February 26, 2006
The Warriors: Get a Move on Already
What's the plan?
The War-bloons have basically been treading water for the last couple of months, and like a small-time sucker playing conservative bets at the $5 blackjack tables in Reno, the house odds are starting to take their toll. Yet as their won-loss record sinks further into the red and the playoff dream shrivels up like Adonal Foyle's points per game average, Head Veep Chris Mullett can only watch as opportunities like the NBA trading deadline slip past like Brad Miller blowing by Troy Murphy unabated to the hoop.
All season, Mullethead has been unwilling or unable to make a deal to improve this team. When he did dip his toe into the trade waters, it was only to bumble around the fringes of the Ron Artest trade like George Bush trying to find his way out of a Chinese paper bag, coming away with nothing except increased team disharmony.
On Thursday the trading deadline passed without the team making any move to get better. Tuesday's debacle at the hands of the Sacramento Queens put the War-droops back in familiar territory in the Pacific Division.The number eight playoff position is three and one-half games off and pulling away. After Saturday's loss to the Spurs, they find themselves seven games under .500.
Other teams made moves, why couldn't the War-flakes address at least one of their issues. There weren't even any interesting rumors or discussions involving the War-blahs.
Has War-bleeps management conceded the season? Are they working on next year's plan? Once again we ask, what is the team's plan for the future? What is their plan for building a playoff team, let alone a championship team? If Mullinitover is having trouble figuring out the deals, there are plenty of helpful tools out there for an in-over-his-head GM, including ESPN's Trade Machine and the RealGM Trade Checker.
Obviously, Mullichokes and his front office crew have vision up the butt, but we've come up with three moves that could make this squad a contendah right now.
Jason Richardson for Ray Allen. With a sharpshooter like Allen to complement, not duplicate the Baron's style, the War-clogs can really stretch opposing defenses and give the flying B even more room to maneuver. Richardson does put up numbers, but so did Antawn Jamison, so does Troy Murphy. Jason is too inconsistent to be the go-to guy, even when he does score big, as he did Friday night against Houston when he rolled in 39.
Our point is not to rip Jason, he's a solid guy and a productive player, but winning teams are about more than numbers, they are about results. Sadly, Jason doesn't get results and Baron does. The War-limps don't need two high-scoring, slashing, driving guards in the backcourt. They need Baron and somebody to complement Baron. Richardson's points are redundant and counterproductive. They need a pure outside shooter like a Ray Allen or a defensive stopper like Raja Bell. Jason Richardson is an All-Star player, a two-time slam dunk champion, and he's only 25. The kid has definite market value. It's time the War-bucks leveraged this asset for their future.
Murphy, Foyle, and Chris Taft, and however many draft picks it takes to pry Kevin Garnett away from Minnesota. The Timberfools are going nowhere fast and neither are the War-crimps unless they get a legitimate, veteran frontcourt player. Garnett wants out, we want him. Why waste even one second of time fooling around with Ron Artest when KG was sitting right there for the taking. KG is a legitimate, veteran, two-way, All-star power forward, a dominating force on the blocks who can D up on the big boys of the league but still pick up 15 and 10 a night. Murphy has the numbers, but they're hollow. This team doesn't win with Murphy and doesn't miss him when he's not in. Like Richardson, Murphy's numbers could be very attractive to a team like the Timberfools who are also out there running around without a plan.
Ditch Mike Montgomery. His ridiculously conservative lineups and unimaginative substitution patterns in the first half of the season cost the War-neeps valuable gelling time. Instead of working everybody into the flow of the season, Monty stayed safely within the box, and gave massive minutes to the team's three contract loads. He has never commanded the absolute respect of this team and does not appear to have the killer instinct of winning coaches like Phil Jackson, Greg Popovich, and Larry Brown. Can Monty now and give War-blech assistants Mario Elie or Keith Smart a pull at the reins for the rest of the season. Monty is a lame duck. Start the 2006-2007 season now.
