Yardbarker: Golden State Warriors

Sasha Vujacic to Europe?

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:21:28 -0500

Latest reports are saying that Los Angeles Laker Sasha Vujacic is strongly considering a jump over the pond to play in Europe next year. Vujacic averaged almost 9 points per game during the Lakers' regular season run to their first NBA Finals since the days of Shaq. Vujacic, however, is probably best known for his tantrums and the self-given nickname, "The Machine."....[continued]

Daily Links 7/25

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:21:39 -0500

Herald Tim Donaghy pals go to jail (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/other_nba/view.bg?articleid=1109044 format=text) Globe League suspends Mahorn, 10 players (http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/articles/2008/07/25/league_suspends_mahorn_10_players?mode=PF) CelticsBlog Tough spot for D West (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=3666 Itemid=189) Looking way back to 2000 (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=3668 Itemid=189) LOY's Place Rumors and free agent updates - lots of signings edition (http://celticsgreen.blogspot.com/2008/07/rumors-and-free-agent-updates-lots-of.html) Celtics 17 Tony Allen: Ever since this ubuntu thing (http://mvn.com/nba-celtics/2008/07/24/tony-allen-ever-since-this-ubuntu-thing/) ESPN Ellis inks a $67 million deal to stay with Warriors (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3504378) Team USA's golden oldie brings leadership, experience (http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris page=TeamUSA-Kidd-080723) Battista sentenced to 15 months in prison; Martino gets one year (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3503167) Pierce says Olympic team needs to reclaim glory, win gold (http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/news/story?id=3504106) And One Just a game to play (http://blog.cleveland.com/andone/2008/07/just_a_game_to_play.html) The Leaf Chronicle Daughters...

WARRIORS BIEDRINS gets offer....from EUROPEAN TEAM

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:07:00 -0500

BIEDRINS STAYYY!!!!!! WARRIOR NATION IS WITH YOU!! Andris Biedrins, according to a source close to the fifth-year lefty, is drawing interest from several teams in Europe. Biedrins, a native Latvian, is even drawing interest from Russian teams. European teams only allow a certain number of foreign players on the roster. But Biedrins is a domestic player, which gives him more options overseas. The source said teams are willing to sign Biedrins for three, four or even five years, with the salary exceeding an average of $10 million. With Europe's currency packing more value than the dollar these days, a contract averaging 7 million Euro would convert to more than $11 million U.S. -- Contra Costa Times

Mississippi Bullet re-ups with Warriors

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:17:28 -0500

Golden State Warriors PG Monta Ellis signed a six-year, $67M contract with the Dubs. After the Warriors let Baron walk, there was little doubt that Monta would remain in the Bay; however, with a franchise that has such a storied history of ineptitude, you never know. A few days ago Monta's friend told me that both sides were close, with the Warriors offering $65M and Monta wanting $70M, and that a deal would happen soon. Looks like they split it down the middle, and now the Warriors have the new face of the franchise moving forward. If Monta had walked, and it was rumored that the Grizzlies wanted him, it would have been very tough to man-up and cheer for Golden State next year. Stack Jack will line up at the #2 slot, and of course he'll continue to let 'em fly from deep with that ice-cold lazy-man shooting style. Corey Maggette will be the team's small forward. The four and five spots are TBD. Al Harrington, Kelenna Azubuike and Biedrins are all in the mix. The team just matched the offer sheet offered by the Clippers to Azubuike, and although it's rumored Biedrins might bounce to Europe, and join Josh Childress and Brandon Jennings, my guess is that he'll remain in the Bay. If he leaves, it's not the end of the world. He's good but not great, and the team needs more muscle anyway. Golden State is not going to find its true power guy in the form of Biedrins. The team probably won't make the playoffs next year, but don't expect too much of a drop. They probably will finish top 10 in the West, and chances are they'll be good enough to have made the playoffs in the East.

Friday Morning NBA Headlines

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:30:44 -0500

Warriors re-sign Monta Ellis but may lose Andris Biedrins to Europe Continuing the trend of NBA players to Europe, Lakers G Sasha Vujacic is prepared to leave the team for more money in Slovenia The Nuggets add depth with PF Chris Anderson and SG Dahntay Jones Mavs owner Mark Cuban still wants to buy the Cubs For specific links, check out the NBA DraftNation page

