NLL Insider - Team by Team: Golden State Warriorsby greenmig, updated on Sunday, October 16 2016, 04:29 pm EST
Season Highlight There was
not a lot to be excited about last season in the Bay area. As usual the team missed the playoffs but
after hiring gm mailo early on the season it seems that at least they have a gm
who is going to stick around and has a plan for the future. The fact that mailo is still at the helm and
nothing crazy has happened for about 6 months is a highlight for Warriors who
are craving stability, let alone success. Season Lowlight NLL history doesn’t lie and unfortunately in
the case of the Warriors they have been bottom feeders for their entire tenure
in the league. With only one playoff
appearance way back in Season 2003/4 it’s easy to find lowlights for a team
who’s fans have gotten used to being kicked in the guts year after year. Last season wasn’t different but perhaps the
fact that the team had ‘buzzards luck’ with season ending injuries to two of
their key players in Wilson Chandler and Grievis Vasquez ensuring that things were
going to go from bad to worse. Best Trade The Atlanta Hawks send Rasual Butler, Steve Blake, Louis
Amundson and Dario Saric to the Golden State Warriors. The Golden
State Warriors send O.J. Mayo to the Atlanta Hawks. The Golden State
Warriors send Jarnell Stokes to the Memphis Grizzlies. Let’s distill this down
for the Warriors. Here they get the
rights to Dario Saric as well as receiving 4 2nd round picks in
exchange for O.J. Mayo and Jarnell Stokes.
This is a great deal since Mayo and Stokes are likely out of the
NLL. Saric has already showed how good
he could be in international play and pre-season scrimmages and there many
scouts who predict he could one day be an NLL Allstar. Those 2nd round picks ended up
being Demetrius Jackson, Marcus Paige and Stephen Zimmerman – 3 guys who have a
chance to become decent NLL players in the future. Worst Trade The LA Clippers send Quincy Pondexter to the Golden State
Warriors. To his credit, gm
mailo didn’t really make any ‘bad’ trades which is a welcome change for a
franchise who has been used as a ‘farm team’ by opposing gm’s for the past
decade. Perhaps this deal, whilst not a
big deal is the worst since when you are rebuilding from the bottom up, every pick
counts and sending away a 2nd for an injury prone veteran doesn’t
add up. Other Notable Trades The
Golden State Warriors send K.J. McDaniels to the Orlando Magic. The
Orlando Magic send Marcus Smart and Larry Nance Jr. to the Golden
State Warriors. Some people might argue that this is the
best trade for the Warriors but I just don’t like to see a rebuilding team
trading away picks. But anyhow it may
have paid off on this occasion as the Warriors may have acquired two
cornerstone building blocks in Smart and Nance Jr from this deal. The
Boston Celtics send O.J. Mayo and K.J. McDaniels to the Golden
State Warriors. The Golden State Warriors send Ty Lawson to the Boston
Celtics. Not a bad deal in the end for the
Warriors. Ty Lawson has had his troubles
whilst McDaniels was used in the deal above to acquire Smart and Nance Jr. The Charlotte Hornets send Steve Novak and Kosta Koufos
to the Golden State Warriors. The Golden State Warriors send Nene Hilario
to the Charlotte Hornets. Not sure this was such
a great deal. The Warriors were sick of
Nene being injured and got rid of him in exchange for solid big Koufos and
Novak but they also dealt away two 2nd rounders. Best Free Agent Signing Ian Clark trying to make any NLL team was signed
to a 1yr minimum deal and it looks as though his ability to shoot the ball may
well help the Warriors this season. Worst Free Agent Signing When you have a reputation for losing, free
agents generally don’t come flocking. The Star – Marcus Smart This was a toss up between Smart and Harrison
Barnes with Smart just getting the nod due to his overall stats in multiple
categories. Marcus has been given the
keys to this team and he delivered averaging 20.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.2
assists and 1.9 steals per game. Alot
will depend on his growth as to whether the Warriors can take a step forward in
2016/17. Surprise – Roy Hibbert In a league where the value of big men is
waning, Roy Hibbert had a surprisingly good season averaging 12.2 points, 9.7
rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Not
only that but in a team where everybody else was getting injured big Roy played
in all 82 games. Now that is a surprise! The Goat – The Warriors medical staff This is a team lacking in talent and depth but
not only that it was possibly the most injured team in the NLL last
season. Big injuries to key starters in
Vasquez, Chandler, Nene meant that gm mailo and his coaching staff never really
had a chance. Hopefully a brand new
medical team is on board for season 2016/17. Draft Report Card Dario Saric – as mentioned above, the Warriors
made a great deal to claim the rights to Dario Saric. He will make his debut this season and looks
set to play a big part in the franchise’s future. Demetrius Jackson – an athletic PG who looks
likely to end up in the D-League for much of the season. Marcus Paige – Another PG. He has a nice outside shot and had a solid
College career. Look for him to play a
lot of D-League action too. But a nice
addition for down the road. Stephen Zimmerman – a big man prospect who is
unlikely to make the roster this season. Upcoming Free Agents Roy Hibbert – The big man had a pretty decent
season however like many who have come before him he will likely bolt in free
agency seeking greener pastures. Harrison Barnes – This is a biggie. Gm mailo has extended the QO to Barnes and
promised him a big pay day making him a RFA.
You can be sure the vultures are circling and another team will try and
coax him away from the Bay Area, but I don’t think gm mailo is gonna let that
happen. Greivis Vasquez – Greivis blew out his
achilles last season after a sparkling start.
He wont be tempting fate twice in a Warriors uniform. Steve Blake – Is this guy still in the league? Ian Clark – a nice free agency signing a year
ago. Clark is now an RFA and may well
carve out a nice niche for the Warriors this season. Louis Amundson – I heard this guy had a hair
cut? Johnny O’Bryant – I have always like this guys
name but sadly that is not enough to make in the NLL. Wilson Chandler – gm mailo would love to ink
Wilson to a new deal and it seems at this stage that this is quite likely but
stranger things have happened in NLL free agency. Looking to the Future The Warriors
look to finally have a stable gm in mailo.
After a long debut season watching on as his team broke down before him,
the best thing was he didn’t do anything silly to hurt the team. In fact he did the opposite and acquired some
nice pieces. Going into season 2016/17
there is reason for some optimism with a nice looking young core of Nance Jr-Saric-Barnes-Smart. Of course it will still be a tough road with
the likelihood that the fight will begin even before the season begins with the
top priority being urging Harrison Barnes to sign on in the Bay. This coupled with securing the return of
Wilson Chandler and inking Ian Clark would really help this team going forward. Combine this
with solid veteran Kosta Koufos and young stretch PF Mike Muscala who is
rumoured to have a had a monster off season the Warriors future is starting to
look brighter with 8 real NLL players all under the age of 30 on their roster. They will
likely win more games than last years 25 but gm mailo needs to remain patient
through 2016/17 and use the season as somewhat of a consolidation year,
continuing to build without making any rash moves to win now. |
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