Al Thornton is officially a Warrior

[CameronFrye]

So Larry Riley has seen fit to add one more all offense, no defense long-ball chucking SF to the roster. You know, cuz VladRad and Dorrell Wright* and Reggie Williams weren't already enough.

Golden State Warriors sign former Washington Wizards forward Al Thornton - ESPN

If the new owners do not clean house this off season and start from the top down, they are doing themselves and their fans a serious injustice.






*For the record, I have always liked D Wright and acknowledge his defensive liabilites. I am willing to look past those because when he's on, the guy can really light up the scoreboard.

I just don't see what Thornton brings to the table that Wright does not already possess.

 

[Yoshi]

Hey Cam,

From the W's games I've seen this season, D. Wright looks as if he's one of the better perimeter defenders on the team. Monte can be when he's actually performing on the defensive end, Curry I think is average but can be very suspect at times and will always have problems with more athletic PG's due to a lack of elite athleticism on his own end, and everybody else is a joke IMO.

I agree with your assessment on Lacob and Guber needing to clean house. Smart is okay but not the big name coach everyone is anticipating to lead the Warriors, and Riley as GM is another fiasco, similar to essentially all other Warriors GM's in the past such as Gary St. Jean. I know Bob Fitzgerald has a lot of kind things to say about Udoh, but honestly I don't know what kind of upside this guy has on offense if any at all. Granted, the 2010 draft was one of the worst in recent memory and based on where the W's picked, getting other players such as Monroe wouldn't have helped either since those guys aren't really lighting up the scoreboard either.


Similar to what the 49ers struggled with before the hiring of Harbaugh, this team needs a philosophy that it needs to abide to. They look like they want to run and gun but sometimes they want to develop some sort of plays for a half court offense. They've drafted Udoh after failing on B. Wright, Randolph, Patrick O' Bryant, and soon to be Biedrins. What gives?

Due to their inability to attract free agents, it looks as if this team will struggle for at least a few years before it gets their act together. Additionally, Prokhorov from the Nets seems more intent on building a winner as opposed to Lacob/Guber. At some point they need to walk the walk.

 

[CameronFrye]

Yoshi - Thanks for the response. You are right that Dorrell Wright is one of the better perimeter defenders on the team, but what I meant by "defensive liabilities" is that he does not always exert maximum effort on the defensive front. He is a lot like Monta Ellis in that respect. When Monta wants to be, he is a disruptive force on defense and can use his quickness to disturb the opponents' flow. Wright is much the same way. But both are prone to taking time off on the defensive end if either has the hot hand shooting. So I guess it's just consistency that DWright needs.

Having read the Kawakami interview with Lacob that recently appeared on the Merc website, I am massively disappointed in some of his comments. He seems to REALLY like Robert Rowell and Larry Riley. Smart gets a lukewarm approval from him. It seems to me that he is more than willing to keep Rowell around because he's good at the marketing side, but anyone who has followed Golden State basketball for the past 3 decades like I have knows that the Bay Area would have to be nuked for the fans to ignore that team. Warriors hoops fans are some of the most die-hard fans in the league and it's not because Rowell knows how to give away free t-shirts.

Finally, I agree about the comparison with the Niners. If Lacob cleaned house and brought in Jerry West (or some other big name with a proven record of success) as GM, and let HIM choose a dynamic head coach like Harbaugh is for the Niners, the Warriors would gain instant credibility. They would become a destination for free agents and winning would again be the top priority. Until that happens - and as long as remnants of the Cohan era still pollute the Warriors' front office, the chances of success are about as good as the Niners' chances of success when Mike Nolan was in charge.

 

[Heathbar012]

What a sad conclusion. Say it ain't so, Cam.

 

[tzill]

I think Riley is a lock to be the GM for the foreseeable future. I also get the sense that Rowell will be retained. Smart is gone, Avi's contract is stifling, Udoh has limited upside and I see no way the W's realistically can get much better unless they get lucky in the lottery. As it is, they will pick 11th.

In other words, we're fucked.

 

[Yoshi]

I think Riley is a lock to be the GM for the foreseeable future. I also get the sense that Rowell will be retained. Smart is gone, Avi's contract is stifling, Udoh has limited upside and I see no way the W's realistically can get much better unless they get lucky in the lottery. As it is, they will pick 11th.

In other words, we're fucked.

Even if they win the lottery, I don't see this draft as a solid one, but rather one of the worst in recent memory, and definitely worse than last year's draft. If you look at some of the better players in this draft - Sullinger, Williams, Walker - can the W's really succeed with any of these guys? The Dubbs have a small backcourt as it is, so Kemba Walker doesn't fit the bill. The Dubbs need that bigger 3rd guard/SG that Cam talked about in another thread. Sullinger at 6-8 would be a tweener IMHO because the guy has good rebounding skills and is a good back to the basket player but is undersized in the PF position (no more Danny Fortsons, please). At SF he doesn't look as if he has much of an outside game. Now I know there are players who walked into the league that had to develop an outside shot - Karl Malone comes to mind - but that doesn't always happen.

Perhaps Derrick Williams seems the most logical pick. Cam, you're right - I watched a few W's games lately and although D. Wright does have potential for perimeter defense, he's not nearly consistent, just like Monte. Derrick Williams has a slew of offensive moves, but can he be an elite player? Not much separates Williams from an Evan Turner, as I don't see both guys beating their opponents consistently off the dribble.

The only way the W's can look to improve is by mortgaging some of the future for a legitimate player. Although the Nets may not keep Deron Williams past the end of the next season, I have to like their managements' ambition for improving the team. They gave up Favors and change to get Deron, but it worked. If that means the Warriors giving up Curry + player + picks for a star, then do it. We've seen some of the dumbest trades occur in the NBA (Gasol to the Lakers, what the Dubbs got back for Sprewell, Baron Davis coming to the Dubbs for practically nothing) so anything is possible.

 

[Yoshi]

Yoshi - Thanks for the response. You are right that Dorrell Wright is one of the better perimeter defenders on the team, but what I meant by "defensive liabilities" is that he does not always exert maximum effort on the defensive front. He is a lot like Monta Ellis in that respect. When Monta wants to be, he is a disruptive force on defense and can use his quickness to disturb the opponents' flow. Wright is much the same way. But both are prone to taking time off on the defensive end if either has the hot hand shooting. So I guess it's just consistency that DWright needs.


Finally, I agree about the comparison with the Niners. If Lacob cleaned house and brought in Jerry West (or some other big name with a proven record of success) as GM, and let HIM choose a dynamic head coach like Harbaugh is for the Niners, the Warriors would gain instant credibility. They would become a destination for free agents and winning would again be the top priority. Until that happens - and as long as remnants of the Cohan era still pollute the Warriors' front office, the chances of success are about as good as the Niners' chances of success when Mike Nolan was in charge.

Yep - another thing to about the Harbaugh analogy is that in addition to getting a coach with potential, the fans have an idea of what kind of offense the Niners want to run instead of Singletary's version of "playing physical with an f" only to change it up to a more aerial attack. With the W's, they have the looks and the pieces to play a run and gun, but then often times they play a half court set and abandon the run and gun even when it's open.

Here is a whacky scenario - Keith Smart will be gone so there'll be some talk about possible candidates for the HC position. I know some folks will talk about Eric Spoelstra if the Heat come up short (which they eventually will). Another name I want to bring up is Brad Stevens. I REALLY like this guy, but I know his next gig will be at another college program. Of course, he has to prove he can win at a bigger school where everyone is gunning for you instead of being the Cinderella and sneaking up on people. What he has done at Butler is outstanding and shouldn't be overlooked by any means.