According to Warrior beat writer Marcus Thompson, one Warrior player noted this, after hearing word of the trade that sent Monta Ellis and Ekpe Udoh to the Bucks for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson “So are we just giving up on the season?” The short answer is, yes, that’s exactly what the Warriors are doing. They traded away one of the best scorers in the NBA, and their promising first round pick from a year ago, in exchange for a center that’s out for the year and an underachieving swingman that’s had a history, which is the same as saying the Sun is lukewarm. Warrior brass will never admit it, but they’re hoping to keep their first round draft pick for the next draft, which belongs to Utah unless it’s a top 7 pick.
Giving up. Just saying it seems bad. Every time I say it I think Rocky is going to magically appear in my room and start socking me like a piece of meat. There aren’t any magical sports movies about how a team tanked the season on purpose, and then won the following year. I suppose Kanye West did say in one of his songs ‘giving up is way harder than trying’. Yeah, that’s probably what Warriors General Manager Larry Riley was thinking about when he pulled the trigger on the trade. He seems like a Kanye kind of guy. I guarantee you that’s the first time Larry Riley and Kanye West have ever been mentioned in the same sentence.
The fact of the matter is, if the Warriors kept Ellis, they would be stuck in the same situation they have been in for the past 4 years. Something had to change. This season isn’t going anywhere. It’s another Warrior squad with no size and a high scoring undersized backcourt. Think about it, what if the Warriors win the lottery this year. They now have a nucleus of Anthony Davis, Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut. Who doesn’t appreciate that much size? … Yep that’s a joke.
The Warriors also are banking on Stephen Curry, and are choosing him over Ellis. That was a big decision. Monta is one of the rare players in the NBA that can create his own shot, and score at such a high rate. Curry on the other hand, is a phenomenal talent when he’s on the court. Unfortunately, his ankles are made of paper mache,, and this year he’s twisted it roughly 34 times. If Curry can finally stay healthy for an extended stretch, he has the potential to become a perennial all-star point guard. But as of now, trusting Curry’s ankles is like trusting President Obama to go 5 minutes without saying ‘look’.
In the short term the trade is a disaster. Bogut won’t even play this season and Stephen Jackson is crazy. He also takes 45 minutes to shoot in NBA 2K12. 90% of you didn’t get that reference. Anyways, in the long term it could payoff big time, because if, and it’s a monumental if, the cards fall correctly, this is a playoff team next season. You heard it here first, quitting leads to winning!
No comments:
Post a Comment