 Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:25 pm
article from realGM that seems spot on to me
Tying Your Hands
Authored by Daniel Leroux - February 8, 2010 - 1:46 pm
Every once in a while, a seemingly minor decision strikes a strong chord in me. Golden State's decision to sign Anthony Tolliver for the rest of the year while cutting Speedy Claxton was one of those.
Now, I want to make it clear off the top that this is in no way meant as a slight against Mr. Tolliver. His hustle and rebounding has been a welcome change of pace for this Warriors team, especially at the forward slots. Furthermore, I can tell you from personal experience that he is a good guy who is team first and has exactly the right mentality for his current role in the NBA.
My beef is with the Warriors brass. While Marcus Thompson did an excellent job running down some of the major flaws here, one of them was so egregious that I had to write a dedicated post on it: The timing. It is one thing to waive a guy who has not contributed at some random point in the season. Depending on the circumstances, that can be a logical and fully defensible move. What is impossible to back up is letting one of the significant trade pieces the Warriors have go for absolutely nothing.
There are just a few remaining days until the trade deadline passes and the Warriors only have five games in that span thanks to the All-Star break. As such, the worst case scenario should they have wanted to keep Tolliver for the rest of the year was to simply wait for ten days (signing another player for the interim) and bring him back then.
We’ll come back to this point later, but any trade the Warriors made before the deadline would necessarily either open up one or more roster spots or keep the team solid with a few waiver choices at that juncture.
What makes the decision even more egregious is that it would have been insanely easy to make a deal that retained the immediate flexibility but still guaranteed Tolliver a spot on the roster for the rest of the season. Unlike Chris Hunter where management expressed a seemingly legitimate fear that he would get snatched up by a team like the Blazers desperate for a minutes-eating big, it would have been somewhat easy to make sure Tolliver stayed on the market. The Warriors cutting a deal with Tolliver that he spends the next 12 days at home with the team signing him either on the 18th or when they opened up a spot (whichever came first) is something he absolutely would have taken- a contract for the rest of the year is worth foregoing a possible 10-day with another squad. Plus, an understanding like that would not be considered tampering and even if it was, I sincerely doubt the NBA would be mad about a D-Leaguer getting a contract like that. Plus, the Warriors could easily sign another D-Leaguer with the 10-day injury exemption to fill the gap. This is even worse since the margin between Tolliver and another 10-day guy is not that big (if any), and it’s not like an extra loss would cost this team a berth in the playoffs…
While Robert Rowell may argue that Claxton did not have a market and thus the decision to waive him was of no consequence, the fact of the matter is that there absolutely was an interest in him in the context of the Warriors’ combined expiring contracts and luxury tax teams. By my count, there are still three teams within $5 million of the luxury tax line even after the Jazz and Hornets gave up talent to get under in the form of the Heat, Rockets, and Suns (with numerous more significantly over the tax line at present). The beauty of the NBA’s 125% rule on trades is that it is possible to create trades where both teams benefit financially. Additionally, every team over the current tax line could benefit double for any trade that reduced their overall salary figure, effectively creating a gap in the market that the teams could split, thus profiting both organizations’ respective bottom lines if the saving team sends money and/or picks to Golden State.
Quentin Richardson (Miami- $9.3m), Larry Hughes (NY- $13.3m), Darko (NY- $7.5m), and Mike James (Wizards- $6.4m) are all expiring contracts who could be moved in a 125% deal with beneficial financial outcomes for both teams. That does not even include potential talent upgrades the Warriors could have gotten by taking on a long-term contract such as a deal involving Andre Iguodala at the cost of one year of Samuel Dalembert.
Furthermore, since the Warriors’ expirings are spread between a few guys, it is likely any solution would have ended up opening up roster space for Tolliver. Management can argue that they do not have a deal like that on the table right now, but who knows what possibilities could unlock in the next two weeks after the floodgates open and teams have a better sense of whether they are buyers or sellers for this season.
Sure, any of those moves would have required some effort and creativity, but those are what differentiate bad GM’s from good ones and thus the talent on the court. Sam Presti and the Zombie Sonics have used their cap space like a bludgeon over the years, procuring Eric Maynor, Serge Ibaka, and Phoenix’s #1 this draft without giving up any talent whatsoever. Those moves have helped give them the depth to spend the resources they still have on fewer, better talents that will keep them a strong team for years to come. Portland did a little of this while building their roster and squandered an opportunity with Raef LaFrentz’s expiring deal last season.
In the end, the margin between the playoffs and the outside looking in will become pretty rough and tight in the Western Conference going forward as teams like Memphis, Oklahoma City, Minnesota, and possibly the Clippers continue to improve with still-developing talent. What sticks in my craw is that these excellent fans with a surreal devotion deserve better than management that needlessly and willingly ties their own hands behind their back at a time that could help the team.
uptempo wrote:Dude, why are you so obsessed with Mullin?
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