Our (Un)restricted Free Agents (Who to keep; Who to let go)

AdonalFoyle4Prez · Post #1 » by **AdonalFoyle4Prez** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 4:27 am

Here are all of our players who will become (un)restricted free agents this summer:

Restricted: Andris Biedrins, Monta Ellis, Kelenna Azubuike (P), C.J. Watson

Unrestricted: Baron Davis (ETO), Matt Barnes, Austin Croshere, Patrick O'Bryant, Mickael Pietrus, Chris Webber

From the looks of it, it seems like Biedrins might be the only restricted free agent who will likely stay with us. Ellis might be drooling for that lucrative contract Memphis is waving around in his face. Same with Azubooty.

The unrestricted free agents: resign Barnes, Pietrus, Croshere and let POB and Webber (old man's busted his knees) walk. Not too sure what do with Diddy, but lets hope we work a deal for Agent Zero, or get some other quality point guard.

Twinkie defense · Post #2 » by **Twinkie defense** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 4:56 am

Andris and Monta will definitely be back, as they are The Future.

Baron will definitely be back, because he's not that crazy.

Kelenna and CJ will probably be back, unless someone offers them more than the low salaries the Warriors would like to pay them.

I'd guess Austin will be back, unless the Warriors find a better cheap veteran option and his health is okay.

Patrick is gone. Webber is gone. Pietrus is gone. Barnes may well be gone... but not if there's not much interest in him elsewhere and he takes a pay cut.

Adonal Foyle probably won't be back.

Yi Jian Lian · Post #3 » by **Yi Jian Lian** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 5:09 am

bye kelenna

old rem · Post #4 » by **old rem** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 7:34 am

If we lose Azu-Pietrus + Barnes we have vitually ZERO depth with any experiance on this team. Further....When Nellieball works it's off guys like Azu-Pietrus,and Ellis out running opponents.

What's the whole POINT if we find 2 bargains,a rd 2 (Ellis) and a walk on (Azu) and let them escape as RFA's to have their best years playing against us not for us? Rather than being a normal team where the draft add to a core and talent accumulates....we just BLEED TALENT and then hardly work at developing draft picks.

If we let Monta and Azu walk.....forget it. That's all you need to know.
It means this is a farm team and there's really no particular aim to ever be a contender. We'd all be wasting our time rooting for guys just passing through as if we're the Bakersfield Jam,yet we're more like the washington Generals,a team never given the means to win,never supposed to win.

POB won't be back. It's hard to imagine that after everything the Warriors make any offer or that POB would even accept a high bid.
While it appeared Pietrus was handed a one way ticket elsewhere...he was certainly ahead of Barnes in Nellie's late season rotation. I assume the die was cast and Pietrus lost any sense of a bond here and felt wanted by Miami and severl others. Nellie's got clout. It's a longshot but MP might be kept-if he's willing. Barnes might return mostly because Pietrus probably does not.

If the Warriors bungle and lose Biedrins or Ellis.....then what was the point of trading J Rich or for that matter,Jamison? We traded off Jamison,J Rich,Murphy,Dunleavy,Diogu.....5 lotto picks, with much of the point being to get the finances in order so we don't lose the NEXT Arenas....and the NBA even passed a rule so we won't get trapped by a technicality. On top of trading 5 of our lotto picks...we bought out Foyle and pretty much invited POB and Pietrus to go away, so bye bye to 8 lotto picks. Now....if after that we can't hang onto Biedrins or Ellis...WTF?

Seems the Spurs and Lakers don't keep having to trade guys cheap or watch their high picks just walk away. A lot of teams only get a couple of lotto picks per decade...and make them count.

Warriorfan · Post #5 » by **Warriorfan** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 2:23 am

I don't see Memphis making the big offers to Monta or Biedrens when Okafur and Arenas are also on the table. I see Monta and Biedrens getting contracts that will average under 10 mil a year and the other players who take the vet min staying. Nelson has a long history of finding free agents swing men who become part of the rotation from Ellie to Buke. Harrington for two players is a deal which will make the warriors deeper plus Wright,Kosta, and Belli becoming part of the rotation if Nelson is telling the truth.

