I know Chad Ford is everyone's least favorite NBA voice, but he says this like it's a simple fact: If this does have legs, what do you guys think? I don't know where Ford is getting his info. But how does that make the cost "high," lol? Monta has a low contract and terrific production based on numbers. The way Ford writes it, Monta is a like a burden the team would have to take on if they want our #6 pick. I don't see that as the cost being "high." I see Monta as a sweetener to the deal, if anything. The only thing that seems "high" here is Chad Ford. But, assume it's true: Would you want to dump Ellis into the fire sale and SERIOUSLY start over with Steph Curry being the cornerstone? What would we get for it? I wonder if this is to trade up in the draft?
I find this hard to believe. I don't think Monta's value is as low as many in the media think it is. I think GMs have about the same opinion of him as we do. To me, I think of him as a pure SG- just a small one.Among SGs hes pretty damn elite. He showed last year hes not a liability on defense. He can score with the best of them and do so efficiently. And for a SG he can pass and rebound well too. IMO he is NOT a black hole a la Mags/Jack. He doesn't take a lot of terrible shots and he doesn't disrupt the flow of the offense very often. It seemed like he was gelling with Curry toward the end of last season. I don't think it would require the 6th overall pick to offload him. I think theres plenty of teams that would love to get him and plug him in next to another great player. 11 mil aint cheap but its not anywhere near max either and hes only got 3 years left. Keep in mind hes 24 years old.
What exactly are other teams offering for these two assets? Getting rid of Maggette and CASH was already a victory for Cohan pre-draft. Having a fire sale on Monta and allegedly Beans is ridiculous.
I've been against the idea, for example, of trading Monta for OJ Mayo/Thabeet based on the talent swap - I don't think it's an equitable talent swap, but that's is debatable. However, given the recent Maggette trade (salary dump) and recent news that the Warriors are in fire-sale mode, trading Monta (along with the 6th pick) purely for financial reasons makes perfect sense. Just the way the Maggette trade makes sense. It frees up committed cap space and frees up roster space for an opportunity to construct a more standard (read: non-smallball) roster. I am saying this after Maggette has been traded. I thought that getting Maggette off the team and off the books was a priority, and it was done. Now the priority shifts to either Monta or Biedrins, who are two biggest contracts and also the longest tenured Warrior players. If we're going gut the team, let's gut the team, and start with the most expensive players. What comes next is what comes next. I'm not worried about talent coming back at this point. We're creating a clean slate for the soon to be new owner. Leaving new ownership with burdensome contracts makes it harder to create their new team identity.
I think a clear signal about Monta's value was delivered last year when JKidd was sent as the 4th alternate instead of Monta, and there was absolutely no uproar from coaches or players. JKidd is a nice player but he's done. Yet, no complaints. I understand that we are Warrior fans and appreciate Monta's skills but around the league, everyone knows Monta is a limited player. I remember at that time, people said "yeah he's a nice scorer, but that's it. He's doing it for a bad team and he does not make the others better." He's getting dangerously close to being a Maggette type player, a good scorer on a bad team. Part of me (who does not know him personally) thinks that Monta is okay with that. He's got his contract and he gets to score. I'm not saying Monta doesn't want to win; but there's no sense of utter disappointment when the W's lose. He kind of shrugs his shoulders like "oh well, I did my best." That's not what a good player does. I have serious doubts about whether he will ever be anything but a scorer on a bad team. We just got to watch Ray Allen, one of the sweetest shooters I have ever seen; yet he played more D in Gm 7 than Monta did in half a year. I think that the days of thinking that Monta was a desirable player who bring something substantial back are long gone.
I'm all for trading Monta -- but not just for cap room is all. I think if we could get back some young talent like Mayo and Thabeet, that's better than cap room IMO
Memphis drafted two SF's (George and Vasquez). Perhaps a S&T for Rudy Gay is imminent. Throw in an OJ Mayo and we've got a deal.
That would be great. From what I see, Rudy Gay has a qualifying offer this year and is then a FA. So that would be great. Cap space plus Mayo to play with Curry. At least there are no long-term commitments with that.
Rudy Gay is a RFA. Not only did Memphis take two SF's, they took Xavier Henry (SG). Although, replacing Mayo with Monta seems counter-productive if they expect things from Henry.
