Warriors Sign Three Free Agents

Discussion in 'Golden State Warriors' started by Legacy, Sep 10, 2008.

  1. Legacy

    Legacy Beast

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2005
    Messages:
    8,214
    Likes Received:
    28
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Source
    Only heard of Nelson.
     
  2. Dark Defender

    Dark Defender The Dark Passenger

    Joined:
    Jun 10, 2006
    Messages:
    2,919
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Occupation:
    Part-Time Intern, Full Time Student
    Location:
    Jersey
    I'm guessing they are training camp invites.
     
  3. xplicitjc

    xplicitjc cold as a hooker's heart

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2005
    Messages:
    294
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Location:
    Fairfield, CA
    nice!! demarcus nelson went to vallejo high...i watched him and leon powe in the nor cal championships my senior year of high school. nelson was a sophomore that year, and he was already showing nba potential. super athletic, and as far as i know, a real solid defender. when he came and played my high school, although we weren't that good (fairfield high), he was dunking on us all over the place. i like the fact that he's from the area...
     
  4. Custodianrules2

    Custodianrules2 Cohan + Rowell = Suck

    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2003
    Messages:
    11,741
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    38
    DeMarcus Nelson could be a sleeper too. I'm thinking he could provide an immediate role as a defensive specialist against either guard spots while contributing some points. I'm thinking maybe Greg Buckner, Royal Ivey is the type of role he'll have on most teams, but as a young guy he's got potential to blow everyone's low expectations of him. Offense isn't quite Nelson's game, although he can get to the rim, pass a bit, shoot a little, and dribble well. If that game comes along then we got a complete player inside a combo guard who has a very aggressive mindset. He could be like a Maurice Evans or Kelenna Azubuike in attacking the basket once he gets a few nba games in.

    So I like the fact he's athletic, strong, he's got more offensive polish than most prospects who also need to learn how to pay defense or handle the ball. He's definitely a tweener, but some of the best defensive players in the league were/are tweeners. It makes them very useful. The only tweener I'm suspicious about are the SF/PF tweeners, because playing defense against the two positions takes a lot of physical skills/different types of defensive abilities. But skill is skill and matchups are matchups. I think Nelson should do well if put in the right situation. Just like there's probably no forward that can guard all swingmen or guard all power forwards that can also play center, I don't expect Nelson to guard all point guards or all shooting guards. Nelson is just solid, he's from the bay, he's an underdog, he's from a great basketball program, and he's got some upside. The thing I don't really like about him is poor free throw shooting and shot selection, but he's got some heart.

    The other two seem like very solid prospects. I remember dowell really standing out on the stat sheet with things like rebounds or 3 pointers, but I don't remember any specific plays except for a dunk. He just sort of did his job and made few mistakes. A 6'6" catch and shoot role player who can rebound and is athletic and can shoot free throws. I like that prospect and he's got room to grow. Don't remember Rob Kurz that much. I'm guessing he's our tall small forward that will play some center.
     
  5. Run BJM

    Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2005
    Messages:
    8,749
    Likes Received:
    75
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Training camp fodder. I wouldn't get too excited about DeMarcus Nelson. He was on our SL team and wasn't really anything special. Hes a nice all around player but where does he fit in behind Jackson, Azu, Belinelli, and Morrow who vastly outplayed him in SL and has legit swingman height?

    Dowell and Kurz are both tweener bigs with PF size and outside jump shots. I actually liked Kurz a lot from what I saw in SL. Hes really smart, very good shooter, tough and fundamentally sound on the glass and blocked some shots due to his intelligence. Only problem is hes a very poor athlete. Dowell is more athletic and has a decent jumpshot but just not as skilled and fundamentally sound.

    I doubt any of them make the team. I think Morrow will though.
     
  6. Custodianrules2

    Custodianrules2 Cohan + Rowell = Suck

    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2003
    Messages:
    11,741
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Yeah those guys are kind of scrubs, but if one of them steps up it'll be exciting.
     
  7. Shapecity

    Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2003
    Messages:
    45,018
    Likes Received:
    57
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Training camp fodder is right, I don't think anyone of these guys makes the final 15 man roster.

    On a side note, has anyone noticed the Warriors have not added a perimeter shooter in the offseason?

    The last few seasons the Warriors have lived and died with the 3 point ball, but they didn't find anyone to replace Baron's team high 173 three-point makes. I know Baron was a bit of a chucker at times, but overall he shot a respectable 33% from behind-the-arc, and made plenty of clutch 3 point shots to win games, tie games, or change the momentum to favor the Warriors.

