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The Warriors: Ciao, JRich
" . . . and with the 18th pick, the Golden State Warriors take . . . Marco Belinelli."
Uhhh, come again?
Damn, we hate being this good. Was there ever any doubt that Don Nelson would use the Warriors first round pick on a guard? With big men Jason Smith and Tiago Splitter still on the board, the Warriors went with Belinelli, a 6'6" shooting guard from team Climamio Bologna. Belinelli, who looks like he's about to hit puberty any day now, has good size for a shooting guard and a nice shooting touch. He has drawn some comparisons to Ray Allen, but Draft Express lists Mike Miller as a best-case comparison, so . . .
Fresh faces and fresh hope for the Warriors after a draft day that had more action than a Warriors-Suns game. Now, who are these guys again? Photo from Golden State Warriors official website.
This pick would make absolutely no sense, using the team's only first round pick to further strengthen their only undisputed strength, the backcourt, if not for the real move of the day. And by move, we're talking about a wicked, slashing, crossover into the lane for a double-pump two-handed tomahawk of a move.
The Warriors have traded Jason Richardson to the Charlotte Bobcats for the rights to Brandan Wright.
An undisputed crowd favorite and heart and soul of the team, JRich will be sorely missed by Warrior Nation. However, it was evident from the beginning that Richardson was not one of Nellie's favorites. Add in his decent trade value, the $11 mil he's owed next year, and the fact that he plays a position at which the Warriors are stacked, and the writing was on the wall.
Wright is a 6'10" freshman out of North Carolina who was drafted number eight overall by the Bobcats. He is a much-heralded talent, a guy with a 7'6" wingspan and all the athleticism in the world. When the Bobbies picked Wright with the eighth selection, ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith said 'Cats executive Michael Jordan "should be wearing a mask, because he's stealing." Later, when it was announced that Jordan was considering moving Wright for Richardson, Smith opined that Jordan would be "stupid" to even consider that trade. Apparently, Jordan is looking for veteran leadership right now.
Maybe to make His Airness feel better, Nellin threw in one of the Dubs' second round picks, Jermareo Davidson, who the Warriors had selected with the number 36 pick overall. Oh yeah, with their other second round pick at the number-46 spot, the Warriors went with Stephane Lasme out of UMass. That's right, Stephane Lasme. Nope, we've never heard of him either, but you can pretty much consider him a Star Trek redshirt at this point.
So it's pretty cool that the Warriors ended up with what many people consider a top-five pick in this year's draft. Hats off to Nellie and Chris Mullin for making something big happen. But let's not get too carried away just yet. Wright weighs in at only 205 pounds and it was reported on ESPN that he's pretty weak in the upper body, being able to bench only 175 pounds. Just for the record, that's three inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter than our boy Patrick O'Bryant, last year's banished number one pick.
So how does the addition of another undersized big man, and a 20-year-old one at that, help the Warriors? Well, he's one of the best athletes in the draft, so that's something. There's no denying that he will add some spice to the frontcourt, but when push comes to shove down low, it's still going to be Andris Biedrins out there on an island all by himself.
And who knows, Nellin might not be done dealing just yet. Now that Nellie has given Mullie a taste of the transaction jackson, he might have opened the floodgates. Hmm, you know, Minnesota might be moving its badass power forward, which means they could use a future star to anchor their rebuilding phase. Hmm.
Whether the JRich for Wright deal pays off or not, whether or not Belinelli becomes the next Manu Ginobli, this draft has been a success. Sure, as it stands now, come next year's draft, the Warriors will still be looking for size and defense, but why break with tradition. This draft has been a success because the Warriors extended the momentum of last year's playoff run by taking a seat at the adult's table in this year's NBA draft. They at least got into the game.
That sends a signal to both the team and the fans that the Warriors organization is legitimately interested in winning. And that inspires hope. And that's all we really ask.