GSW·2012-13| WEEK 6: Dec 2- 8, 2012 + Player Profiles

[Clutch]

Andrew - "but between stars staying put and stars changing teams like players on ten day contracts, the former is the lesser of two evils in my opinion. " I definitely agree man; players scattering to the wind says nothing for team loyalty these days; it's why i can respect a player like Paul Pierce who's been w/the C's forever... then again i suppose he'd never have gotten a title nor been in position this year to nab another had KG and Allen elected to be lifers with their previous teams;

Martti - I know, Daequan ... his ratings/potential are insane, and a few other guys like him too; Kwame Brown comes to mind - he's a BEAST! it was tough not to pursue Cook in free agency only because of his stats but in the end i decided I still wanted to develop Morrow so it'd be funner playing against Daequan than with him;

Thierry - TC 2.0 playing a lot is pretty doubtful; he'll have kickass seats to watch the games though hah; in a way i was also glad LBJ decided to stay put, though i need to actually look at how long he signed as it could be 1-yr, it could be 6... i need to look into it

[Clutch]

Part Four...

Free Agent Signing Period Begins



Detroit's Tayshaun Prince and swingman Caron Butler, of the newly crowned NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks, were among the top free agents to declare eligibility.



Strangely, however, the player to command the most interest was a 24-year-old 7'1" 240 lbs rookie by the name of Dennis Bonds. For his size, talent and asking price Bonds seemed to be the league's best bargain and the Bucks, Celtics and Jazz among others were all in early negotiations.

July 26, 2011



A couple of signings and retirements were announced on the 26th. Power forward Jeff Greene re-inked with the Thunder, keeping the Greene-Durant-Wade triumvirate intact in Oklahoma City.

Big man Channing Frye decided to leave Phoenix for Toronto, adding much needed frontcourt support for superstar Chris Bosh.

Calling it quits were Antonio McDyess and Steve Francis for the the Spurs and Rockets respectively.


Warriors Pursue their first Free Agent: #51 Sean Williams, PF-C



Head coach Avery Johnson felt that controlling the glass had been one of Golden State's key areas of weakness in years past which coach Nellie failed to address. So the choices were narrowed down to a select few from the staff's several recommendations; a few "high priorities" candidates to aggressively pursue, the first of which was forward, Sean Williams.



A solid shot-blocking presence and aggressive rebounder, Johnson felt Williams would bring high energy off the bench or even challenge Randolph for the Starting PF role; either way Randolph would need to elevate his game or risk decreased playing time.

After leaving the NBA to play internationally with Fujian SBS XunXin in the CBA and the Gaynabo Mets of Puerto Rico, Williams would now be hungry to re-establish himself as a legit NBA caliber player; unfortunately the New Orleans Hornets also realized this and wished to secure Williams and pair his power-finishes with All-Star point, Chris Paul.

The negotiations war was on.

July 28, 2011



To the Warriors' good fortune, Sean Williams would accept a 5-year contract which would pay him just under 6.5M in it's final year.

"I'm excited," said Williams, who will wear the #51 for Golden State. "A lot of young talent on this squad and they run the type of ball I'm best at playing. I'm looking to make an instant impact and prove I belong here on this team and in the NBA."


____

Thought this would be the final 'Fast FWD' update but it's not; as I'm heading out the door and don't have time to finish - more later!

[Valor]

Sean Williams

MAKE HIM INTO A STAR!!

[Andrew]

Andrew - "but between stars staying put and stars changing teams like players on ten day contracts, the former is the lesser of two evils in my opinion. " I definitely agree man; players scattering to the wind says nothing for team loyalty these days; it's why i can respect a player like Paul Pierce who's been w/the C's forever... then again i suppose he'd never have gotten a title nor been in position this year to nab another had KG and Allen elected to be lifers with their previous teams;

Absolutely. I was referring more to NBA Live 10's trade logic though, stars change teams far too frequently.

[Martti.]

I'm guessing you signed someone else? Williams is nice, especially in games like Live '06.

[Clutch]

Off-Season Wrap Up.

July 28, 2011 (Cont.)



The West got a little stronger while the East got a little weaker when versatile big man, Rasheed Wallace, retired from the Boston Celtics and defensive-stopper Tayshaun Prince left Detroit to play along side superstar PG, Chris Paul… though Avery Johnson smiled to himself privately in satisfaction knowing the Warriors had at least somewhat thwarted the Hornets' efforts to lock-down both Prince and Sean Williams.

July 30 - Aug 3, 2011



The Warriors' backup point, Delonte West, elected to accept the starting PG position for Houston after learning of Yao Ming's re-signing with the team. The addition of West alongside shooting guard Monta Ellis now pairs-up two former Warriors starting in the Rockets' backcourt, creating a highly anticipated reunion/showdown when the duo meet Stephen Curry and Kevin Martin.

