The Golden State Warriors have acquired guard Steve Blake from the Los Angeles Lakers for Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks. The deal was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Lakers closing in a deal to send Steve Blake to Golden State, according to Times sources.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) February 20, 2014
Yahoo! Sports later confirmed the report.
Golden State expected to send Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks to the Lakers for Blake, league source tells Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 20, 2014
The Warriors acquired MarShon Brooks earlier this season and can’t be traded until March 15. As so, Bob Myers has separated this move into three separate deals.
Summary: Brooks cant be combined in trade. This was 3 separate deals. Blake to TPE. Brooks to TPE. Bazemore to minimum salary exception
— Amin Elhassan (@AminESPN) February 20, 2014
Steve Blake was in Los Angeles and getting prepared for his matchup with the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Blake: “Real mixed emotions. The hardest thing really is my family. Now I’m going to have to spend four months probably away from them.”
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) February 20, 2014
Blake was in his warm-ups for tonight’s game when he got called in to say he’d been dealt.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) February 20, 2014
The Warriors have been looking for another guard this entire season, and while Jordan Crawford can play point, he isn’t a true point in the sense of passing and leading an offense. Blake allows Curry to play more off the ball, frees Jordan Crawford to play his natural position and also can spell Klay Thompson when need be. Blake is a proven leader and veteran in the locker room, traits that absolutely carried weight before the transaction took place.
Kobe Bryant speaks on Steve Blake (via Dave McMenamin):
“He’s a competitor,” Bryant said after Blake had 18 points and seven assists, playing an integral part in the Lakers’ win over the Pacers on Friday with Bryant sidelined. “That’s really what you got to judge players by. A lot of times we get caught up in the numbers and what the statistics are, but really you got to look at the core of a player and what he is. He’s a competitor, he hates to lose, he loves competition so you know in those moments, he’ll step up more than not.
Blake, 33, is averaging 9.5 points and 7.6 assists in 27 games this season.