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June 29, 2007
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Recent Journal Entries |
I love Draft Day, with all the rumors, the trades and all of the speculation and analysis. What a day!! The Warriors, the Trail Blazers, the Sonics and the Celtics were involved in deals that I think changed the landscape somewhat. The Warriors added two young talents, gave themselves a great trade exception and set more foundation down to continue their run to the playoffs.
A COUPLE OF RANDOM THOUGHTS
My ears are still ringing from the needless and endless shouting from the TV via Stephen A. Smith. I miss the bespectacled Russ Granik in the second round and I hope that he is enjoying his retirement. I also miss hearing Hubie Brown educate me on how picks will fit in with each particular team.
 The athletic Brandan Wright will be a welcome addition to the Warriors' front line. |
The Warriors traded Jason Richardson to Charlotte for the rights to Brandan Wright, and as a result received a trade exception that some published reports have put as a substantial amount - in the neighborhood of $10 million. What this essentially gives the Warriors is flexibility in the way of future trades or sign-and-trades. To help you understand what this means, I have laid out a couple of simplified examples.
You can use the exception to take on a higher-salaried player in a transaction, but the salary of that player(s) cannot exceed the value of the exception (in this case $10 million). I will use former players’ names so no one reads anything into this.
Example 1 (just using random numbers here): The Warriors could trade guards, say named Jim Barnett ($2 million salary) and Sleepy Floyd ($2 million salary) to Seattle for Jack Sikma ($9 million salary). The Warriors can do this because the salaries do not have to match (as they normally would in an NBA trade). Since we have this hole - this exception - that allows us to take back more then we give out. And since Sikma's salary ($9 million) is less than the exeption ($10 million), the trade is allowable. Under this scenario, we use $5 million of our trade exception and still have another $5 million to use down the road in the next year.
Example 2: The Warriors CANNOT trade a $10 million exception and a player (say Gus Williams at $4 million) to another team for a $14 million player named Cazzie Russell. This is not allowed since Russell's salary ($14 million) is greater than the trade exeption ($10 million). You must be able to fit what you inherit into an exception without adding additional players to get to a higher number. Make sense? There will be no test; I am just trying to help.
MARCO, MY MARCO
I spoke with the Warriors first round selection, Marco Belinelli of Italy last night. Listen to the interview here 
Being that you might be unfamiliar with the 6'5 Italian guard, check out some of his highlights by clicking on the following links. HIGHLIGHT VIDEO 1 | HIGHLIGHT VIDEO 2 | HIGHLIGHT VIDEO 3
MULLIN
I also spoke with Chris Mullin as part of our special draft edition of Warriors Radio Roundtable. Listen to that interview here
MAILBAG
QUESTION —
Tim,
Well, I'm sorry to see J-Rich go but the Warriors needed a big man and Brandan Wright could fit the bill. Sending Richardson to Charlotte works out well in that they didn't have to take back a player just to match salaries.
Do you think there might be other moves? In the short term, I think they'll miss J-Rich's consistent scoring - I don't think we can expect Wright and Belinelli to even combine for 20 points a game. Can the trade exception only be used in a trade or do they have $10 million to use to sign a free agent? I assume it can't be used for a big name free agent.
Does this increase the chance to keep Matt Barnes or do you think he's gone? Will they make a play for Garnett? He's great but he's got an awful lot of mileage on that body. I'd rather they get someone younger.
I listened to the Roundtable show on the web -- thanks for the heads up. Go Warriors!
Kevin
ANSWER —
Kevin,
I think the Warriors are far from done and I expect that their phone will be ringing this summer. The trade exception can be used to sign a player in a sign and trade deal and check the journal for details on the exception. I think that if they can resign Barnes for a reasonable salary they would love to do that. As for Garnett, a player of that ability is always one to consider.
Thanks and I am glad you enjoyed the show,
Tim
 Warriors VP of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin on J-Rich's departure: ""He's one of my favorite guys, my favorite players. It's a hard thing to see him go. But when you need to improve your team, sometimes you've got to make tough decisions." |
Hi Tim,
I am devastated by the trading of J-Rich… I think he was, like someone previously stated, The Glue, He was the heart of the team for a long time . I do however think that the trade could end up to be good as far as the caliber of player we picked up in Wright, he could be better in the end. However, how long will it take for him to get where we need him to be to contend? The part that worries me most is that the Warriors might have lost a huge key to their emotion. Did they just take a huge chunk out of the heart of the team that may bring the morale down and possibly hurt the team? You look at J-Rich, Jackson and Baron, they were the trio that pulled out the emotion needed to push where we reached last year. That is my biggest concern, what do you think?
Thanks,
Robert
ANSWER —
Robert,
I understand your thoughts and emotions and it is tough to watch one of my favorite players leave the Warriors. However, to move forward sometimes you have to make deals that hurt. Wright has the potential to be very good and he is a lottery pick for a reason. Did the Warriors lose some emotion?? Sure, J-Rich is a very emotional player that can impose his will on a game. Yes, the chemistry of the team changed with his leaving but now, the young players like Ellis and Biedrins need to take some more ownership. Nelly and Mully know talent, so I think you need to let this one play out a little bit. Plus, the exception is a great tool that they can use at anytime over the next year.
Thanks,
Tim
KEEP THE QUESTIONS COMING AND CHECK BACK NEXT WEEK AS WE LOOK AT SUMMER LEAGUE!!
