I played with the ESPN trade Machine a little this morning wondering what it might take to get Chris Kaman and more importantly his expiring contract.  I am not sure New Orleans would make this trade, maybe too much money coming back their way but it is at least a “legal” trade.

Kaman for Biedrins, D-Wright and Jeremy Tyler.

I hate to give up on Tyler before he ever had a chance and have him Jermentum some other team’s fan base down the road, but we would have to throw in a young promising player and he is about the only one besides Klay Thompson, or Udoh on the roster.  Thompson cannot go anywhere if D-Wright is traded and I like Udoh enough at this point from the defensive end that I would rather gamble on Tyler.  The most important part of this trade from the Warrior’s perspective is getting rid of Biedrin’s contract (I cannot believe how this turned out.  I think I used the word “Brilliant” when he signed it, I was so sure $9M per was such a great deal).

Kaman for Biedrins and Udoh works as does Kaman for Biedrins, Udoh, and Tyler. I would do the first but I doubt that would be enough for New Orleans. I think the second trade is probably giving up too much just for salary relief.

No Beidrins Amnesty is looking worse and worse every day.

Thoughts?

Nice game all around, with Reggie Williams playing the full 48 and leading the team with an efficient 28 points. Curry continued his hot shooting with 18 points on 7-11 from the field, and Dorell Wright became the first player in league history to score more points in his 7th season than in his first 6 combined. And 8 rebounds for Udoh! (But only 3 points.)

The Warriors once again lost the rebounding battle (they finished last in the league in rebounding margin, again, and without even resorting to small-ball much), but at least they moved the ball around great — 33 assists for the team, 10.5 above the season average.

Despite the win, the real news was the hire of agent Dan Myers to be the new VP of Basketball Operations. Despite an extension for Riley, the expectation is that Myers will take over most of the day-to-day GM duties before long. More on this in the weeks to come — have to talk about something during what could be an extremely long off-season, after all — but suffice to say this is the best news I’ve heard from this team in quite some time.

So onto another playoffs without the Warriors, and the countdown to the draft lottery, and hope springing eternal, and all that jazz. I guess I’m kinda used to a postseason-less season at this point, but it still sucks.

In all seriousness, this has been a tremendous 3-game stretch. These aren’t meaningless end-of-season games for the opposition; the Mavericks, Blazers, and Lakers all had a lot to play for when they faced the Warriors this past week.

The last two games in particular have been a ton of fun to watch, as the Warriors — dare I say it — dominated for most of the second half in both contests. Things got a little hairy at the end of the game last night, but the Dubs hit enough big shots to keep a healthy cushion and even avoid a foul-plagued ending.

Perhaps most impressive, the Warriors out-rebounded the Lakers 50-47. Bynum pulled down 17 boards, but they were able to hold Gasol and (especially) Odom in check. David Lee matched Bynum with 17 boards of his own, making it his second straight impressive double-double. Thanks to the rebounding and turnover (+7) margins, the Warriors ended up with 93 shots to the Lakers 77 — a big part of why they won despite shooting just 39%.

Curry and Ellis put on a nice show, as despite Curry’s cold touch early he hit some big shots at the end to preserve the win. Wright had another cold shooting night, but hit two big 3′s late to keep up the lead and break the Warriors’ single-season record for made 3-pointers. Udoh went scoreless, but pulled down 8 rebounds in 19 minutes — impressive considering the front line he was up against.

Now the Warriors get a few nights off before facing the Kings on Sunday, when they can get to the 36-win mark that they decided to shoot for after the bottom fell out after the All Star break. I know the Warriors have developed a habit of getting hot late in the season when their playoff spot is already decided, but they appear locked into the 11th draft position at this point so might as well see what they can do!

David Lee had his finest game as a Warrior, helping the team to a +7 rebounding advantage by pulling down 20 boards to go with 29 points. Monta and Steph also chimed in with 30 and 28, respectively, and as they mentioned on the postgame show this was the best game these three have played together as a trio.

Amundson gave some great second half minutes off the bench — even hitting his free throws — and while Dorell Wright couldn’t hit a shot to save his life, he didn’t screw things up too badly either as he posted a +21.

Now the Warriors head down to LA to take on the Lakers on the back end of a back-to-back. As the great Fitz just mentioned on the telecast, winning tomorrow would complete the most improbably 3-game winning streak…just about ever.

A hearbreaker of a loss, but great to see that this team still has fight left in it. Those back-to-back 3′s at the end of regulation were almost legendary, and had me scaring the hell out of my 4-month-old with my yells. Sadly, they couldn’t recreate the magic at the end of OT, but still a good showing against a playoff team on the road.