A knee injury tracing back to the final days of the last year's regular season had not healed properly, forcing Zydrunas Ilgauskas to end his playing career in Chicago after a grueling 14 years. Big Z's name was close to the top of the list of notable retiring players in 2011.



August 5, 2011

Warriors Pursue 2nd F.A.: #13 Joakim Noah, C-PF



Even before the off-season began, the chances of Chicago re-signing big man Joakim Noah had rapidly deteriorated after a supposed altercation between Noah and recently appointed Chicago Bulls' GM, Gar Forman. The incident occurred late last season and is now being referred to simply as, "Fro-gate."

Last April, as the season wound down and with Chicago clearly out of the playoff picture, tempers flared one particular team practice which Forman attended. Apparently at some point after enduring what he could take watching the lackadaisical efforts of the team, Forman erupted and there was a heated exchange between Forman and Noah where the former verbally assaulted the latter with insults like, "clueless hippy", "nitwit furball" and "clumsy yeti" which ended with Forman insisting Noah shave his trademark shag immediately or he would, "do it himself."

While cooler heads eventually prevailed and the incident resolved itself, the damage was done and Noah willingly entered free agency.



After signing with Golden State on August 5th, a grinning Noah told reporters,"I asked coach (Johnson) if my 'doo would be a problematic… he told me I could come in lookin' like Sasquatch for all he cared; as long as I kept producing and pushing myself to improve. I liked that."

August 7 , 2011



Now that the Warriors' front court had received a much needed adrenaline shot with the additions of Noah and Williams, coach Johnson and staff went to work on their back court.

On August 7th, the Warriors placed an offer with versatile free agent guard, Von Wafer, hoping he would give the team additional firepower off the bench. Wafer, a decent scorer, ball distributor and defender who had bounced around from team-to-team in the NBA and internationally, accepted knowing that in the Warriors' system he might finally find a longer-term home if he could prove his worth to coach Johnson.

August 7-24, 2011

Time had run short and with the season opener just around the corner, un-signed players testing the free agent waters who had failed to receive any offers began re-signing back to their original teams, many of them accepting contracts for less than initially offered.





Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors came to a sign-and-trade agreement with Atlanta, sending guards Mack Lewis and Tyrone Oxford to the Hawks in exchange for 24-year-old, 1st-year-pro point guard, Richard Baker (see, "Player Spotlight" below)

Staff Hirings



Finding a single replacement for such a rare gem as defensive guru assistant coach Leif Gillis who had also stepped down into retirement with Coach Nelson back in July, was an impossible assignment.



The Warriors did their best by bringing in two assistant coaches, Tyronne Bailey and Kurt Morgan, as well re-signing scout, Giles West for an additional 2 years.

Player Development & Evolution

Coach Johnson looked at his roster and was pleased with the off-season adjustments he'd made. He also saw the effort players had taken during the off-season to improve which further boosted his confidence in the team.





Andris Biedrins, Ronnie Turiaf and Anthony Randolph all put on some muscle weight and improved skills-wise overall, with the latter two showing up for training camp looking leaner than the previous season.



Kelenna Azubuike spent the off-season dropping a few pounds and came to camp looking chisled and ready. "I got a little too beefy last season and lost some explosiveness so this summer I focused on slimming down a bit. Now I feel great and can't wait to start the season."

The Golden State Warriors will kick off the 2011-2012 season at home in Oracle Arena, Saturday October 29th hosting the mighty trio of Kevin Durant, Jeff Greene, Dwyane Wade and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

___

Player Spotlight: #6 Richard 'Gollum' Baker



Richard Baker
Age: 24
Position: PG-SG
School: Lincoln HS
Drafted 47th overall in 2010 by ATL
Birth Place: Novi Pazar, Serbia - Mont.

OVRL: 70 | Ht: 6' 1" | Wt: 188 lbs | Yrs Pro: 1

FG 63 | 3PT 85 | FT 60 | Dunk 71 | Stl 53 | Blk 23 | Off Reb 25 | Def Reb 25 | Pass 70 | Off Aware 46 | Def Aware 61 | Spd 65 | Qck 62 | Jump 83 | Drib 95 | Str 45 | Hardy 44 | Sta 54 | Ins. Scr 58

Evaluation: Now entering his second NBA season, Richard 'Gollum' Baker is the product of Coney Island's Abraham Lincoln High, joining the alumni ranks of New York street legends, Sebastian Telfair and Stephon Marbury.

Born, "Türkcan Jahović " in Novi Pazar, southwest Serbia, Baker was a huge fan of american sci-fi and monster movies in his youth and adopted the name, "Richard Baker" after Special FX movie makeup artist "Rick Baker" when his family immigrated to the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York at the age of 9.

Living in the projects, the transition from Serbia to Coney wasn't an easy one, and Baker found sanctuary dribbling a basketball for hours in the near pitch-black basement level of their family's tiny, run-down apartment since he wasn't allowed to explore or be anywhere but at home or school due to the rampant crime, violence and drug-usage in the area.