Rumors and Free Agent Updates - Lots of Signings Edition

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:16:08 -0500

Former Celtic Sebastian Telfair isn't the only player who plays with guns. Hornets' guard Rasual Butler was arrested June 23 after witnesses told Miami Beach police a man holding a firearm had made threats. Based on the arrest report, when police arrived at the scene, Butler was seated in the back seat of a sport utility vehicle. When officers asked Butler if he had any weapons, he told them he didn't, but that his gun was in the car. The police found an automatic weapon that was cocked and had a bullet in the chamber on the floor of the car. Butler was scheduled to enter a plea on Wednesday, but the hearing was reset for Aug. 4. First, the Clippers signed Baron Davis away from the Warriors. Then, the Warriors signed Corey Maggette away from the Clippers. But the Warriors were not about to let the Clippers get another of their players if they could help it. They have matched the offer that the Clippers made last week to Kelenna Azubuike. The Warriors also signed Ronny Turiaf away from the Lakers, who chose not to match the offer, and they signed their second round draft pick, forward Richard Hendrix. The Warriors then completed a very busy day by re-signing their free agent guard Monta Ellis to a six-year, $67 million contract. Ellis got quite a raise in that as the 40th player selected in the 2005 draft, Ellis was paid just $770,610 last season. He will earn $11 million in 2008-2009. Ellis was the Warriors' shooting guard last season, playing next to Baron Davis, but with Davis' departure, he is expected to move to point guard this season. By keeping Azubuike, the Warriors will no longer pursue free agent swingman Maurice Evans who was reported to have signed with the Warriors. But, a Warriors source told Bay Area News Group that Evans spurned their three-year, $6.4 million looking for more money, and so the Warriors changed direction and matched the Azubuike offer. There have been rumors that the Celtics have contacted Evans and it seems that he would be a nice fit for the Celtics who could use an athletic swingman like Evans who's known as a solid defender and good three-point shooter (sound like anyone the Celtics just lost?). The Warriors still have unfinished business though as they haven't re-signed free agent Andris Biedrins. Biedrins' top choice is to stay with the Warriors. He is looking for a salary somewhere in the ballpark of the five-year, $50-plus million. With the other signings for the Warriors, it looks like that kind of a deal is out for Biedrins, however. He could reject any Warriors' offer and accept the $3.6 million qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next offseason or he could accept any of several lucrative contracts being offered by European teams. Just hours after bringing former Nugget Chris Anderson back to the team, the Denver Nuggets agreed to a one-year deal with free agent guard Dahntay Jones. Jones was drafted by Boston in 2003 but sent to Memphis in the trade that brought Kendrick Perkins and Marcus Banks to Botson. Jones was also given a look by the Celtics last season in training camp. After a good showing in Summer League, the Nuggets gave Jones a one-year fully guaranteed deal for the NBA minimum of $926,678. Some money details are coming out on a couple of big deals. The Express News reports that The deal that the Spurs gave Kurt Thomas was for a total of $8 million — $4.2 million next season and $3.8 in 2009-10. The Spurs have also signed Anthony Tolliver, who impressed on the Spurs' summer league squad, to a partially guaranteed contract. This is similar to the contract the Celtics signed Brandon Wallace to after his impressive summer league last season. Details on Josh Childress' contract with Olympiakos have emerged. His contract is worth $32.5- million over 3 years. The Hawks had offered five years at $33 million but it wasn't enough to keep Childress from jumping the NBA ship for Europe. After landing the big free agent of the offseason in luring James Posey away from Boston, the Hornets are trying to re-sign their own free agents. They are hoping to resign Jannero Pargo who wants a three-year deal but they lost Chris Andersen to the Nuggets. Word is that they are going to let Bonzi Wells walk but may make an offer to try to keep Ryan Bowen. With the official signing of Anthony Roberson on Wednesday, the Knicks now officially have 16 contracts which is one more than the NBA max and their league high payroll is once again over $100 million at $100,161,287. They need to do something and odds are that with a crowded backcourt, Marbury and his $21.9 million contract may be the one to go. other options may be Malik Rose, or one of the other smaller contracts like Balkman or Collins who have a team option for the 2009-2010 season. Sebastian Telfair's three-year deal with the Wolves is worth $7.5 million with $2.3 million this coming season and an option to stick with the Wolves in 2010-2011 for $2.7 million. Reports are that the Wolves appear to be getting closer to re-signing Ryan Gomes. Their offer will probably be in the $3 million a year range. There aren't many teams who can offer much more than that left in the hunt for free agents. After losing one of their free agents, the Lakers are still trying to come to an agreement with their other free agent, Sasha Vujacic. Vujacic is seeking a multiyear deal from the Lakers averaging about $5 million a year. Vujacic was hoping for a six-year deal, but anticipated it could be a shorter contract. However, word from Vujacic is that he is prepared to leave the team and accept an offer from a European team in the next few days if the Lakers don't make him an offer he considers to be fair. East Valley Tribune suggests that the flexibility that Matt Barnes will give the Suns makes Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa expendable and might open the door for them to go after Kirk Hinrich who they have been interested for some time. I still think that Barnes would have been a great pick up for the Celtics, especially since he signed for a minimum contract. It seems as though the Blazers will spare nothing to try to dissuade teams from signing Darius Miles and thus put his $9 million in salary back on their club. First there was the leaking of the details of his suspension to the median. Now, Blazers GM is giving out details of Miles' injury that could land him in hot water. From the Sports Tribune: "Two doctors said Darius had the worst microfracture injury they had ever seen," Pritchard said on an Oregonlive.com blog this week. "They would never have him play basketball and the odds of having knee replacement surgery is high. I hear that, and as a general manager, I didn't want it on my conscience – that I had a kid have to go through a knee replacement surgery. That's a pretty major surgery. They saw (two bones) and replace (the knee). It's a bad deal." In a story posted April 14 on the Portland Tribune's Web site, Pritchard said, "The doctors had actually said, 'If you were my son, I'd never have you pick up a basketball again.' I'm the kind of GM (that) I wouldn't want that on my head that he ever had to have knee replacement." By revealing the specific details of Miles' injury, Prichard is in violation of the privacy provisions in the Health Insurance Portability and Availability Act of 1996. All of the underhanded activity by the Warriors in trying to prevent teams from giving Miles a chance make me really hoping the kid gets his comeback. Besides, I still am angry over the league not giving the Celtics any relief when Reggie Lewis died. I really hope Miles comes back and sticks it to the Warriors. Josh Childress has opened the flood gates for NBA players considering jumping to Europe for lucrative deals when they can't get what they feel they are worth in the NBA. The latest to consider the jump is former Celtic Delonte West. Russian basketball team Dynamo Moscow is discussing a two-year, $10 million offer with Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West, according to source close to West. Delonte is a restricted free agent and he could sign a $2.76 million qualifying offer for the 2008-09 season and become an unrestricted free agent next year if he chooses to stay in the NBA and doesn't feel that the Cavs are offering enough. Delonte has been plagued with various injuries throughout his career so far and so taking the qualifying offer is risky if he is unable to stay healthy and earn a bigger payday next season.

