I Miss JRich
It's tough being a Warriors fan. If you're a Warriors fan you know exactly what I'm talking about. The Warriors were at one point a good team back when they had Chris Mullin, Tim Hardaway and Mitch Richmond. But then they decided to trade Mitch Richmond to get Billy Owens. Don Nelson seemed to be fascinated by this guy what "potential" he had. Needless to say, he didn't pan out. It seems to me that there are only 2 ways to build a great NBA team. You either draft well or you make good trades. The Warriors have done neither.
Then there was the Webber year that everything just exploded between him and head coach, Don Nelson. They ended up trading the Rookie of the Year who averaged 17.5 PTs and 9.1 RBs to the Washington Wizards for Tom Gugilotta. The one good thing about that trade was that the Warriors got 3 first round draft picks which made up for the 3 first round picks that they gave up to get Webber for Anfernee Hardaway.
The combination of horrible drafts in which the Warriors select players like Clifford Rozier (1994), Joe Smith (1995), Todd Fuller (1996), Adonal Foyle (1997), Vince Carter (1998 traded on draft day for Antwan Jamison), Gilbert Arenas (2001 second round) and Mike Dunleavy Jr. (2002) and bad trades caused a playoff drought that lasted 1994 till 2007. And yes, I have been a fan all through those crappy years and the crappy years to come.
You might look at some of those picks and say that they weren't so bad. No one remembers Clifford Rozier and I don't see why they would. He was a joke. Joe Smith was a pretty decent player but when you consider that he was the first overall pick in the draft that year and that the Warriors could have selected any player, Joe Smith is a bad choice over guys like Antonio McDyess, Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett!
The Todd Fuller pick is the one that kills me the most. He was selected over players like Kobe Bryant, Peja Stojakovic, Steve Nash, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Jermaine O'Neal. I would trade Fuller for anyone of those players even O'Neal in his current broken down condition. At least O'Neal is still an asset in the NBA.
It seems as though the Warriors tried to pick players based on need. The Warriors always needed a good big man but never found one so they select Todd Fuller over better athletes like Kobe and Nash. There's no easy way to say it but it's just a stupid move. It's just like when the Portland Trailblazer were dead set on selecting someone to play the center position in Sam Bowie since Hakeem Olajuwon was selected with the first pick. They passed on the shooting guard from North Carolina and allowed him to go to the Chicago Bulls. That young shooting guard was none other than Michael Jordan. Learn from the mistakes of others. You select the best available player regardless of your teams needs. For example, let's say your team has an All-Star caliber center and by some stroke of luck, you get the first pick in the draft and can choose from any of the available players. Do you pass on the most talented player in the draft just because he is also a center? Or do you pick him and try to make things work out? The San Antonio Spurs were in the same exact situation. They had David Robinson at center and because he got hurt one year and missed virtually the entire season, they had a horrible record and got the first pick. They chose Tim Duncan and 4 NBA titles later, they are still competing for a title.
Next is Adonal Foyle. I absolutely love Adonal Foyle as a person. But as an NBA player, he isn't that great. He was selected over Tracy McGrady who went with the very next pick.
Then was the Vince Carter for Antwan Jamison trade on draft day. Here the Warriors actually made the right selection. They picked the best available player regardless of position or need on the team and they subsequently traded the best available player for someone they thought would "fill a need". I liked Jamison and at the time, the Warriors need a power forward more than another shooting guard and Jamison had some great games for the Warriors. Vince Carter has had the better career to this point.
In 2001, things started to look much better. The Warriors select Jason Richardson, Troy Murphy and Gilbert Arenas. Jason Richardson quickly became the teams franchise player. Troy Murphy managed to collect rebounds at a much higher rate than any Warriors since Larry Smith and he could fairly skilled offensively too. Gilbert Arenas sat on the bench for the first half of the season but once he got a chance to play, he shined. Finally, a good draft! They now had a few young players that they could build upon. Time to get back to the winning ways.
The very next year, the Warriors had the 3rd pick in the draft. They selected Mike Dunleavy Jr.. The pain and agony of that pick lingers to this day. Players like Amare Stoudemire, Caron Butler, and Carlos Boozer were all available in that draft when the Warriors picked Dunleavy. I know it's hard to judge talent but I could have told them that was a bad pick. Just because a guy is the son of a former NBA player and NBA coach and went to a great basketball school, that doesn't mean he has any talent. He had bust written all over him.
