As the Warriors franchise sits on the edge of the 8th playoff seed, I felt it was worth taking a closer look at the upcoming offseason and what questions need to be addressed as we look to 2008.

First its worth mentioning that Chris Mullin has put this franchise in position to be a legitimate playoff contender with the current starting lineup on the floor.  The combination of speed and size at particular positions allows Don Nelson to play his style of basketball and as we have seen in the last ten games, our starting lineup is a lot to handle for some very quality NBA franchises.  I sit here now feeling the same thing I felt 13 years ago, "We are one big man away......".  We all know the story that unfolded.  First Richmond goes for Owens, Owens for Siekaly, Webber revolts and 13 years later, I am writing this article for a website founded as an alternative source to vent my frustration as opposted to drinking heavily.

Let's move on to examining the offseason moves, one by one.

Issue #1.  In house business comes first, what do you do with Mikael Pietrus and Matt Barnes?

I can't see us resigning Pietrus to keep him, I only see him being resigned as a part of a sign and trade.  Stephen Jackson and Jason Richardson are going to see alot of minutes at Small Forward unders Nellie's system and for the price, I think they will bring Barnes back to fill in off of the bench.  I would also like to see us explore adding a rebounding small forward in the offseason or bring a small forward back in a sign & trade deal involving Pietrus.   I also feel that the decision here will impact what happens at Shooting Guard.

Issue #2. What will be the guard rotation now that Baron can only play 30 minutes per game?

 I think the warriors are now comfortable with Monta Ellis running point for spurts at a time and with Baron's contract/health combination, he is going to be very tough to move via trade.  I think they love his passion for the franchise, so with Baron staying, what does that mean for the rest of the guards?  I think here, they will keep Jrich and add a point guard who can give them periodic minutes so they aren't forced to play Monta at the point guard position.  I think they had hoped Sarunas  would be that player, but that hasn't panned out.  The target will be an Earl Boykins type of player who fits their price range, but I definately thing you will see a new backup point guard in the fold.  This will also allow the Warriors to bid Baron farwell after his contract comes up if he is not willing to resign for less as then Monta will assume PG responsibilties and they will still have JRich at the #2 guard.

Issue #3.  What is the missing piece for this team to take the next step?

 I sincerely believe this will be the hot question internally for the Warriors this offseason.  With the majority of their roster entering their prime, Mullin will establish what commodities can be dealt in order to acquire the final peice of the puzzle.  The missing peice has to be a front court player who can rebound and score, period.  With Andris able to play both 4 and 5 and the ability to add a great rebounding small forward as a possiblity, I think you will see the warriors put themselves in a position to attempt to acquire one of the three biggest available names on the market in Pau Gasol, Kevin Garnett or Paul Pierce.  While there is no guarentee any of those players will be dealt, I firmly believe the warrios can put together the appropraite package to net one of those three players.  If the cost for any of them are too high, look for plan B to be a quality backup PG, and a quality rebouding frontcourt player. 

Issue #4 What assets do we have to pull of an impact trade?

The assets we have to pull off such a deal include:  Patrick O'Bryant, First round pick in either of the next two years, Kelanne Azibuke, Kosta Perovic, Peitrus (sign and trade), Barnes (sign and trade) & Jason Richardson.  At this point it appears management is done with project players and unless we win the lottery, we won't get the impact player needed through the draft.  Our explosive offense at their age makes it necessary to add the final peice as soon as possible.  The first round pick for this upcoming draft is a huge chip because of the depth available in the draft.  Combine that pick, the 09 pick, with Peitrus and O'bryant (even Richardson) and a rebuilding Franchise has some real assets to rebuild.  Don't be shocked to see one more shocking deal for the GSW's this offseason. 

I am loving this playoff push in 2007, but for the first time in recent memory, I am ready to see the next step in 2008.

Being a sponge for information and seeking the best resources and ideas is part of what makes us great.  The same can be said for what makes a great basketball fan.  Any frothing at the mouth homer can be a Lakers fan, and in fact most of them are.  It takes real basketball IQ to be a fan of a team that isn't a perennial all star.  We need to dig a little deeper into the numbers behind our awful teams.

Here are the resources to help you do that.  

82games.com : One of my favorite sites for looking at the efficiency of a particular player or lineup.  They are famous for taking hockey's  +/-  and applying it to basketball.

Patricia's Various Basketball Stuff :  I have been leaning on this page for years, it is often the first place I look before I even do a google search.  She has accumulated and continues to accumulate the most useful collection of data.  She is a Mav's fan, but they did take Erika Dampier's contract off our hands, so we like them.

Basketball-Reference : The place to go for your historical information fix.  Pretty much every teams press guide on a website going back 50 years.  Who was the number 1 draft pick in 1979, they can answer that.

Larry Coon's CBA : The collective bargaining agreement, read it, learn it, live it, love it.  Stop making stupid trade proposals involving base year compensation players. 

