In Response to the Big Warriors Trade

As Mr. A just said...Garbage! Look, I don't know enough about basketball to talk down to the Warriors front office. Every year I get more and more into the NBA, but I'm not at a level where I can discuss player value with authority. But I've watched a lot of Warrior basketball this season and quite enjoyed it. So it's hard not to react.

The Warriors traded their best player (Ellis, the NBA's 9th leading scorer), plus an up-and-coming power forward (Udoh) showing signs of sustained improvement in all aspects of the game. In return they get an injury prone former #1 pick (Bogut) who's numbers hardly jump off the page (career 12.7 PPG, 9.3 RPG), plus a diva (Jackson). Oh and they gave up Kwame Brown, their off-the-bench center, who's out for the season and who no one cares about.

Bogut's return (fractured ankle) this year is questionable, and so without Monta's offense and Udoh's defense, the Warriors are going to be pretty much unwatchable for the rest of this year. They beat the Kings (wow!) tonight, but their ability to win even a handful more games will hinge on Steph Curry's glass ankle and whether Stephen Jackson can play nice. The silver lining, which likely was the motivation behind the trade, is a better lottery position in the draft. Unless the W's land a top-7 pick, they have to relent their first round spot to Utah. So I see the motivation to tank. Ultimately, I'm actually okay with it. You never want to be in the oft-discussed "NBA Purgatory" -- not good enough to contend, not bad enough to rebuild through high draft picks. I'll miss the departing Ellis and Udoh, though.

I've always loved Monta, but I've never been IN love with Monta. It seems to me he's not quite good enough to be the best player on a real contender, but his style dictates he sort of needs to be the best player on his team. So I think this is akin to a relationship where if you know you're not going to marry the girl, what are you really doing with her?

I think giving up Udoh is what really is going to come back to bite them. He's only going to get better, and I could see him as a very important role player, if not a starter. He was, after all, a 6th overall pick. Seems like he should have had more value. Maybe that's their own fault for not getting him more minutes, although they were on the rise.

The return of Stephen Jackson is intriguing. I'm sure I'll fall right back into his charms, but he's already broken my heart once, when he pined for a contract extension, and then whined until he got traded. It'll be cool and exciting if he plays well -- he'll give the already awesome home crowds even more energy. But it's on him to win me back.

People say this Bogut character is a legit center. If he's healthy, and Curry's healthy, the W's are a more balanced team. If they can land a good draft pick, and with David Lee doing what he does, they can be good. I want them to be good so bad. But I think they gave up too much, with Udoh being the underrated aspect of that. Who knows -- maybe they had a miracle run to the playoffs in them this year (they're only 3 games back of the 8th spot, albiet with 4 other teams in front of them). But now I think the right move is to hope they lose, because it's likely going to take a lot of that to secure that top-7 pick.