As I wrote last night, the worst part of losing Baron Davis for Golden State is getting nothing in return. Even if you don't want to pay Boom, he's clearly a coveted asset who could fetch a return of some sort on the trade market -- draft picks, a replacement guard, a young prospect, or a contributing veteran.But that's not Golden State's style, as Jason Gurney of BallHype shows us. Over the past decade, the Warriors have received very little in return for their best performers. The top prize: Brandan Wright in exchange for Jason Richardson. Antawn Jamison yielding Nick Van Exel seems rather painful, in retrospect.
The Warriors can't even bank on getting decent cap space out of Baron's departure, as extensions for Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins will likely place the franchise perilously close to the projected $57 million cap level. The Warriors would have to split less than roughly $19 million next season between the pair of restricted FAs to be able to spend a few dollars more than the team's $5.5 million mid-level ... and this doesn't account for a third restricted FA, Kelenna Azubuike.
It's pretty hard to blame Chris Mullin for the outright loss of Baron -- what, was he supposed to trade him last summer? -- but again, playing hardball with your free agents (potential or otherwise) has its pitfalls.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-02-2008 @ 12:54PM
johndunleavy said...
FIRE CHRIS MULLIN-----HE SHOULKD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING AND TRADED OR SOMETHING ELSE---THIS INACTION IS IRRESPONSIBLE
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7-02-2008 @ 1:10PM
henryclemente said...
Didn't they loose Gilbert for nothing also?
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7-02-2008 @ 1:43PM
Basketball.org said...
I think the blame doesnt fall on Mullin. The owner, Chris Cohan, is a disaster. These types of mis-handlings have been happening since he bought the team. The guy doesnt let his front office make the final decisions and handcuffs them at every contract situation. Players dont want to play for him and coaches/front office executives want to leave once they get to know him. Check out his wikipedia page which will shed some light on him.
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7-02-2008 @ 2:04PM
Brad M. said...
Clearly, the Golden State Warriors are the Buffalo Sabres of the NBA.
It's nice to know my Sabres haven't cornered the market on front office stupidity. Warrior fans, I feel and understand your pain more than I care to admit.
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