Abyss Impact · Post #6 » by **Abyss Impact** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 4:11 am

The Warriors will suck if Mikael Pietrus leaves. Bet on it.

GSWhoopfan · Post #7 » by **GSWhoopfan** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 8:04 pm

re-up Barnes and Pietrus

let Kelenna go to the free agency and get no minutes where he signs. we can replace him with better players (although more expensive) Delfino or Childress.

Childress is the #1 free agent we should be after.

Post #8 » by **Hopper15** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 9:32 pm

I think Delfino is caca. Once the fallout from Biedrins and Ellis happens, we'll see how to fill the bench. This is why we can't sign Baron to a similar wage as he's making now. Once his contract comes off the books, we'll be able to secure some depth. Hopefully BD can stick around for a smaller deal.

GS Warriors 1 · Post #9 » by **GS Warriors 1** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:48 pm

Here are all of our players who will become (un)restricted free agents this summer:

Restricted: Andris Biedrins, Monta Ellis, Kelenna Azubuike (P), C.J. Watson

Unrestricted: Baron Davis (ETO), Matt Barnes, Austin Croshere, Patrick O'Bryant, Mickael Pietrus, Chris Webber

I'm confident Biedrins and Ellis will be here, that is the Warriors top priority this offseason. Azubuike opted out, so we'll see how his market plays out. I'd take him back for a 1 year deal worth no more than $2.5M. A multiyear deal worth more than that would make me unhappy. Watson could be brought back as roster filler. Davis will play out the contract, I could see Barnes coming back for cheaper, the rest are good bets to be gone and Webber retired already. Wright and Belinelli are going to be key on how much the bench improves because there isn't much wiggle room financially.

Post #10 » by **GSWbandwagon** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 4:27 am

ellis and andris will be back. every warrior draft pick who showed they have a decent chance of being a good player has been paid. they then get dumped later but they do get paid. cohan is cheap but i'd be surprised if he wanted to test the loyalty of the fan base by refusing to resign andris and especially monta (who seems more popular, though i feel andris is more valuable).

beyond that it becomes an issue of who is willing to take a small contract. i'm sure they'd take buike and pietrus back if they came at small dollars. they'd take barnes at the minimum.

pietrus is an interesting case. there was so much talk of him wanting a contract and then him wanting out, and so much talk about how other teams wanted him, and yet no one made a serious play for him. no one bothered even throwing a 1 year mle deal at him last offseason to see if we'd match. he had two agents and zero offers. the spurs really wanted him. miami really wanted him. but neither wanted to give up players or money to get him. pietrus may find himself taking another 1 year 3 mil deal to stay here, or even less. at least here he has a legit chance to start even if it is at pf.

webber is retired. cakes is going to warm someone else's bench next season.

croshere i'd take as bench fodder at the minimum as long as it didn't put us into tax territory. that's assuming he's a willing and able mentor for goose and wright. if he's all about austin, then forget it.

watson needs to go. he brings nothing to the table. he's not particularly good at anything and doesn't have the skills to adequately perform the duties required of his position (pg). he's a solid enough shooter but otherwise what can he do? he's a bad sg in a pg's body. i'm not expecting an allstar for the league minimum, but i do want someone who either can run the offense or has one highly developed skill. for example, a designated shooter who can't rebound or defend but is lights out if given space. or a guy who can run an offense, defend ok, but can't shoot and is thus very available (like a much younger jacque vaughn). a vet who is willing to tutor monta about being a pg and an nba player on and off the court would be ideal.

St.Nick · Post #11 » by **St.Nick** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 10:16 am

Good post.

I agree with pretty much everything.

I think Kelenna comes back if he isn't offered a long term deal over $4M a year.

I think Austin will be back unless another California team or Phoenix offers him a better deal than we offer. He is not likely to get more than the veterans minimum and I dont think he will demand more, considering he already got his huge contract. Being close to his home in Cali and being in a nice team situation are likely the most important things for him.

Pietrus would be wonderful to have back on a cheap deal, but I think Miami is going to snag him for more than we would be willing to offer. They are hungry for bodies on that shallow roster.

