| Reaction To Jackson Authored by Daniel Leroux - November 16, 2009 - 4:29 pm
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The other major benefit comes from simplifying the rotation. Ideally, this trade would have given more minutes to Kelenna Azubuike, but his injury means that they will have to go elsewhere. With a coach like Don Nelson, sometimes the best thing a team can do is take away some of his ability to make bad decisions with the rotation. Taking both Jackson and Acie Law (who I like, but did not like who was sitting when he was on the floor) should dramatically reduce the possibility of Nellie making strange decisions about who to have on the floor, especially in the season-long aggregate.
Now, it is much harder for him to sit Stephen Curry like he has a few times in the past week, and Raja Bell could definitely have a positive impact on the perimeter guys on this team in terms of defensive mentality and little tricks of the trade. Even if Bell does not play much for Golden State this year, he should prove to have some solid value in a teaching capacity.
Furthermore, it should reduce the minutes for Corey Maggette at the power forward slot, which has created some massive problems so far this year. Creating a need for Corey to play more small forward minutes (especially with Kelenna out for a long while) should keep the big man minutes more open to guys who are actually big men.
In some ways, Radmanovic is a little too perfect for Nellieball, which could cause some problems when Andris Biedrins and Ronny Turiaf return from injury. Coach Nelson loves to play 4 men that have range and are willing to use it, and Vlad fits that bill all too well. The only real downside to this deal is the possibility that Nellie gives minutes to Radmanovic that should be going to Anthony Randolph, but my take is that it will only happen on the margins.
All in all, it is a successful trade for the Warriors financially and potentially on the court as well if it helps nudge Nellie into more effective rotations in the long run.
Now, there are rumors out there that the Cavaliers offered Delonte West (essentially expiring after this year) and Wally Szczerbiak on a sign-and-trade. Should that deal have been on the table with the possibility of making it happen as quickly as this deal went down, it would make more sense for the Warriors. It gives even more financial flexibility and wouldn’t contain the risk of Nellie sitting Randolph in favor of Radmanovic. That said, I sincerely doubt that the Cavs deal was at that stage right now. First off, the Cavs had to be hesitant about adding Jackson’s deal without having a commitment from LeBron James, since replacing expirings with Corporal Jackson would lead to the Cavs having very little space to make moves with or without King James.
Each day that the Warriors waited to move Jackson was another day for him to potentially move closer to cratering his value, and the Warriors simply did not have the luxury of embracing that risk considering the three remaining years on his contract and his volatility. Plus, the cost of being risk-averse here was a $6 million deal for one year where the Warriors would not have had cap space in the first place. It costs Chris Cohan money (oh no!), but does not hurt the end-game of the team in any meaningful way.
If I’m management right now, I am calling up Donnie Walsh and the Knicks, offering the expiring deals (Speedy Claxton, Bell, and Devean George) and the Warriors’ 2nd round pick in exchange for eating Eddy Curry’s contract and Mr. Danilo Gallinari (Bell can't be dealt until January 16th). It is a steep price for the Knicks to pay, but making the offer and refusing to lower the asking price can only lead to positive things for the Warriors. There are only a few teams in the league right now that could be willing to add salary for next season before the trade deadline, which puts Golden State in a position of excellent leverage. It’s time they used it.
In the end, the most important thing to do is to thank Stephen Jackson for his time as a Warrior. It makes sense that in the immediate we get wrapped up in what was a nasty end to his tenure as a Dub, but what really needs to be said is how important Jackson was to the “We Believe” team as well as the near-miss team the following season. Stephen came in and immediately took on a pivotal role both on and off the floor, teaming with Baron Davis to give the Warriors a swagger that they had not possessed in more than a decade. Furthermore, his defense on Dirk Nowitzki in the playoffs was the single largest difference-maker in an absolutely incredible series. I don’t begrudge Jackson for getting his extension last year- I blame management for giving it to him.
Either way, there is not much to be gained for playing that blame game right now. Where I want to focus is that at his best, Stephen Jackson was a force for the Warriors and was an integral part of the best memories fans have had of this organization since the end of the Run TMC era, and for that I thank Stephen from the bottom of my heart and wish him the absolute best of luck in Charlotte. |
