What will GS's offseason plan be?

[giberish]

What do you think the Warriors offseason plan will be? I'm talking in general design, not necessarily the specific moves listed (and not what you want to happen, but what you think will happen).

I'm assuming Ellis and Biendrins are kept under any scenario. It just seems obvious to me. Also, RFA means GS can match any offer, while BYC makes sign and trade deals difficult.

Option A - Keep the core together while staying under the luxury tax. As has been discussed elsewhere this means that after the starters + 3 2nd year players + 1st round pick, GS ends up with at most slightly more than minimum salary slots for the rest of the bench.

Example offseason:
Trade #14, #44 to Washington for Percherov + protected future Memphis 1st
Memphis trades #28 to GS for own protected future 1st
GS drafts Courtney Lee at #28 (or best rotation ready wing option)
GS resigns Bukie for ~$2M
GS signs Watson, Croshere, for league min deals. Only keep a 13 man roster to save salary.

Davis / (Ellis) / Watson
Ellis / Bukie / Bellinelli
Jackson / #28
Harrington / Wright / Cro
AB / Percherov / Perovic

Option B - Go $5-6M into the luxury tax adding veteran depth to core to build on teams success. With Foyle's contract dropping (and Baron's deal likely going down as well, even if kept), this is a one year committment.

Example Offseason:
Draft Ibaka (or another high-upside project) at #14, Pat Catheles(sp) at #44
Sign Elson for $2.5M/yr for 2-3 yrs
Sign Bukie for $2-2.5M/yr
Sign another wing for ~$3.5M/yr for 2-3 years (Jones, resigning MP or Barnes, some other options)
Sign vet reserve pg for LLE (Lue, Duhon, etc)

Davis / (Ellis) / Lue
Ellis / Bukie / Bellinelli
Jackson / Jones / Calathes
Harrington / Wright / Ibaka
AB / Elson / Perovic

Option C: Trade Baron (and possibly Jackson and Harrington) to go young. Ideally the team can get a top 6 pick (along with salary filler) for Baron).

Example offseason:
Obviously any example depends heavily on the lottery.
GS trades Baron to LAC for #3, Mobley, Thomas
GS drafts Mayo at #3, Ibaka (or another project) at #14, Calathes at #44
GS resigns Bukie for $2M/yr
GS signs vet pg for ~$3M/yr
GS resigns Watson for league min.

Ellis / Vet pg / Watson
Mayo / Mobley / Belinelli
Jackson / Bukie / Calathes
Wright / Thomas / Ibaka
AB / Harrington / Perovic

[dom80e]

I voted for D. I think they will try to move Harrington, which I would consider part of the core.

I could also see them having something else in mind by dangling Biedrins or Wright in trade talks. I would do it, but with Nelson influencing Mullin it would definately not surprise me

[Warriorfan]

I think the time before the trade deadline will telling.

If GS falls behind the Clippers and Trailblazers which I think is likely they blow up this team and aim for 2010

[old rem]

I think the time before the trade deadline will telling.

If GS falls behind the Clippers and Trailblazers which I think is likely they blow up this team and aim for 2010

Look at the 8 teams above us. Then figure that Portland,Minny,Seattle are on the rise and if Brand is healthy-the Clips can be one sharp draft pick (or trade( from playoff grade. If we "blow it up",we'd be going to the back of the line,having aborted yet another plan midstream. We'd be #12 instead of #9 and 2010 would not be our target..more like 2013.

Calathes could be a good rd 2.

Redundantly I say that going "RAW" project is nuts. We can't even turn a "medium rare" project into a rotation player....and if we drafted a clone of Larry Bird or Oscar Robertson...he'd probably land in Bakersfield.

[Abyss Impact]

Blow it up. Trade Baron, Ellis, Jackson, Harrington, Biedrins, Wright, Belinelli, Pietrus, Azubuike, POB.

Sign a new roster and rebuild.

[Tommy Udo 6]

I see Warriors keeping Baron & Jackson and re-signing 'Buke, Ellis & Biedrins. They will also keep Wright & that Italian dude.

I see Warriors possibly re-signing Pietrus.

I see Warriors trading Al Harrington.

