Josh Smith would be perfect in any system. If there's one player I really wish we could have it'd be him.
i would think that the clippers already foresaw this situation before signing baron davis. they understood that signing baron would 1) limit their ability to re-sign brand and 2) enable the warriors to offer him a maximum contract (which is likely since they lack a low-post scoring threat). therefore i think that brand gave the clippers some reassurance that he would return to the team despite the fact that he could receive significantly more money elsewhere - otherwise i don't think that the clippers would have been blind enough to sign davis first.
He was more durable until he tore his achilles tendon screwing around and missed an entire year. Note ~ he ruptured the tendon while rehabbing his injured knee. Note ~ he's 29 and a career 17/ 8 guy.
terrible move by the warriors. emotional, reactionary. Brand doesn't fit that team.. he can run certainly.. but he excels in the halfcourt.
I actually like this move for the warriors if it were to happen.. They will never win anything in the run/gun, and having a lineup of ellis-jackson-harrington-brand-biedrins, would work.. both harrington and jackson could space the floor on a brand post up, and biedrins could clean up the misses. Then you can run pnp with ellis and either jackson or harrington or a pnr with ellis/brand. And it's athletic enough to still play up tempo fairly often.
He's a career 20/10 guy but I agree he isn't likely to do that for 5 more seasons. Golden State got caught with their pants down and offering Brand $85-90MM is a desperate act to save face. IMO, $20-25MM extra is just too much money to turn down. Brand is almost compelled to grab it. If he stays with the Clips, it will truly be a case of a player choosing loyalty/winning over money.
It is a desperate move, but I don't think it's a bad one.. You don't think a warriors team of ellis-jackson-harrington-brand-biedrins could be a playoff contender out west? or do you think the clippers with davis and brand have the better roster?
I was about to say the same thing. I'm not convinced that the Clippers with Brand are that much better than the Warriors with Brand.
It doesn't matter that Brand doesn't fit in GS. Nelson will only be there 1 more year. That style won't get them over the top. Mullin knows a change is needed. Brand is the first step. That style is not bigger than the goal.
Without a PG (and don't EVEN try to say Monta Ellis is a PG), the Warriors will drift into oblivion. BD was the heart and soul of that team. The other players responded to his leadership on and off the court. Brand is talented but is definitely not a leader. The chemistry of that squad won't work, especially with Nellie as a lame duck. Stephen Jackson may not respond as well to Nellie's harping under those circumstances. To say his shot selection was bad last season is an understatement. Harrington is a mentally fragile midget whose plays far below his ability. He disappears much too often and forces Nellie to put his rump on the bench in key stretches of games. I think the air will run out of the tires this season at Golden State. The Clippers are the Clippers, but BD is the perfect kind of player for Brand to play off of. Without a floor leader, all he does is put up stats and lose games. With BD, Brand and Kaman, I think the Clips could make a playoff run. I don't think the Clips are that much better than the Warriors. If Brand returns at the reduced price, I guess it would be more for loyalty than winning.
oh I wasn't suggesting ellis is a true pg at this stage of his career. I was only listing the starters and the talent of said roster. And it is true that davis was the emotional leader of the team, so losing him is quite a blow. Finally, yes right now Ellis is a small but very good SG at this point, but it seems the plan all along was to make him the PG of the future in warrior land. I just don't think it's a bad idea after losing davis, to add a stud big man to the mix on that roster.
I'm not so sure their plan is still to make Ellis a PG. He is a SG, pure and simple. His speed, athleticism and mid-range shot make him a matchup nightmare for opposing SGs despite his small size. BD is big and strong enough to guard opposing SGs and I thought those two complimented each other well. Without BD drawing attention and creating, it will be harder for Ellis in 1/2 court. I'm exaggerating some, but GS losing BD will hurt them like the Suns if they lost Nash. I guess the Warriors signing Brand would be better than nothing. But they will take a step backwards next season unless a legit, decent PG runs their show. You will see Nellie's offense crash and go stagnant.
they could always trade harrington for one if they wanted and play jackson at the 3, i'd imagine. harrington for kirk hinrich possibly?
As a rockets fan though, I would much rather see brand sign with the warriors then with the clippers. this would leave two teams crippled and mediocre.
It's not against the rules for players to talk to players before July 1 is it? I'm thinking that BD must have talked to Brand at some stage before opting out and deciding on the Clips.
I agree. I don't believe Brand is taking the GS offer seriously. I feel confident that Brand and Davis planned this before July 1 and told the Clippers what they needed to do. Davis and Brand's friendship, the movie aspirations, the unexpected opt-out, Davis' extremely quick commitment to LAC. It was premeditated. No way they don't follow through.
