The day that we have been waiting for has finally arrived, Stephen Jackson is no longer a Warrior. The Dubs gave up Jackson and little used guard Acie Law to the Charlotte Bobcats and received Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic. I didn’t think that the trade would happen so quickly because of the Warriors management and Jackson’s absurdly large contract. Overall, I am happy with the trade because we were able to get rid of Action Jackson and gain some quick relief (or so we thought) in players not accompanied by long-term expensive contracts.
38thnotes has tried to keep up with all the drama surrounding the Jackson formally known as Captain, but he moves a little fast even for us. Jackson has wanted a trade since the season commenced and has been difficult to work and play with ever since. Thankfully, he is finally out of our hair, and maybe now we can start to focus on the product on the court rather then the unnecessary BS that has been going on off of it.
To my surprise, we actually acquired a quality perimeter defender in Mr. Raja Bell. Though he is now 33 years old and not the player he once was, he’s still a lot better than most on our squad.
Radmanovic will be more of a fill in player because of the recent injury to Kelenna Azubuike, who will be out the rest of the season. Vlad could become Nelson’s new dream-child since he is a 6’10″ big man who can shoot from the outside. The Warriors are already an above average 3 pt. shooting team, so this should add to the stable of players who like to hoist it up.
One of the biggest benefits to this trade, especially to the ownership, is that we get an expiring contract in Bell and a two year deal with Vlad (he has a $6.9 player option for next year that he should accept). But more importantly, we get rid of Jackson’s $28.7 million 3 year contract. So after this year we will be saving $21 million, which is supposedly going to be spent on a couple big name players. Unfortunately, the front office has not figured out that they have not created an environment where players want to come. So unless it’s a trade, I don’t see any big name players signing with the team in the off season.
Overall this changes very little for the team. We still suck, there is still drama, and the coaching/ownership is still on another planet. With Azubuike out for the season with a knee injury and CJ Watson out with H1N1, the Warriors had to fly injured players into Cleveland just so they didn’t have to forfeit to the Cavaliers tonight. To add insult to injury, the Warriors new defnesive stud has decided to have surgery on a lingering wrist injury, which will render him inactive for awhile. The icing on the cake is that Monta Ellis and his agent met with Warriors management to discuss the direction of the team, or lack thereof, and possibly discuss a trade. Maybe now the ownership will get it through their head that cap space means nothing if nobody (present players included) wants to play for the Warriors.
The Warriors are in a downward spiral no matter what anyone tells you. We have ownership that does not care anymore, a GM (above) who is Nelson’s puppet, an old washed up coach who can’t handle players well, and players who complain and cry. This makes for an organization that gets laughed at every where they go. Jackson, you gave us some great memories that we will always remember, but your star has fallen in the Golden State. You were honest, sometimes too much, but you are still slightly delusional in how good you think you are. Thanks for the good times… and the interesting times.