(I didnt vote in poll)

[Left*My*Heart]

Al doesn't fit in anymore and he is making too much for his role on the team. I see him gone this off season. I think Pietrus and Barnes are gone, while the Warriors resign Buike.

Baron might be traded at the trade deadline, depending on how the Warriors are doing.

If the Warriors don't make any significant moves, they will fall behind the Blazers and if the Clippers can get quality help at PG, they will leap frog the Warriors too.

[WarFan]

I just sketched out these same three options myself for another thread, and then lo and behold this is the top post on the board. So here's mine:

Option A - No Luxury tax, try to compete next year.

Trade #14 to Sea for #24, #32, #43, #50
I don't think that many of the players projected around 14 would be likely to contribute next year and we'd also need a bunch of low contract players to fill the roster because we're being cheap.

Resign Azubuike for 3/7

Resign Barnes for min.

Sign Anthony Johnson for LLE value

Invite 3 scrubs to camp to fight with 2nd round picks for spots.

Draft (24, 32, 43, 44, 50):
24 Rush
32 Hendrix
43 Hardin
44 Dove
50 Calathes

Davis/Johnson
Ellis/Azubuike/Belinelli/Dove
Jackson/Barnes/Rush
Harrington/Wright/Hendrix
Biedrins/Perovic/Hardin

Hope that Barnes returns to form, Perovic is rotation worthy, and at least 1 one of the rookies/scrubs can contribute to the rotation.

Option B - Luxury tax, compete in 2008 and build for future.

Trade #14, Trade Exception to Sea for Wilcox, #24, #32
I really like Wilcox as a one-year rental player in his contract year at 25. I also like the value of the later round picks better in this draft anyways.

Sign Childress for the MLE
If he isn't available, I would consider Gomes, Pietrus and Ariza for about 3/13

Resign Azubuike for 3/7

Resign Watson for min.

Draft (24, 32, 44):
24 Ibaka, Ajinca, CDR, Speights or Rush
32 Hendrix
44 Dove

Davis/Ellis/Watson
Ellis/Azubuike/Belinelli
Jackson/Childress/Dove
Wright/Harrington/Ibaka/Hendrix
Biedrins/Wilcox/Perovic

Solid 10-man rotation with a strong back-up at every position. Anything from the rookies or Perovic next year would be a bonus.

2009 Salary would be about 55 million for 12 players, so either resign Davis or get Kidd for MLE. Also, I wouldn't resign Wilcox for anything more or longer than 3/18.

Option C - No luxury tax, tear it down, go young and hope to compete in 2009.

Trade Baron to Chi for Hinrich, Nocioni, #9

Trade Hinrich, Nocioni to Por for LaFrentz, Frye, #13 & #34

Trade Harrington, #34 to Cle for Jones, Smith, #19

Draft (9, 13, 14, 19, 44):
Trade 9 & 13 for Gordon
Ibaka at 14
Ajinca at 19
Dove at 44

Total payroll for next year would be about 69 million or just under the tax, with 25 million in Expirings plus a lot of youth to make a move at the trade deadline if it presents itself. If no trade is made there would be about 43.5 million on the books for 10 players going into 2009. I'd try to sign Kidd to teach/back-up Monta, probably draft a PG, and depending upon the development of the youngins, fill in the rest of the roster with a couple of vets.

2009 Golden State Warriors:
Ellis/Kidd
Gordon/Belinelli
Jackson/Dove
Wright/Ibaka
Biedrins/Ajinca/Perovic

[Eleutherios]

C..

BD gone for Kidd.

Keep Ellis Beans Wright

Do whatever with the Rest

[Sid the Squid]

Do whatever with the Rest

I say we let them live, as long as they promise never to come back.

[giberish]

Al doesn't fit in anymore and he is making too much for his role on the team. I see him gone this off season. I think Pietrus and Barnes are gone, while the Warriors resign Buike.

Baron might be traded at the trade deadline, depending on how the Warriors are doing.

If the Warriors don't make any significant moves, they will fall behind the Blazers and if the Clippers can get quality help at PG, they will leap frog the Warriors too.

I don't see that many Harrington trades as feasible. Nelson is still going to like 3-point shooting and Al is the only big that's also a 3-point threat. Among similar salaried post players, I don't see a better fit for GS. There are players who would help GS because they're just better players - but then why would their team trade them for Harrington?