Gilbert Arenas turns out to be a stud. But since he was a second round pick, he becomes a free agent much earlier. The Warriors because of some stupid NBA rule, can't offer him as much money as the Washington Wizards and he bolts. The very next season, that rule is changed. Thanks David Stern! Talk about too little too late!
In 2004, the Warriors get Andris Biedrins and in 2005 they get Monta Ellis in the second round. (I'm going to ignore the fact that Ike Diogu was picked just before Andrew Bynum.) Ellis and Biedrins look like decent players and over the next couple of years develop into pretty solid players.
In February of 2005, the Warriors made a big move under new General Manager and former Warriors player, Chris Mullin. They traded the often injured Speedy Claxton and Dale Davis for Baron Davis. This changed the Warriors dramatically. Baron Davis became the point guard and team leader that the Warriors had missed since Tim Hardaway was with the team. While he was a great addition, they still needed something else.
In January of 2007, the Warriors traded Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, Ike Diogu and Keith McLeod for Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington, and Šarūnas Jasikevičius. The Warriors took on some questionable players. Jackson was part of the brawl in Detroit and had legal issues. Harrington was always looked upon as an under achiever and Šarūnas had back up point guard written all over him. It turned out to be a great move. The Warriors managed to sneak into the 8th and last playoff spot in the West and beat the No. 1 seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round. It was an amazing end to the regular season and play off run. The Warriors were back! Right? Wrong!
During the offseason, there were lingering rumors that Kevin Garnett wanted out of Minnesota. The Warriors were in talks with Minnesota to make a deal for Garnett. To clear up salary room, Chris Mullin does the unthinkable. He trades the Warriors heart and soul by giving up Jason Richardson to the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for Brandan Wright. The Warriors don't land Kevin Garnett and he goes to Boston where they win an NBA title. Baron Davis then opts out of his contract and goes to the Clippers. The Warriors have another unsuccessful season. Al Harrington fakes being hurt and demands a trade. The very next season Stephen Jackson asks to be traded as well. Those players that had questionable reputations played great when the Warriors were winning. Once the losing started, everyone wanted out. Loyalty was no where to be found. The one player that was loyal to the Warriors was Jason Richardson and the Warriors traded him away for the possibility of getting Kevin Garnett. I could understand if it was guaranteed that the Warriors would get Garnett if they traded Richardson but not for a chance at him.
The best Warrior player that I have seen in years was gone. The team is now left with a bunch of young players with "potential" yet again. That is the Warriors marketing strategy. The try to sell tickets based on the "potential" and future upside of the team. Well after having only one playoff season since 1994. I'm getting fed up.
Do the right thing and get JRich back!
Then there was the Webber year that everything just exploded between him and head coach, Don Nelson. They ended up trading the Rookie of the Year who averaged 17.5 PTs and 9.1 RBs to the Washington Wizards for Tom Gugilotta. The one good thing about that trade was that the Warriors got 3 first round draft picks which made up for the 3 first round picks that they gave up to get Webber for Anfernee Hardaway.
The combination of horrible drafts in which the Warriors select players like Clifford Rozier (1994), Joe Smith (1995), Todd Fuller (1996), Adonal Foyle (1997), Vince Carter (1998 traded on draft day for Antwan Jamison), Gilbert Arenas (2001 second round) and Mike Dunleavy Jr. (2002) and bad trades caused a playoff drought that lasted 1994 till 2007. And yes, I have been a fan all through those crappy years and the crappy years to come.
You might look at some of those picks and say that they weren't so bad. No one remembers Clifford Rozier and I don't see why they would. He was a joke. Joe Smith was a pretty decent player but when you consider that he was the first overall pick in the draft that year and that the Warriors could have selected any player, Joe Smith is a bad choice over guys like Antonio McDyess, Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett!
The Todd Fuller pick is the one that kills me the most. He was selected over players like Kobe Bryant, Peja Stojakovic, Steve Nash, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Jermaine O'Neal. I would trade Fuller for anyone of those players even O'Neal in his current broken down condition. At least O'Neal is still an asset in the NBA.
It seems as though the Warriors tried to pick players based on need. The Warriors always needed a good big man but never found one so they select Todd Fuller over better athletes like Kobe and Nash. There's no easy way to say it but it's just a stupid move. It's just like when the Portland Trailblazer were dead set on selecting someone to play the center position in Sam Bowie since Hakeem Olajuwon was selected with the first pick. They passed on the shooting guard from North Carolina and allowed him to go to the Chicago Bulls. That young shooting guard was none other than Michael Jordan. Learn from the mistakes of others. You select the best available player regardless of your teams needs. For example, let's say your team has an All-Star caliber center and by some stroke of luck, you get the first pick in the draft and can choose from any of the available players. Do you pass on the most talented player in the draft just because he is also a center? Or do you pick him and try to make things work out? The San Antonio Spurs were in the same exact situation. They had David Robinson at center and because he got hurt one year and missed virtually the entire season, they had a horrible record and got the first pick. They chose Tim Duncan and 4 NBA titles later, they are still competing for a title.