If the War-bombs make these three moves it will give them a starting five of Andres Biedrins C, Garnett PF, Mikeal Pietrus SF, Allen SG, and Davis PG, with Ike Diogu, Derek Fisher, Mike Dunleavy, and Monta Ellis as the key reserves off the bench, and led by fiery Elie or cool and collected Smart. Now that's a team with some future upside.
Of course, in the world of professional agentry and collective bargaining agreements, nothing is ever easy. Doesn't matter. Where there's a will, there's a way. Deferred contracts, signing bonuses, bundles of conditional draft picks, real estate in Pacific Heights, there is a way. Whether its on the hardwood or in the executive washroom, the great ones find a way to get it done.
Unfortunately, with the trading deadline now in the rear view mirror, it looks like the War-flails' next chance to improve the team will be this May when they take their Helen Thomas memorial chair at the NBA draft lottery. In the meantime, we can only hope that ole Flat Top is groovin' up slowly on next year's plan for success.
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I'm sure that if Ray Allen was available for J-Rich or KG for Murph, even Mullin would have pulled the trigger. Foyle for Shaq could have helped too, or Fish for Nash (try to say it very fast, Fish for Nash, Nash for Fish, see how good a trade it sounds?)
But Monty has not been able to establish a role for his players, all 3 point shooters, and not so good at that. He's so back at the farm.
Yo cedichou,
"I'm sure that if Ray Allen was available for J-Rich or KG for Murph, even Mullin would have pulled the trigger."
We appreciate the sarcasm, but thinking like that had people convinced that Bush was doing everything possible to help New Orleans during Katrina. Incompetence does exist.
We simply ask again, what is the plan? Frankly, we don't see one, and letting the trading deadline go by without even floating a trial balloon does little to allay our fears of Isaiah West.
Are you satisfied with "the plan"?
Am I satisfied by the plan? That's a completely different question. But I believe that the warriors are underachieving with the players they have. Maybe the GM is underachieving, but he did pull a Baron Davis-Speedy Claxton trade that I would have been sarcastic of before it happened. There was no trade available except for headcase like Artest or Francis, so if Mully is incompetent, so are the 26 GMs not involved in those trades (and Isiah is incompetent too). I believe that he has some key elements in place and only needs a coach. He's gonna keep Monty till the end of the season, then it's buh-bye.
Ray Allen is averaging just a little over 2 ppg more than Richardson. That's not very much. Although Allen is a better outside shooter than Richardson, Jason actually has a higher FG%. Considering that Jason is only shooting 65% from the foul line, if he ever get's his free throw act together then he will easily average more points than Allen. Ray is 90% on FT so he is already about at his max. Although I concede that Ray might score more if he was playing with a better point guard like Baron. Allen is also 31 and about ready to start the downside of his career just when he signed a massive long-term contract... and he might be a worse defender than Jason. J-Rich isn't even close to being in his prime yet, and he get's better every year. Plus, Jason is a fierce competitor.
The T-Wolves will only trade Garnett for cap space and several good draft picks. Foyle and Murphy have horrible long-term contracts so the Wolves wouldn't get any relief there. And the Warriors haven't really stocked up on any draft picks except for their own.
Although I argued against it at the time, in hindsight it is obvious that the Warriors should have traded Dunleavy, Pietrus and Diogu for Artest. That's why I'm not a GM. I'm pretty sure Mullin will do a deal this summer, when a lot more players become available. He's got to do something with Pietrus up for an extension. It will just be interesting to see who goes between him and Dunleavy.
It was interesting to hear that there was actually a lot of trade talk around the deadline about Derek Fisher. It would have really helped the Warriors to get rid of his contract. Unfortunately, Montgomery refused to develop Ellis into the 3rd string PG role early in the season, so the Warriors couldn't trade Fisher once Baron sprained his ankle. Yet another example of the poor job Monty has done in developing the players and their roles. Ideally, Monta would be the backup PG next year, but Fisher still has several years left on his ridiculous contract.