Chris Mullin is not likely to come out of this offseason looking, shall we say, golden. First, he drafted a[nother] lanky power forward who will need some time to develop. Then, he allowed Baron Davis to mosey down the state to Los Angeles by refusing to negotiate an extension with the fan-fave.
Now, the Warriors appear to be grasping at straws by throwing around as much money as they can at Gilbert Arenas and Elton Brand, to whom they apparently offered a monster deal to on Wednesday.
Flush with cap space after Davis' sudden exit, the Warriors have offered free agent Elton Brand a five-year deal worth between $85 and $90 million, according to league sources.They offered Gil the max he was allowed and have apparently ponied up a similar chunk of change to try and lure Brand to Oakland.
Brand, like Davis, opted out of the final year of his contract just before Monday's deadline, giving up a guaranteed $16.4 million for next season. At the time, Brand's agent, David Falk, told reporters that the move was designed to create some cap flexibility for the Clippers to add another top-line player.
Here's the problem. Brand and Baron both opted out of their contracts in a surprising, last-minute fashion. Couple that with Davis' decision to head to the Clippers, and it's not hard to see that both guys are eying a scenario where the Clipjoint are suddenly serious contenders in the Western Conference.
Given that Arenas is likely to return to Washington, it suddenly looks like Mullin and Co. could be left holding the bag with a team that won't sniff the playoffs and no longer has the star-power draw that it did with Boom. That would all change if Brand decided to accept their deal, but at this point, that seems pretty unlikely.
The Warriors aren't completely hopeless; they still have a ton of young talent on the team and should have plenty of cash remaining after they pick up another lottery pick in 2009, but there's no guarantee Don Nelson will still be around. And given that just over a year ago they shocked the world by taking down the Mavericks in the first round, this is a pretty long way to fall.
Via TrueHoop
ADVERTISEMENT
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-03-2008 @ 1:49AM
mcjesus said...
it's hard to think of the clippers as "serious" contenders in the stacked Western confrence. Will Davis sray healthty? WIll Brand come back 100%? Was Kaman's c ontract season just that? Will second year Thorton (the most underated rookie last year, he didn't even make the rookie allstar team) cominue an upward swing? To0 many variables, not to mention managment disputes between dunleavy and sterling. Throw in a franchise in the shadow of it's cross-the-hall rivals, the lakers, and with a storied history of failure (one season over .500 making the playoffs in 11 seasons) and I would be suprised if they still miss the playoffs. sorry
Reply
7-03-2008 @ 2:22AM
Matt W. said...
That wasn't a "contract season" for Kaman -- he got his money two years ago. If anything, the question should be whether Kaman can maintain his performance while once again sharing the post with Brand.
/nitpick
Reply
7-03-2008 @ 3:03AM
Roger Reikilight said...
Will you are way off on this one. The Warriors made the right move not giving Baron a huge long term contract. Ellis will be more than an equal replacement and if they happen to get Arenas with the cap room that was made Mullin will be a hero in Oakland. It cracks me up that writers like you seem so eager to write the Warriors off even before the dust settles. The way I read drafting the 19 year old is that the kid was picked to go several picks earlier and was stated as a top ten choice and the Warriors drafting 14th he was the choice for them. The Warriors will contend even stronger next year without Mr Gun & Miss Davis. Ellis will clean his clock!
Reply
7-03-2008 @ 3:42AM
hootie_69 said...
"Ellis will be more than an equal replacement" - I think not. Baron has an assassin level killer instinct in game ending situations, Ellis doesn't.
Also 2-1=1, If Ellis replaces Davis then who exactly is going to replace Ellis?
Reply
7-03-2008 @ 3:56AM
Zack Attack said...
Arenas isn't much better at this point (if at all) than Davis considering that he is coming off two seasons of knee problems.
How can you lowball BD and then offer twice as much to Arenas? It boggles my mind..
Reply
7-04-2008 @ 12:17AM
dave said...
hey, were talking about Chris Mullin here. not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. the guy talks like one of those prize fighters that been hit in the head 2500 times. the only good move that he ever made was getting rid of those stiffs Dunleavy and Murphy and he only got that deal done because Larry Bird is also a slack-jawed yokel and they speak each other's language. How in the world did they let Baron Davis go for nothing? what happened to that Davis/Harrington for Billups/Wallace deal? Now Davis is gone and the Warriors are throwing money at any available free agent.
Brand is going to re-sign with LAC he opted out so he could redo his contract after they signed Davis. He wants to play with Davis in LA. it seems pretty obvious.
Arenas will probably stay in Washington. they wrapped up Jamison and Arenas says he wants to play with him, but who knows, Arenas is certifiably crackers. It's also funny that the Warriors had Arenas once and traded him.
Mullin is an early favorite for biggest loser of the off season. it's too bad his buddy Larry couldn't help him out again.
Reply