Curry brought his A offensive game — as he usually does against the Thunder — though his PG stats (5 assists/6 turnovers) were once again lacking. Monta on the other hand continued his hot streak in terms of distribution, with double-digit assists for the third straight game.

Udoh continued to make his presence felt defensively, and Lee did a good job playing big with 15 boards to go with 24 points (even with Perkins, the Warriors continue to match up inside against the Thunder better than they seemingly do anyone else).

Only Wright disappointed among the starters with a 2-13 shooting night, and he still managed to pull down 10 boards and post a team-high +10. And looking at the overall +/- stats, this game was clearly lost by the bench: all positive for the starters, all double-digit negative for the reserves — only 3 of whom played, totaling just 35 minutes.

Overall, I guess this is the sort of result you want at this point — great effort, but lottery position preserved.

A career high in points for Dorell Wright to go along with 5 rebounds and 6 assists, but that was about it in terms of good offensive performances. Curry continues to regress with a volume shooting night to go with 6 assists and 4 turnovers, while Monta had a similarly underwhelming game with only 15 points. Udoh got major minutes again in Biedrins’ absence, and did ok with 9 points on 4-7 shooting and 5 rebounds. The rebounding numbers are still light, but are up from the previously disastrous levels.

So the road trip mercifully ends, as the Warriors went 0-4 and are now 9-28 on the road this season. But hey, the Warriors are now tied in the loss column for the 9th pick in the draft!

Big game from Monta, his best since the Utah win before the break and maybe his best since he rolled his ankle in the Kings game. Too bad Curry and Wright had off nights, and outside of David Lee no one else really showed up offensively.

While the Warriors won the rebounding battle decisively and came close from in terms of matching free throw attempts, there just wasn’t enough defense to stop Boston’s solid passing.

So the road trip continues with a game tomorrow afternoon in Philly, so it will be interesting to see how this team recovers. They should be able to take something positive from this loss, though all too often this season they’ve failed to capitalize on “good” losses against elite teams and instead jump down below the level of the followup competition.

But 6 points, a -26, and a blown 3 from “his spot” that could have tied things late from Dorrell Wright? And all negative +/- from the starters, and all positive from the supposedly worthless bench? Well, you can’t say the Warriors aren’t finding new ways to lose.

There was one bright spot at least in the play of Reggie Williams. Dude was money from deep in the second half, and almost single-handedly kept the Warriors in the game. He’s been much more consistent of late, and if he could ever learn to become a 2-way player — and with his length, there’s no reason he can’t — he might finally turn the corner from good to, well, really good, at least.

But that was about it. Now the road trip continues, and you have to expect that the Warriors downward skid in the standings will continue right with it.

Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images

The Warriors ride into the All Star break in style behind a huge game from Monta Ellis and another solid defensive performance.

Monta was the hero in this one, as he put the team on his back and hit big shot after big shot in the second half. What was remarkable was that all his shots felt so needed in order for the team to keep pace. Definitely his best game in weeks, and something that should give him a good feeling while he’s fishing in Mississippi during the break.

Curry, on the other hand, had his worst game in a while, as persistent foul trouble kept him chained to the bench. And when he was on the court, his shot wasn’t falling — until his huge bucket in the closing minute to keep it a two possession game. So credit him for keeping his head in the game despite his struggles.

Dorell Wright played the sort of all-around game that has become the norm for him, with 22 points and 5 rebounds. And Reggie Williams gave the team a great offensive spark off the bench — he’s been exactly what they need on that front since he got off his slide back in January.

The bigs were just OK, though Andris’ rebounding in the fourth deserves special mention. There was one stretch where it seemed like he was grabbing every defensive board (not insignificant when offensive rebounding/putback machine Jefferson is on the opposing team). Slightly disappointing night for Lee though, as his rebounds were down for a second game in a row and he only managed 13. Brandon Wright continues to re-establish his trade value and scored 6 points. and Udoh had another largely stat-free line but continues to be a factor on defense.

And while scoring contributions off the bench outside of Reggie’s were fairly light, every single bench player was a positive on the +/-. If they can keep up that sort of consistency, it gives the team a chance to rest some of the starters (and spell Curry when he gets into foul trouble) — and that’s going to be key down the stretch.

So all-in-all another really positive win, and a great one to take into the All Star break (their 26 wins matches the win total from last year). The Warriors took care of business in these final games before the break, and by playing their best basketball of the season they give us hope that a late-season run is a legitimate possibility. We’ll know soon enough once they head back out on the road in the coming weeks, but for now we can at least savor the fact that this team is, unequivocally, improving.