving up in the draft. Memphis is stocking up on young talent. Minnesota is setting up for a playoff run by acquiring veteran backcourt help.
The Warriors will recieve expiring contracts Darko Milicic and Brian Cardinal from the Grizzlies and Timberwolves respectively, and will send combo guard Jamal Crawford to Minnesota, and young talents Brandan Wright and Kelenna Azubuike to Memphis. Additionally, they will swap picks with the Grizzlies, moving up from #5 to #2. The move accomplishes three things for the Bay Area's team: allows them to draft Ricky Rubio, who apparently blew Warriors' scouts away in his workout; clears up cap space for 2010 and/or resigning their young talent; and finally helps clear up logjams in the congested SG and PF positions. While they lose out on some talent, and will have less instant offense on their roster, this trade works very well for the Warriors.
The Memphis Grizzlies move down in the draft with the trade, but with the backcourt shored up with Mike Conley and OJ Mayo, the #2 pick isn't a huge loss. In the trade, they earned lottery caliber prospects in swingman Kelenna Azubuike and Brandan Wright. Azubuike should be one of the premiere sixth men in the league, backing up OJ Mayo and Rudy Gay, while Wright could be their answer at the power forward position. In addition, they received scrub expiring big man Mark Madsen to balance out the salaries, along with Minnesota's 2010 second rounder. Madsen is expected to be waived. This trade improves Memphis's depth and gets them a great deal for a pick that would have otherwise gone to waste. Memphis improves in both the short and long term.
#2
#5
Minnesota, the forgotten team in this trade, made an odd decision here. Despite missing the playoffs by eight games last season, the Timberwolves are developing a "win now" attitude. At the mere cost of expirings Brian Cardinal and Mark Madsen and a 2010 second rounder, the Wolves acquire combo guard Jamal Crawford. Crawford was unpopular during his Warriors run, but is still a talented player who can put up 20 points every single night. Additionally, they acquire Iranian scrub center Hamed Haddadi from the Grizzlies. The Timberwolves get another scoring punch. There is a concern about having a very similar player next to him in Randy Foye, but he is a far better option at the 1 than Sebastian Telfair.
Overall, the trade works for all three teams. Memphis and Golden State both improve in the present and in the future, while Minnesota gets another scorer to help end the league's longest playoff drought. In the NBA, anything could happen. This trade looks like a rare one that is mutually beneficial to all team involved.
Golden State trade grade: A
Memphis trade grade: A-
Minnesota trade grade: B-
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