Later, as Baker began to participate in team sports at school, his ball-handling skills dazzled defenders and slowly earned him respect. An opposing defender once said that trying to steal the ball from him was like, "trying to take 'the Precious' from Gollum" and because of his pale and pasty appearance, the street tag kept. A monster enthusiast, Baker enjoyed it, and even wore the #6 saying it represented the letter "G" of his nickname.

Today Baker is known for his defensive tenacity, a silky-smooth three-point shot, surprising leaping and athleticism for his height, fair passing skills but most of all, for his absolutely wicked handles.

Baker was selected 47th-overall last season by the Atlanta Hawks but saw very limited minutes behind starter Mike Bibby and reserves, Jeff Teague, Mario West and fellow rookie guard, Josh Holbrook. who was taken 17th in the first round by the Hawks. In fact Baker only played 9 games all of last season with Atlanta averaging 0.9 PPG, 0.2 RPG, 0.3 APG, 0.22 SPG, 0 BPG.

It's unlikely Baker will see much time again this season, barring a rash of unforeseen team injuries; then again, this is the Warriors, so nothing is ruled out. Perhaps 'Gollum' will have his time in the sun with Golden State.

[Clutch]

Andrew - i figured that was also what you might be referring to; i remember reading a lot of complaints about it in several people's dynasties; one of the reasons an upgrade to Live '10 just didn't appeal to me;

Martti - you beat me to the post but yah Williams is since Amar'e (who i really wanted) decided to stay put

[Valor]

I hate to see Joakim leave Chi-town...but i guess i know you'll do him justice

[Cleveland wins]

Great offseason recaps, you got two nice big men in Williams and Noah, good job. Boy Turiaf really bulked up my goodness; nice trade for that 1 year pro point gaurd to.

[Andrew]

Fine signing in Noah, hope Williams works out for you as well. Great coverage as always!

[kibaxx7]

Maverick & Gollum, nice players Nice signing in Joakim.

[Clutch]

Valor - blame their GM not me i'm just lucky Noah was available; it came down to he and Marc Gasol, either of which I would've been fine with; anyway, don't worry... Noah and AJ get along well so he's in good hands

Cleveland wins - thx man and yeah, funny how players can put on the poundage yet their physical appearance thins out; but then again muscle does weight more than fat so i figure it makes sense;

Andrew/Thierry - thx for the comments guys; T, just felt like giving my scrubs some personality since it's highly likely they will rarely get to see the court

[Martti.]

Definitely Noah>Gasol.

Great pick-up. But is he coming off the bench? Or will Biedrins take a seat?

[Clutch]

Azubuike takes and makes the first basket of the season for Golden State | Noah's screen nearly levels Wade freeing Curry for a deep three


Durantula attacks the rim for 2 of his game-high 37 points | Wade with the nice recovery denies Curry's shot attempt


Von Wafer finishes the And-1 over last year's 8th overall pick, Thomas "Hulk" Mendoza | Williams goes high for the one-handed rebound


Noah and Williams not only crashed the glass but showed the toughness to finish with authority

[Clutch]

Martti - tough call... but off the bench for now; hard to tell from the first game since Beans got in early foul trouble

[kibaxx7]

47 bench points, nice job man. Loving the pics, they remind me of your Rockets layout.

[megarover]

Your team is incredibly deep at this point especially considering big man.

[dare]

That is one nice recap man The newly signs was good for their first game although I'm expecting Noah to start

[Andrew]

Great start, here's hoping they can keep up that form.

[Clutch]

Thierry - technically 55 off the bench as you forgot Noah and thx on the layout; some familiar elements borrowed/rehashed from my Rockets most def;

megarover - "deep" i can live with; "stacked" is when i run higher chance of burnout; reminds me... roster now updated on pg 1;

dare - thx man; Noah? not starting for now... i can't give up on Biedrins just yet;

Andrew - also thx; there'll be some ups and downs for sure but hopefully we can hold a steady avg

[Martti.]

Great win against a very strong team. And damn, Wade doesn't fit in that ugly-ass Thunder jersey.

[Clutch]

Oct 31, 2011 - GS @ LAL - Box Score & Game Recap

Game Pics


Unstoppable Artest driving for 2 of his game-high 28 points | Byrant making it look effortless while the Warriors watch in awe

Gasol converts the bucket-and-1... then give Biedrins an ear-full of trash talk

Richard 'Gollum' Baker takes a stab at guarding the Mamba | Noah with another solid night crashing the glass

AJ praises his team for considerably less turnovers in the 2nd half | Just too much Gasol to handle in the closing minutes

[kibaxx7]

Despite the loss, it's great when you can lock Kobe to 20- points. Good luck next contest!

[Andrew]

Still not a bad game, pretty impressive comeback after a woeful second quarter. Better luck next time!

[Cleveland wins]

You seem to have a good bench, even against the lakers, especially Morrow, keep up the good work.