| The Off-Season Questions Start Now Authored by Payam Jahromi - April 21, 2005 - 6:13 pm
Now that the season has concluded and expectations for next year have skyrocketed, Warriors fans will spend the next seven months dissecting every move GM Chris Mullin does or does not make.
Although the Warriors had a resurrection after acquiring Baron Davis and won 14 of their final 18 games, there are still holes to fill and questions to answer.
Will Mullin trade for an established low-post threat, and if so who will he give up from the young nucleus?
There are two directions Mullin can go in the off-season. One is to keep the team as it is with the addition of their first-round pick. The second is to trade one or more of their young players – such as Mike Dunleavy and Mickael Pietrus – to acquire a post-up threat and/or a shot-blocking presence.
I get the feeling that the team we watched finish the season will not be the team that jogs out on the court in November. Mullin has indicated that in recent interviews.
Plenty of names have surface recently including Stromile Swift, Eddy Curry, Samuel Dalembert, Theo Ratliff and Shareef Abdur-Rahim.
Mullin needs to decide which players he definitely wants around as the core. Baron Davis, Jason Richardson and Andris Biedrins are not going anywhere. My best guess is that Zarko Cabarkapa, Adonal Foyle and Derek Fisher will be back as well.
That leaves Dunleavy, Pietrus and Troy Murphy as guys who could potentially be moved. All three have good trade value, although Murphy’s contract could make him less attractive then the other two.
But none of those guys are free agents and the potential for all to return is possible. The next few months will be fun and I will be here to speculate like everyone else.
I think this is the most optimism the fans of a team have felt after a 34-48 season in the history of the league.
My NBA Award Winners:
MVP
1. Shaquille O’Neal – This is close but I have to go with the most dominating player in the league. Steve Nash isn’t the most dominating guy on his own team. If you factor in the fact that Shaq’s old team didn’t make the playoffs and Nash’s old team got better, it’s a no-brainer.
2. Nash: Unbelievable season and turnaround for the Suns. He was the perfect guy for the perfect team at the perfect time. He could easily win it, especially if you consider that Shaq has won MVPs and Nash will never be a serious MVP candidate again. Remember when Karl Malone beat out Michael Jordan?
3. Allen Iverson: Doesn’t have a realistic chance to win it, but he’s had an amazing year - maybe the best of his career (No thanks to Chris Webber, easily the most disappointing superstar of this generation).
4. Lebron James: I know he’s slipped out many people’s top five because of the Cavs freefall. And that’s a valid argument, but 27 point, 7 rebounds and 7 assists is a valid argument too. As for the Cavs, When Ira Newble, Tractor Trailor and Jeff McInnis are part of your core, you know your supporting cast sucks.
Another thing – and here comes the Jordan comparison – in MJ’s first 3 years, the Bulls were 38-44, 30-52 (he missed most the year), and 40-42. The Cavs finished at 42-40 and their supporting casts were similarly bad. Yes the Bulls made the playoffs those seasons, but that’s because there were less teams (8 of 11 teams made it in the East).
5. Dirk Nowitzki – Quietly had his best season.
Rookie Of The Year:
1. Ben Gordon: He’ll probably win the sixth man and therefore not win this, but you have to look at his impact on the Bulls and the type of fourth quarter player he was.
2. Omeka Okafor: Better stats than Gordon and he’s the favorite to win it. Can’t argue with that either; had a great rookie year on a bad team.
3. Dwight Howard: Most years he would win ROY and he’s third on this list somehow.
Coach Of The Year:
1. Scott Skiles, Bulls: The Bulls were 0-9 and went 47-26 since - all with very young players. Amazing coaching job.
2. George Karl, Nuggets: I don’t like giving a guy the award who only coached half the season, but they went from a very bad team to a very good team. And he was the only change. I wouldn’t have a problem if he won it.
3. Mike D’Antoni, Suns: You can’t give Nash all the credit for the Suns turnaround. Amare Stoudamire was a big reason and so was this guy, who recognized the type of team he had and maximized it.
Defensive player of year:
1. Andre Iguodala – Ok I know I’m being a little crazy here but I’m just trying to make a point. This guy is a monster on defense. Think Pippen. Great athlete, great all-around game on offense, not spectacular though – but a monster on defense. He won’t win it though.
2. Teyshaun Prince – As you can see I like the swing players who can shut down guys this year more than the centers. Prince is very looooooong and hard to shoot over.
3. Ben Wallace – You can give it to him every year. |