Next is Adonal Foyle. I absolutely love Adonal Foyle as a person. But as an NBA player, he isn't that great. He was selected over Tracy McGrady who went with the very next pick.
Then was the Vince Carter for Antwan Jamison trade on draft day. Here the Warriors actually made the right selection. They picked the best available player regardless of position or need on the team and they subsequently traded the best available player for someone they thought would "fill a need". I liked Jamison and at the time, the Warriors need a power forward more than another shooting guard and Jamison had some great games for the Warriors. Vince Carter has had the better career to this point.
In 2001, things started to look much better. The Warriors select Jason Richardson, Troy Murphy and Gilbert Arenas. Jason Richardson quickly became the teams franchise player. Troy Murphy managed to collect rebounds at a much higher rate than any Warriors since Larry Smith and he could fairly skilled offensively too. Gilbert Arenas sat on the bench for the first half of the season but once he got a chance to play, he shined. Finally, a good draft! They now had a few young players that they could build upon. Time to get back to the winning ways.
The very next year, the Warriors had the 3rd pick in the draft. They selected Mike Dunleavy Jr.. The pain and agony of that pick lingers to this day. Players like Amare Stoudemire, Caron Butler, and Carlos Boozer were all available in that draft when the Warriors picked Dunleavy. I know it's hard to judge talent but I could have told them that was a bad pick. Just because a guy is the son of a former NBA player and NBA coach and went to a great basketball school, that doesn't mean he has any talent. He had bust written all over him.
Gilbert Arenas turns out to be a stud. But since he was a second round pick, he becomes a free agent much earlier. The Warriors because of some stupid NBA rule, can't offer him as much money as the Washington Wizards and he bolts. The very next season, that rule is changed. Thanks David Stern! Talk about too little too late!
In 2004, the Warriors get Andris Biedrins and in 2005 they get Monta Ellis in the second round. (I'm going to ignore the fact that Ike Diogu was picked just before Andrew Bynum.) Ellis and Biedrins look like decent players and over the next couple of years develop into pretty solid players.
In February of 2005, the Warriors made a big move under new General Manager and former Warriors player, Chris Mullin. They traded the often injured Speedy Claxton and Dale Davis for Baron Davis. This changed the Warriors dramatically. Baron Davis became the point guard and team leader that the Warriors had missed since Tim Hardaway was with the team. While he was a great addition, they still needed something else.
In January of 2007, the Warriors traded Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, Ike Diogu and Keith McLeod for Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington, and Šarūnas Jasikevičius. The Warriors took on some questionable players. Jackson was part of the brawl in Detroit and had legal issues. Harrington was always looked upon as an under achiever and Šarūnas had back up point guard written all over him. It turned out to be a great move. The Warriors managed to sneak into the 8th and last playoff spot in the West and beat the No. 1 seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round. It was an amazing end to the regular season and play off run. The Warriors were back! Right? Wrong!
During the offseason, there were lingering rumors that Kevin Garnett wanted out of Minnesota. The Warriors were in talks with Minnesota to make a deal for Garnett. To clear up salary room, Chris Mullin does the unthinkable. He trades the Warriors heart and soul by giving up Jason Richardson to the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for Brandan Wright. The Warriors don't land Kevin Garnett and he goes to Boston where they win an NBA title. Baron Davis then opts out of his contract and goes to the Clippers. The Warriors have another unsuccessful season. Al Harrington fakes being hurt and demands a trade. The very next season Stephen Jackson asks to be traded as well. Those players that had questionable reputations played great when the Warriors were winning. Once the losing started, everyone wanted out. Loyalty was no where to be found. The one player that was loyal to the Warriors was Jason Richardson and the Warriors traded him away for the possibility of getting Kevin Garnett. I could understand if it was guaranteed that the Warriors would get Garnett if they traded Richardson but not for a chance at him.
The best Warrior player that I have seen in years was gone. The team is now left with a bunch of young players with "potential" yet again. That is the Warriors marketing strategy. The try to sell tickets based on the "potential" and future upside of the team. Well after having only one playoff season since 1994. I'm getting fed up.
Do the right thing and get JRich back!
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