I figure if GS does some variation on option B, the team might stay ahead of Portland (depending on Oden and what moves Portland makes), but could also pass at least some of the older teams ahead of them (Phoenix, Dallas and Denver all look to drop, possibly SA as well). This is what I want the team to do. 50-53 wins, a 5-7 seed and at least a chance at a long playoff run.

If GS goes cheap with option A, I figure they fall back to 10-11 in the West. At that point I'd rather trade Baron and rebuild.

[kevin44]

No one will take Barron's salary or attitude. Al would be the only guy they would trade. We need a backup pg and some help in the post. Marion would improve our defense and would easily put us in the playoffs next yr. Knowing the Warriors they won't do anything to make us any better.

[GSW2K4]

I go for option C.

The fact is that this roster does not have a player who can singlehandedly lead the team to the playoffs, much less a championship... as evidenced by the fact that the team took an early vacation this year. So lacking that, we have to think in terms of which pieces we can form a winning unit for the future.

In my opinion, Monta, Wright, and Biedrins can form an athletic uptempo unit that can be successful if they develop together and can learn to play within a team concept. It doesn't have to be gimmick ball if we build the team correctly. (Personally, I also believe that Belli and POB could be productive players in the league... but it just doesn't seem like that will occur with this team). So then we have to figure out who to put around that unit...

Right now, I'm on the trade Baron bandwagon because as talented as he is he just can't seem to play a controlled game and long term we need a stabilizing force. Harrington has really disappointed me... and it seems like we've gotten the most out of him at this point and he's destined to be little more than a solid bench player for his career. Barnes & Azu I can take or leave..

So what I think needs to be added for the future is a distributor/playmaker (that could be someone at 1, 2, or 3), someone to defend and score on the wing, a consistent 3 pt threat, and someone able to bang for points and fight for boards down low.

Jackson will suffice as a wing player for now. To believe that Monta can just develop into a Chris Paul is misguided in my mind... but surely his playmaking skills will improve.

I think a distributor can be had in this draft (even at 14), but a little more skeptical about finding a banger. If Love slips to us, that would be a good thing in my opinion as I see him as a perfect guy to initiate breaks on an uptempo team and provide some low post scoring. I also think Brandon Rush will be a solid player and trading down to pick him up along with a vet that fills a need would be good to me.

Then I see what we can get with Baron/Harrington...and just go with the highest bidder... hopefully getting a pick and a solid player out of it. I think the gems in this draft will be found later after all the "potential" guys are drafted and set to disappoint people.

[old rem]

I just sketched out these same three options myself for another thread, and then lo and behold this is the top post on the board. So here's mine:

Option A - No Luxury tax, try to compete next year.

Trade #14 to Sea for #24, #32, #43, #50
I don't think that many of the players projected around 14 would be likely to contribute next year and we'd also need a bunch of low contract players to fill the roster because we're being cheap.

Resign Azubuike for 3/7

Resign Barnes for min.

Sign Anthony Johnson for LLE value

Invite 3 scrubs to camp to fight with 2nd round picks for spots.

Draft (24, 32, 43, 44, 50):
24 Rush
32 Hendrix
43 Hardin
44 Dove
50 Calathes

Davis/Johnson
Ellis/Azubuike/Belinelli/Dove
Jackson/Barnes/Rush
Harrington/Wright/Hendrix
Biedrins/Perovic/Hardin

Hope that Barnes returns to form, Perovic is rotation worthy, and at least 1 one of the rookies/scrubs can contribute to the rotation.

Option B - Luxury tax, compete in 2008 and build for future.

Trade #14, Trade Exception to Sea for Wilcox, #24, #32
I really like Wilcox as a one-year rental player in his contract year at 25. I also like the value of the later round picks better in this draft anyways.

Sign Childress for the MLE
If he isn't available, I would consider Gomes, Pietrus and Ariza for about 3/13

Resign Azubuike for 3/7

Resign Watson for min.

Draft (24, 32, 44):
24 Ibaka, Ajinca, CDR, Speights or Rush
32 Hendrix
44 Dove

Davis/Ellis/Watson
Ellis/Azubuike/Belinelli
Jackson/Childress/Dove
Wright/Harrington/Ibaka/Hendrix
Biedrins/Wilcox/Perovic

Solid 10-man rotation with a strong back-up at every position. Anything from the rookies or Perovic next year would be a bonus.

