Now that ESPN’s Ric Bucher is reporting what we’ve already been suspecting all week, that the Warriors have offered a package including Andris Biedrins and Tony Randolph to the Raptors for Chris Bosh (and probably close to the same package to the Suns for Amar’e Stoudemire), it’s official. The Warriors really want to make a Baron Davis-style trade to add a player who’s better than any one guy they currently have on the roster.
All this Bosh/Stoudemire talk has actually overshadowed a really good week for Golden State, as they went 1-1 against the Suns before blowing out the Jazz by 20 at Oracle. Granted, the Suns are a team completely fractured by trade rumors and an owner who reminds everyone daily how broke he is (boo-hoo), and the Jazz are really decimated by injuries, but c’mon, this is the Warriors beating the Suns and Jazz in the same week!
Leave it to the Warriors to be all up in the rumor mill when they’re team’s actually doing well. Doesn’t Robert Rowell, Larry Riley, Don Nelson or whoever is making the decisions in Oakland these days (note: I didn’t mention Chris Mullin on purpose) know the best trades are the ones that come out of nowhere? Nobody knew about the Lakers possibly getting Pau Gasol from the Grizzlies or the Celtics acquiring Kevin Garnett from the Timberwolves until the deals were already in the agreement phase. Why? Because everyone in the league would have set their Blackberries on fire trying to beat the Lakers’ and Celtics’ offers!
Weekly Notes
The most amazing thing about Sunday’s win over Utah was how the Warriors shut down Paul Millsap. Millsap, who had a 19-game double-double streak earlier in the year, had only 8 points and 6 rebounds in 36 minutes. He may be dealing with lingering knee pain though, since he scored only 2 points in 30 minutes two nights before in Sacramento. . . Stephen Jackson had an amazing week since our last NBA Tuesday, with a triple-double (30 points/11 rebounds/10 assists) against Phoenix and a near triple-double (20/10/8) against Utah. . . Ronny Turiaf seems to be pretty darn popular right now (of course, his beard helps), and his energy is infectious. Still, how does one explain 3 rebounds in 36 minutes against Utah? According to Bethlehem Shoals (Free Darko, Sporting News), Nellie’s logic regarding Turiaf’s lack of rebounding “scrambles your brain.” . . . Randolph played on Sunday for the first time in four games. In 12 (mostly garbage time) minutes he had 6 points, 5 rebounds, a block and a steal. . . Marco Belinelli don’t seem particularly close to returning, Biedrins won’t be back until after the All-Star Game at the very least, according to 48minutes.net and I’m getting the feeling Brandan Wright might not make it back this year. . . While it seemed a little hasty when Nelson made his announcement that the Monta Ellis/PG experiment was over, the Warriors do seem much better with Jamal Crawford and Jackson sharing the playmaking duties while Monta stays out of the way. . . Here’s the most depressing Warriors-related t-shirt I’ve ever seen advertised.