POB is not even worth speculating about. He is gone.

I think in the draft we are going to address the SG/SF position and the big guy hole we have at PF/C.

That puts our roster at something like this...

Baron/Monta
Monta/Marco
SJax/Kelenna/1st rd pick
B.Wright/Harrington/2nd rd pick
Andris/Kosta/Croshere

Some D-Leaguer will likely come aboard to be our rarely playing third string PG.

KR4 · Post #12 » by **KR4** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 9:12 pm

St.Nick wrote:
Baron/Monta
Monta/Marco
SJax/Kelenna/1st rd pick
B.Wright/Harrington/2nd rd pick
Andris/Kosta/Croshere

I think this lineup is right on.

freshie2 · Post #13 » by **freshie2** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 10:22 am

I think Biedrens is a perfect fit in Philly, and some really want to see Ellis as a Sixer. Will the Warriors match if either are targeted, and the Sixers offer around $10/year?

Post #14 » by **Chris Porter's Hair** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 2:32 pm

freshie2 wrote:I think Biedrens is a perfect fit in Philly, and some really want to see Ellis as a Sixer. Will the Warriors match if either are targeted, and the Sixers offer around $10/year?

Yes and yes, in my opinion.

St.Nick · Post #15 » by **St.Nick** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 4:23 pm

Chris Porter's Hair wrote:
freshie2 wrote:I think Biedrens is a perfect fit in Philly, and some really want to see Ellis as a Sixer. Will the Warriors match if either are targeted, and the Sixers offer around $10/year?

Yes and yes, in my opinion.

Your opinion is right.

If someone wants to offer $13M to either we may be SOL.

freshie2 · Post #16 » by **freshie2** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 10:33 pm

I don't think anyone has 13...I think the Sixers are high this offseason with between 11-12. Could be wrong. Personal preference is a strong run at Biedrens, but who knows.

Post #17 » by **Hopper15** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 10:43 pm

They're not going to give Biedrins that much when they still have Dalembert. They play the same position. Brand is another story. They should be dropping feelers left and right so he opts out.

freshie2 · Post #18 » by **freshie2** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:08 am

They are both athletic enough that it could work. Offensively, Thad Young has shown a great post game, and most likely will take the SF guarding him down low. Sam can hit the 15-18' jumper, and Biedrens appears to excel in cutting to the hoop. For the Sixers, it's a huge upgrade over the PFs that played next to Sam last season, and defensively, Sam and Biedrens both are athletic and long, which is a huge plus for the Sixers style of play.

GSWhoopfan · Post #19 » by **GSWhoopfan** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 6:04 am

personally believe Biedrins and Dalembert would be terrific in the East.

big winner...Andre Iguodala

giberish · Post #20 » by **giberish** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 6:45 am

St.Nick wrote:
Baron/Monta
Monta/Marco
SJax/Kelenna/1st rd pick
B.Wright/Harrington/2nd rd pick
Andris/Kosta/Croshere

Some D-Leaguer will likely come aboard to be our rarely playing third string PG.

That perimeter rotation is solid, as long as they don't have to play minutes at pf like this year. If the starters play 32-35 mpg each that leaves 40-50 mpg total off the bench. Two of Bukie, Marco and the 1st should be able to cover that.

The key will be having enough good post players that that doesn't have to happen (and then Nellie playing them). Wright and Harrington should be able to split time, with Andris as a ~30-35 mpg starter. That means that GS would need to also have a 15-20 mpg 4th post player (nominally a backup center, but a pf - with Al at center at times - also would work), a 5th post player capable of 15-20 mpg when one of the top 4 is injured, and a 6th for depth.

I don't see Kosta or Croshere as any better than 5th/6th big men. I'd really like to see GS get a solid 4th big man somewhere else. Perhaps at #14 - although many of the likely options would only be 5th/6th big men as rookies. If the FA's come cheap enough (and perhaps if Kosta goes to Europe)then GS could have $2-4M for a better vet than Cro, either a backup center (Thomas, Elson, Kwame?) or a pf (Hermann, other RFAs that would likely get matched but maybe one is set free).