Warriors' Biedrins to follow Josh Childress to Europe?

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:37:49 -0500

Apparently some teams in Russia are willing to give him 10 million a year which is more than the Dubs are offering. I'm guessing his agent is just using this as leverage to get more money. My prediction is to the warriors for 60 million over 6 years. They will pay up since they can't afford to lose him.

Warriors resign Azubuike's biceps.

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:07:16 -0500

Warriors management made a big move today that should help retain the dwindling female fan base. Resigning Kelenna Azubuike. Oh, and they resigned Monta too.

Warriors News: Golden State resigns Monta Ellis to multi year-deal

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:15:01 -0500

It's still unknown how long Ellis is inked for, (the terms of the deal were not announced), but the important information to the story is that there is no fear about him leaving anytime soon. The Warriors and Chris Mullin have been creating a whirlwind over here at The City with all of the moves that they've been responsible for the past week. The marquis move of the offseason was to sign Monta Ellis with another gem, Andris Biedrins, still yet to sign. If the past few days are any indication, I'll be back here reporting that his deal is done really soon.

Warriors Re-sign Monta To Long Term Deal

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:46:14 -0500

Early reports say 6 years 66mil. I can sleep now.

DUBS re-sign Monta Ellis

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:36:12 -0500

During a busy offseason, the Warriors have re-signed a true talent in Monta Ellis, a reported 6 year $66~$67 million dollar deal. It seems this young man is getting better and better each year, which is scary because he is only 22 years of age. the Warriors have moved a couple of new players to Oakland(Corey Maggette, Ronny Turiaf, Marcus Williams) and made moves to re-sign an upn'coming player back in the bay(Kelenna Azubuike), along with new SEC talents like Randolph and Hendrix. the Warriors next major step is re-signing bigman Andris Biedrins

Another game, another victory for the Warriors

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:34:00 -0500

Anthony Randolph recorded 14 points and 7 rebounds in 20:45 minutes to help lead the Warriors past the NBA D-League Ambassadors 82-81. Second round pick, Richard Hendrix had a tougher outing as he scored only 4 points, had one blocked shot, and pulled down 2 rebounds. Anthony Morrow, DeMarcus Nelson, and Mykal Riley made the greatest contributions to help the Warriors stay undefeated during the Rocky Mountain Revue...

Celtics Advance

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:50:23 -0500

In the "Keep Your Picks" Playoff, the Boston Celtics have defeated the Golden State Warriors 97-82. C Al Jefferson was named MVP of the game. The Celtics will play the winner of the Cavaliers/Clippers game in round three. For complete game stats, check out the NBA DraftNation page.

Golden State Warriors: Azubuike kept away from Clippers

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:17:55 -0500

The Warriors have been known for having tweener forwards/guards for a very long time. It's always been the big guys that they seemed to be short on. With the recent draft and the players that they've retained, it was beginning to look like they would be taller this season and be short on those guys that can play the two or the three. Maybe that's why they decided to match the Clippers' offer sheet for Kelenna Azubuike.

Buike And His Biceps Stay In Oakland!

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:00:31 -0500

Warriors match the deal preventing him from heading to the Clippers.