Last week's NBA draft saw the Warriors draft an Italian shooting guard at #18, prompting questions about why a team heavy on wings and missing size would go after another guard. The answer came within an hour as news of a trade leaked - the Warriors had traded longtime (by today's sports standards) starting shooting guard Jason Richardson and the rights to the 36th pick (which was acquired from Minnesota in the Marc Jackson trade sometime during the Mesozoic period) for the rights to the 8th pick in the draft, Brandan Wright.
Many Warriors fans have mixed thoughts on the trade. Jason had become Mr. Warrior to a chunk of the fan base, especially the newer fans. However, for myself it was an odd case where I had little emotional attachment to a significant and longstanding member of my favorite team. Maybe it was because Richardson was immature early on, be it the sickout (skipping practice with that turd Gilbert Arenas without notice, later claiming they were just sick but in reality they wanted more crunch time minutes) or putting his ex-girlfriend's (and mother of his child who was present) head through a wall. He had a knack for exciting dunks, but it was telling that he could never perform them in a meaningful situation nor in a half court setting. He never had the ball handling skills to drive and dunk on anyone, and for years had to pause to gather himself and jump off 2 feet before attacking the rim (which allowed the defense to get set and await).
Richardson worked on his body and his game and became a very good scorer. But he never became a guy who could carry a team, who could singlehandedly bring victory. Contributing to this was his inability to use his scoring ability to set up teammates. He was greatly admired, and rightfully so, for having a great will to win and the ability and desire to play through high levels of pain, but that couldn't overcome the fact that he was a role player paid like a star, and one who happened to play a position of psuedo-depth on the Warriors (I threw in the qualifier because Barnes and Pietrus are both free agents). To top things off, Richardson is a player who relies on athleticism and had persistent knee issues for the past year, robbing him (at least temporarily) of some of the athleticism which made him a superior player and greatly hindering his performance.
The trade gives the Warriors several things. First of all, it shows fans that the team is trying to improve and is not content sitting on hits 8 seed laurels. This is a great relief to me personally. Secondly, it frees up the $50 million due Richardson over the next 4 years and creates a $10 million trade exception the Warriors can use anytime in the next calendar year. Third, it brings in Brandan Wright, who arguably has the highest ceiling of anyone in this year's draft outside of the two surefire stars (Oden and Durant). Wright is a power forward, a position the Warriors have a gaping hole at (though Wright is only 19 and needs to put on at least 20 pounds of muscle before playing heavy minutes, but long term he and Biedrins could form the best front line in the league, or at least the best one not involving Greg Oden). Wright is also a guy the Timberwolves would likely prefer (due to youth, ceiling, health, and contract) to Jason in the event that they finally do deal Kevin Garnett.
Bottom line: I'm not thrilled to see Jason go and I appreciate his contributions to the franchise, but I have no problems with the deal and am excited to see that the franchise is actively trying to improve. Welcome Brandan Wright. For now anyway...
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