    The Warriors will also be without Pietrus (66 makes last year, 93 the prior year) and Barnes (53 makes last year, 106 the prior year).

    Who picks up the slack this season from behind the arc? Who's going to spread the floor and make those timely 3-point baskets in transition?

    Turiaf isn't a 3 pointer shooter
    Buike & Maggette are both slashers
    Even Ellis was never a threat from behind the arc
     
  8. WarriorFan

    WarriorFan Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2008
    Messages:
    529
    Likes Received:
    78
    Trophy Points:
    28
    I'd expect Morrow and Beli (if he can ever square up when he shoots) to be the designated shooters. Also, Jax, Al, and Magette can all shoot from outside,, at least as well as Baron, so they will be able to keep defenses honest. Besides, I'm fine if the Ws shoot 200 less 3s as a team this year and instead get more of a midrange offense.
     
  9. AlleyOop

    AlleyOop JBB JustBBall Member

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2004
    Messages:
    3,095
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Losing Baron will make this team a better 3-pt team by default. In his three full seasons here, he shot an average of 32% (32/30/33) which is exactly in line with his career 32%. That's bad. To give you a perspective, out of the 118 players that qualified (shot enough) to make 3pt % last year, Baron is ranked 104. That's 104 out of 118. He was one of the worst qualified 3pt shooters in the league last year.

    http://www.nba.com/statistics/player/3PointS.jsp?season=22007&league=00&conf=OVERALL&qualified=Y&position=0&splitType=9&yearsExp=-1&splitDD=&pager.offset=100

    Want to know the tragic part of it? He shot more than almost anyone. Baron had the third most attempts in the league last year -- 525 threes-- that's 6.4 threes a game. Ouch.

    Baron was one of the worst 3pt shooters, and yet he shot the third highest amount of those shots last year.

    Without him on the team, the Warriors percentage will climb by default. Now, Maggette is also a career 33%, but last year he shot 38% in 203 attempts. That's a better percentage than Baron and he shot less than half of what Baron did. So that will help GS a bit too.

    Lastly, in my opinion, many of Baron's threes were not within the flow of the offense. They weren't good shots -- they were pull ups of cross-overs with 18 on the shot clock. The result? Baron wasn't creating good shots for his teammates, at times. So, hopefully this year, with more good ball movement and team play, the threes that the Warriors do shoot will be better quality shots off of set plays, which will boost the percentage of the entire team in general.
     
  10. xplicitjc

    xplicitjc cold as a hooker's heart

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2005
    Messages:
    294
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Location:
    Fairfield, CA
    very good points
     
  11. Shapecity

    Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2003
    Messages:
    45,018
    Likes Received:
    57
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Statistically the Warriors might shoot a higher percentage and take less 3 pointers, but I don't see anyone on the current roster as a perimeter threat. Baron Davis took plenty of low percentage 3 pointers, out of rhythm, early in the shot clock etc., but he kept the defender honest.

    Harrington, SJax, & Maggette shot a higher percentage, but they are more effective when they are attacking the basket. Without a zone buster on the floor with these guys, teams are going to pack the paint and dare these three to beat them from the outside. The Warriors will be unbelievable in transition, but I see a lot of weakness from their ability to attack inside-out.
     
  12. Custodianrules2

    Custodianrules2 Cohan + Rowell = Suck

    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2003
    Messages:
    11,741
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Shape brings up an interesting discussion about whether or not the Warriors are going to change their 3 point shooting culture and try to get more and1's and midrange shots. Either that or Mullin is really trying to make stars out of Sjax/Belinelli/Morrow. :)

    I think Wariorfan is right, we still got 3 point shooters, no worries.

    Alleyoop/Shape points out something I agree with: Baron is dreadfully inefficient when it comes to outside shooting. He just takes way too many shots from other players down the stretch and doesn't put the ball in somebody else's hand or to have somebody set him up with an open set shot (which all nba players are expected to make, but maybe not since plenty brick at the foul line).

    Plus Alleyoop and warriorfan are right in that we ideally need to mix up our offense so that we can keep the defenses guessing our shot selection (this could help beat zones when teams are expecting us to always shoot the 3).