2009 Salary would be about 55 million for 12 players, so either resign Davis or get Kidd for MLE. Also, I wouldn't resign Wilcox for anything more or longer than 3/18.

Option C - No luxury tax, tear it down, go young and hope to compete in 2009.

Trade Baron to Chi for Hinrich, Nocioni, #9

Trade Hinrich, Nocioni to Por for LaFrentz, Frye, #13 & #34

Trade Harrington, #34 to Cle for Jones, Smith, #19

Draft (9, 13, 14, 19, 44):
Trade 9 & 13 for Gordon
Ibaka at 14
Ajinca at 19
Dove at 44

Total payroll for next year would be about 69 million or just under the tax, with 25 million in Expirings plus a lot of youth to make a move at the trade deadline if it presents itself. If no trade is made there would be about 43.5 million on the books for 10 players going into 2009. I'd try to sign Kidd to teach/back-up Monta, probably draft a PG, and depending upon the development of the youngins, fill in the rest of the roster with a couple of vets.

2009 Golden State Warriors:
Ellis/Kidd
Gordon/Belinelli
Jackson/Dove
Wright/Ibaka
Biedrins/Ajinca/Perovic

Don't see any of those as ideal,but any might be better than what actually goes down and each is better than most major overhauls. I REALLY want Jason Thompson as a pick in the 20's. 6-11,real mobile/agile,12 reb per,2 years in a row scoring 20+ rebounding 10+. I saw him at a peak.....he got 24 boards and 3 blocks in that game..scored,passed,ran the ball up on fast breaks. Basically--he showed lotto talent.

Lester Hudson and Sean Singletary are PG's with rd 1 game projected as rd 2.

I liked what I saw of Ajinca-wish I'd seen more. Childress at MLE would be a steal.

I've felt we'd aim to keep Pietrus or Barnes if possible,with $$$ issues making the final choice. Watson at least earned an unguaranteed deal. He hasn't locked anything up.

If Belli had been showcased a bit,he might have enough market that we'd swap him. As is-it's a case of some team figuring he is still a prospect fit for pick 18. Harrington is a mix of positives and negatives. He's a pretty big contract but Nellie does like that Al hits 3's rather well.

[Left*My*Heart]

I think Al will be shopped, but I don't know if he will bring back what Mullin wants. Mullin will listen to offers for Baron, if there are any this off season, but I see Baron being moved at the trading deadline.

I'm still very concerned about the Warriors resigning Biedrins. I think it would be a big mistake if they don't. I still don't buy into the notion that BWright makes Biedrins expendable. To me, Biedrins is a center, while Wright is going to be a PF. I see the two playing together, not competiting for playing time. I know Nellie is going to hate having two guys that really don't have an outside game inside, but I do think Wright can develop an outside shot, as well as handle the ball.

If anything Wright should make Al expendable.

[trickydik]

josh smith for beans #14 , you would be drafting for us


i got flamed for even mentioning the hawks trading smith , but i feel he would be better on your team , as beans would be better suited for us , so we can slide horford to PF with Marvin as SF , with childress as the 6th man

davis
ellis
jackson
smith
wright

this allows more playing time for POB
and harrington and pietrus coming off the bench

or you could package harrington with someone and go for wilcox , but seattle is in love with him.

Diop is another possibility to go for your MLE , he's up there on the hawks board , as you know we are need of a center pretty badly.

sorry i don't know how your team does it's lineup

but with

baron 21.8
monta 20.2
jackson 20.1
smith 17.2

could be pretty scary

[giberish]

josh smith for beans #14 , you would be drafting for us


i got flamed for even mentioning the hawks trading smith , but i feel he would be better on your team , as beans would be better suited for us , so we can slide horford to PF with Marvin as SF , with childress as the 6th man

davis
ellis
jackson
smith
wright

this allows more playing time for POB
and harrington and pietrus coming off the bench

Ignoring the logistical difficulties, with a dual S&T combined with a pick before any FA's can be signed, it's still DOA for GS.

Wright is a PF, Smith is a PF (and if anything Smith or Wright could play a little SF, but neither one is a center at all). POB is gone, so opening up minutes isn't an issue either.