32 wrote:#1, thank you for acknowledging that Brandan Wright will
one day be something special. The kid's got major skills.

Coming into the draft, I thought of BWRight as being the third best player there was, behind Oden and Durant. I know the man has skills but the fact is, he still has some development to make before he can be a star, he will be playing behind Harrington if in fact Harrington is not traded and JRICH WAS TRADED FOR HIM. JRich is a better player right now and a core player of the team and losing him willmake the team worse than the addition of Wright

32 wrote:#2, Monta played his best basketball last year at SG. When he was forced to bring the ball upcourt, it added a lot of TO's to his stat sheet. He's a better playmaker when nobody expects him to be the distrubtor. If anything, a permanent move to SG will make him even more dangerous. Monta's definately more comforable scoring than passing.

I thought Monta played best last season early on, even when replacing Baron. He definately can play SG but he is smaller and less of an outside shooter than JRich, two things that made JRich effective on the team. I hope the best but Monta has everything to prove as well as a full time SG if indeed he takes that position

32 wrote:#3, Nelson is tutoring a successor (Keith Smart) to take over his coaching duties when his contract expires. Smart, with a half-retarded Cleveland Cav's roster, didn't do half bad with a poor situation in Ohio... so I can't wait to see what he has to offer with a more loaded lineup and a few years of Nellie training (ala Avery Johnson). Nelson coaching the team shouldn't be a problem; I have a feeling his ways will continue even after he's gone. Small ball seems to be the way of the future (not to mention, our team's biggest strength), so I see no reason to sweat it when Nelson's gone in a couple seasons.

I truly hope that Smart, if he is the one that takes over, can do what Avery Johnson did in Dallas in not only taking over but making things even better. That is a reach but a possibility but the thing is that the recent changes were made to suit Nelson's style and I'm not sure the current players could play well in a slightly more half court system

migya wrote:Coming into the draft, I thought of BWRight as being the third best player there was, behind Oden and Durant. I know the man has skills but the fact is, he still has some development to make before he can be a star, he will be playing behind Harrington if in fact Harrington is not traded and JRICH WAS TRADED FOR HIM. JRich is a better player right now and a core player of the team and losing him willmake the team worse than the addition of Wright

I disagree that it'll make Golden State worse at all. As I've said, Monta can easily replace JRich... and Brandan Wright is already ready to contribute at PF. He won't be a star, but you don't need to be a star to grab a few boards and block a few shots.

Monta has been great but he is yet to score as much as JRich did two seasons ago and doesn't replace him in rebounds at all, both areas where JRich was great. Monta has some big shoes to fill

migya wrote:Monta has been great but he is yet to score as much as JRich did two seasons ago and doesn't replace him in rebounds at all, both areas where JRich was great. Monta has some big shoes to fill

Yes, we will miss Richardson's rebounding and we will miss his passion, but otherwise, I don't think we will miss the other aspects.

JRich was not the same player last year. Maybe it was just injury... I will give him the benefit of the doubt but he really just became a 3pt shooter. The last month of the season he just completly abandoned taking the ball to the hoop and his midrange game. A few years ago, his game would be much harder to replace but as the seasons have gone by, he becomes more just a 3pt shooter... and quite frankly, he is just not a great shooter. And he is a TERRIBLE FT shooter.

He is streaky and gets on FIRE at time, but he has never even shot 40% from 3 before and it usually closer to 35%. There are a lot of guy that can do that.

I dont mean to pile on the guy because I loved his attitdude, loyalty and passion for this organization and I will miss that. He always played hard, but it was the right thing to start going younger as he is probably going to start slowing down and rely even more on his outside shot.

Take a look at the trend:

Percentage of 3pt attempts in relation to total shots

Last season - 41%
05-06 season - 33%
04-05 season - 27%
03-04 season - 21%

There is no way a career 35% 3pt shooter should be taking over 40% of his shots from 3pt land.

Great stats, badabing!

Yeah, I agree... JRich seems to be making a Michael Finley transformation as of late, abandoning his driving and attacking in favor of simply spotting up open 3's. On one hand, he's a terrific perimeter shooter... but, on the other, you need to attack the basket when you're as athletic as Richardson is. If Richardson won't play physically enough to get fouled and shoot at the line, Monta definately will.

Richardson's contributions in rebounding will be washed out. Monta won't grab as many, but Brandan Wright will sure as hell make everybody forget about them.

And, one final point... I'd say that Monta averaging 18 PPG on a loaded lineup (like last year) was just as impressive as JRich's 23 PPG on a talentless Warrior team, featuring the likes of Dunleavy, a benched Monta, and an injured Baron. Give Monta the lineup Richardson was working with (and the minutes he was getting) and he'll score 23 PPG, too.

Last season, Monta Ellis' PPG per 48 was higher than Richardson's. 'Nuff said.

Keep in mind the kind of season, riddled with injuries. J-Rich had last year. It ain't fair to compare them. The upcoming season, with J-Rich at full strenght again and Monta with another year of experience will set a better comparison.

TMC wrote:Keep in mind the kind of season, riddled with injuries. J-Rich had last year. It ain't fair to compare them. The upcoming season, with J-Rich at full strenght again and Monta with another year of experience will set a better comparison.

true talk. although it might be a bit biased since j-rich is playing in the east now

TMC wrote:Keep in mind the kind of season, riddled with injuries. J-Rich had last year. It ain't fair to compare them. The upcoming season, with J-Rich at full strenght again and Monta with another year of experience will set a better comparison.

When Richardson scored 23 PPG, he played nearly 5 more MPG than Monta did last year, had 3 extra years of NBA experience, and wasn't on nearly as stacked of a roster... and, still, Monta only scored 5 less PPG.

I can't wait until next season.

TMC wrote:I think the trade was a BIG step back for this team. This is Richmond for Billy Owens once again. The front office is gonna regret this trade and may ultimately cost them their jobs.

Hopefully I'm wrong, but I see Wright in the same mold as Marvin Williams. A player that will never be anything else than a role player. 15 and 7 as tops of his career. No way he becomes a contributor like J-Rich was for us.


God, what a disappointing draft...

Yup... And Wright is gonna get pushed around weighing in at only 205 lbs...

Which is almost exactly what everybody was saying about Andris Biedrins...

... except Biedrins doesn't have Wright's immediate offense game from inside 8 feet...

... or Wright's hops...

... or his passing...

... or his speed.

ChronicallyInclined wrote:

TMC wrote:Keep in mind the kind of season, riddled with injuries. J-Rich had last year. It ain't fair to compare them. The upcoming season, with J-Rich at full strenght again and Monta with another year of experience will set a better comparison.

true talk. although it might be a bit biased since j-rich is playing in the east now

I'll still be pulling for the guy. It will be interesting to see how Monta handles it all, if in fact he is still here