Realgm Trade Checker : Went downhill slightly once they had to take salary information out (thanks NBA) but it is still the go to tool for figuring out if something will work.  If you want to do it old school style, combine it with Patricia's salary information.

The Warriors have 9 games to either make the playoffs or go back to their familiar spot in Secaucus.  After beating Phoenix, the Warriors pulled to within 1 game of the Los Angeles Clippers.  To pass the Clippers and make the playoffs, the Warriors have to go at the least 6-3 in my opinion. 

Let’s take a look at their remaining games. 

4/1-Vs Memphis Warriors should thrash the Grizzlies considering Mike Miller is out and Memphis needs to tank to get the top pick.  Expect Boom Dizzle to come out and set the tone with the rest of the squad runnin through the Grizzlies. Warriors Win 115-101 

4/4-At Houston Barring T-Mac not playing or Yao being in foul trouble, expect the Rockets to win.  Rockets love to bring the game to a halt and playing at home will enable them to control the tempo. Warriors best chance at a Win would be to go small and fire away. Warriors Lose 100-92 

4/6-At Memphis Must win game!! With the Spurs waiting for the Warriors the next day, EXPECT Boom Dizzle to load heavy minutes and Nelson limiting the rotation to make sure they get the win.   Warriors Win 108-105 

4/7-At San Antonio Spurs win although it won’t be as lopsided as it was this past week at Oracle.  If the refs don't let Mr.Longoria carry the ball and travel on every drive, the Warriors might pose a threat.Warriors Lose 103-91 

4/9-Vs Utah Boys come home to take on the Jazz and run them right off the court.  Last time Utah played at Oracle, they left dazed and confused.  Zone up again and let AK47 fire away his rusty bullets from outside.  Warriors Win 106-97 

4/13-At Sacramento Warriors were embarrassed the last time they played at Arco, PAYBACK IS A BITCH.  The new look Warriors will be too much for the Kings since they won’t be able to have their point guards guard our small forwards without any punishment.  Sjax on Bibby = a career high for Sjax. Warriors Win 107-99 

4/15-Vs Minnesota Sunday Matinee results in the Warriors running wild and leaving a positive impression in Kg's mind.  Kg tired of his wack teammates and pathetic front office will fantasize about joining the W's. Warriors Win 112-93 

4/17-Vs Dallas Normally a game this late in the season means nothing for the best team in the NBA; However, Dallas wants to come in and send a message to the Warriors to not forget who the boss is.  Toughest home game remaining on the schedule and Mavericks pull it out.Warriors Lose 105-103 

4/18-At Portland I see this game being a "Win and Your in Game" for the Warriors.  Pressure will be on the Warriors to win against a young and talented Portland team.  In the end, Warriors win on a game winning 3 by Jason Richardson. Warriors Win 100-99 

If the Warriors go 6-3 or better than I believe they will get into the playoffs and pose a legit threat to the Dallas Mavericks. 

Courtesy of Statsman in the forum

Remaining schedule has the Warriors playing

Sundays:            Grizzlies and Timberwolves

Monday:             Jazz

Tuesdays:           Mavericks

Wednesdays:      Houston and Portland

Thursdays:      

Fridays:              Grizzlies and Kings

Saturday:           Spurs 

Warriors receive:
Darko Milicic (s&t)
JJ Redick
Pat Garrity (eto)

Magic receive:
Jason Richardson
Patrick O'Bryant


The Warriors take the plunge on Darko; parting with the assets to offer Milicic a contract he may or may not justify. The W's need size up front, and Milicic has the skill-set and range to play alongside Biedrins in a Nelson offense. The ability to play two 7-footers up front should help shore up the W's rebounding woes and give them more size to protect the basket. JJ Redick is never going to be the big time scorer he was in college, but the kid can flat out shoot and should get plenty of open looks playing in Don Nelson's fast paced offense. Garrity balances out the salaries and helps create more cap room on Orlando's end. The Magic's cap space allows for multiple variations.

PG Davis/(Ellis)/Jasikevicius
SG Ellis/Redick
SF Jackson/(Harrington)
PF Milicic/Harrington/Garrity
C Biedrins/(Milicic)/Foyle
-- W's would have their first round pick, two second rounders and Perovic developing overseas.


Orlando has their franchise big man in Dwight Howard. Having two franchise bigs is even better, but Milicic has yet to prove he's a building block and he's due a pay bump this summer. Otis Smith is familiar with Richardson from his days with the W's and could push for a deal if he thinks highly of Jason. O'Bryant gives Orlando a young, relatively cheap C to develop behind Battie. The Magic would have enough cap space to make a play for restricted free agents like Andray Blatche, Andres Nocioni and Anderson Varejao. They might have enough space to make competitive offers to Gerald Wallace or Rashard Lewis.

PG Nelson/Dooling/Arroyo
SG Richardson/Bogans
SF Turkoglu/Ariza
PF Battie
C Howard/O'Bryant
-- Magic's 1st rounder goes to Detroit, but they own 2 2nd round picks as well as the draft rights to Fran Vazquez.

Discuss this proposed trade in the forums