Posts Tagged ‘ alex smith ’

3
23
Feb

The Great Trade of 2011

So the Warriors finally got in on the trading action trading Dan Gadzuric and Brandan Wright for Troy Murphy and a 2012 2nd round pick.  Murphy makes $12M this year and will likely never put on a Warrior’s uniform.  If he cannot be flipped for another 2nd round pick he will be cut and land somewhere else as a free agent.  Brandan Wright was not going to receive a qualifying offer this Summer because he would have most likely accepted not being able to find more money on the open market. Wright makes $3.4 million this year.  Gadzuric was not getting much playing time and earns $7.25M this year.  Basically the Warriors bought a 2nd round pick in 2012 for $1.3M and opened up two roster spots if in fact Murphy gets cut. If there is a positive to take away from this, the new owners are willing to buy draft picks rather than sell them.

I would have liked to see the Warrior’s get more for Brandan Wright, but his stock was about as low as it could be.  Hindsight is 20/20 but they really should have moved him this past Summer.  I am happy to move on from the Brandan Wright era and ANOTHER failed 1st round draft pick, but this is bittersweet as the West has opened up a bit with the Williams and Carmelo trades and getting someone who can contribute to the team rather than a contract would have been nice.  However, if the Warriors bring back Jeff Adrien as Rusty Simmons is reporting then it lessens the blow a bit.  Adrien will be more useful than Murphy would be. Who gets the 2nd open roster spot if Murphy is cut? The Jewish Jordan?

I guess I can give up the project I started last night to change all of our “Brandon Wright” tags to “Brandan Wright” tags so that is good news.  Looks like Alex Smith lasted longer.

So anyone looking for more Warrior’s trades besides the slim possibility of moving Murphy for a pick?  I don’t anticipate anything and after seeing the Knicks and the Nets probably overpay in the blockbuster trades I am not confident the Warrior’s can pick up a difference maker without giving up too much.

7
9
Jan

Is Brandan Wright the Alex Smith of the Warriors?

I couldn't resist using this photo

Interesting article by Marcus Thompson II in the Mercury News today on Brandan Wright and his future with the team. It goes through the usual litany of injury excuses, and kinda skates over the fact that Wright has always been a defensive and rebounding disaster when he’s made it onto the court.

While Wright has certainly been a disappointment, what’s maddening is that he’s always remained on the verge of being a serviceable player (unlike, say, Patrick O’Brien). And at times — in particular last year’s preseason before his second shoulder separation — it seemed like we were finally going to see the potential (utilizing his length and explosiveness) that made him such a high pick coming out of UNC after his freshman year.

But the fact remains that we haven’t, and this year has been perhaps the most disappointing of all as he was felled with a mysterious back injury for over a month and now can’t even crack the rotation. Maybe he’ll one day put it all together and become a positive contributor on the court, but at this point it seems incredibly unlikely that Oakland will be where that happens.

And in that way, he sort of reminds me of Alex Smith. A player with all the potential in the world who, despite numerous chances, could never put it all together when it mattered for the team that drafted him. Sure, you can legitimately blame coaching, and injuries were definitely a factor, but when it comes to the bottom line performance neither player lived up to his draft position.

So, like with Alex Smith, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Wright one day put it all together and become a solid contributor (both are young and play a position of huge importance in their respective sports, and they may finally have the experience to put it all together). But at this point this turning of the corner won’t be happening with their original teams, so in Wright’s case I just hope the Warriors can get something for him before he inevitably leaves at the end of the year. Because otherwise, based on the team’s history of former players blowing up elsewhere, it’s going to be annoying as hell when Wright inevitably comes into Oracle next year and throws up a career high against the dubs…

Postscript: Another comparison for Wright could be Greg Oden — a player who, if he ultimately flourishes, will do so in another uniform than the team that drafted him. Though in Oden’s case it’s easy to put the blame squarely on the injuries, as more “fixable” problems like coaching and attitude didn’t interfere as much. So I’ll stick with the Smith comparison.