    Small ball is really too predictable for teams that can play defense and do a halfcourt game and we saw how better, bigger teams picked us apart. The whole style we've been playing needs to be adjusted so we can fight with a dagger as well as a sword. After all, what good is a sword if we're fighting in cramped quarters and we can't even draw it?

    I also think and agree that emulating high % midrange shots / getting our best foul shooters to the line can at least help us ignore our lack of big man inside scoring (although I think Turiaf / Biedrins / Brandan Wright is at least decent offensively, they won't be getting many touches in Nelson's offense as Nelson would rely on those 3 for defensive/rebounding purposes).

    I'm interested in seeing how Mags will do (he might do an Ellis impression in transition and going to the rack). We also get to insert an interesting point guard prospect, who when motivated, could be your perfect floor general. I think Marcus Williams has a definite chance to be a star in Nelson's system, it's just a question of maturity, attitude, shot selection, and whether or not he's in shape. That sounds a lot like Baron to me and he was often compared to Deron Williams type pure point which is pretty good if he turns out to be anything like him. I think Nelson can command respect with his accomplishments in the league and keep guys like him in check, especially because our team looks pretty unselfish on paper.

    This team has no franchise players, but it definitely has more talent than the Warriors organization claimed back in 2003 or 2004 IMO. Plus, there's really no perimeter guy on our team that averages less than 2.5 assists a game it seems. 3 assists per game would be really good and I'm expecting the point guards to get at least 5-6 assists per game (all at least by mid season). If you ask me, we get a team like that where we can generate assists from all over the court, the franchise point guard playmake ability is not so important. We could just go after the weakest matchup that the other team has and just run plays on the guy that can't defend. I believe we can do this because teams have generated efficient, successful plays without true or experienced point guards before. I think by midseason we could have a team that could really come together. We lack experience, but maybe these guys can just flat out play.

    I've got high hopes for this team in a few years because we can add a franchise guy and have supporting players all around him. I think Mullin was trying to design this team from a depth perspective and so it didn't revolve around one or two players. I think he did a good job. I'm even excited about Belinelli / Azubuike backup SG/SF rotation.

    There's really no player I dislike on this team except for maybe the role that Harrington plays, but he's still very, very useful player. I like CJ Watson, Morrow could be a nice one dimensional role player who could surprise by bringing other things to the table. Even the 3 training camp scrubs don't bother me. I like the Turiaf signing. I already like this team that I felt was better off with Baron in the long run. I'll just have to remember that if the start of the season starts out worse than I predicted that I won't complain.

    One prediction: I can see myself getting mad at Belinelli for taking too many fadeaway 3's, but I believe he'll start doing his Brent Barry impression and try to play more like a point guard. At the same time, I think if he gets playing time he could be one of those players who gets hot and will get crowds into it.

    And to finish this post I will say: Mags is awesome. If you like Jrich, Mags will be a fan favorite (if healthy of course).
     
  13. Custodianrules2

    Custodianrules2 Cohan + Rowell = Suck

    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2003
    Messages:
    11,741
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Yes offensive flow is super important. This team may lack chemistry in the beginning, but they got so many players who can do inside outside scoring plus pass, dribble.

    Defense is the major question mark because I don't think one player focusses on defense consistently. So if 1 or 2 out of 5 guys doesn't put in the work, we got problems if the other team recognizes this.
     
  14. Run BJM

    Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2005
    Messages:
    8,749
    Likes Received:
    75
    Trophy Points:
    48
    I'm not worried at all about our 3 point shooting. We still have Jack (36% from 3 but hes an ace when hes taking spot up shots), Harrington (38+ % the last two seasons), Belinelli (39%), Azubuike (36%). Don't overlook the guys we acquired as well- Mags shot a career high 38% on over 200 attempts, Marcus Williams also shot 38% last season. CJ Watson figures to play more and hes a better shooter than the 35% he shot with us last year suggests. Not to mention we signed Anthony Morrow who was absolutely lights out in summer league. Its generally believed that he won't be much of a factor this season but I can see him overtaking Belinelli. Beli is flashier but often makes shots much more difficult than they have to be. Morrow is gonna play fundamentally and take advantage of what's given to him and he'll probably be better on defense, slashing, rebounding, etc.
     
  15. Custodianrules2

    Custodianrules2 Cohan + Rowell = Suck

    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2003
    Messages:
    11,741
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Run pointed out Harrington. He's probably the most efficient 3 point shot on the team. If he's alone he'll probably make it. Which is why we need Beans to become a double team target down low.
     

Share This Page