The Warriors were one of a few teams to benefit from Wednesday night's draft lottery results, hanging onto their lottery pick for another year. According to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle, GM Bob Myers doesn't intend to use all four picks the Warriors hold, but views them as valuable trade assets. Myers also aims to land a starter with the seventh overall pick, pointing out that "I don't think anyone would accept the thought of drafting a backup" with a top-10 pick. Here are a few more of the morning's Warriors updates:
There's been no shortage of drama in the Heat-Pacers series, and the leadup to this afternoon's pivotal Game 4 has been no exception. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that Juwan Howard and Lance Stephenson, who directed a choking gesture at LeBron James during Game 3, had a verbal altercation 90 minutes prior to tipoff, the latest chapter in a history of animosity between the two. With Erik Spoelstra going to his fourth staring lineup in four games this series, let's check in on the rumors surrounding these playoff combatants:
- Bob Finnan of The News-Herald believes Hornets restricted free agent Eric Gordon, thought to be a Pacers target, might not get a max deal because of the knee problems he's dealt with the past two seasons. Finnan could see the Hornets and Pacers working out a sign-and-trade with Danny Granger headed to New Orleans, Gordon going to Indiana and Pacers shooting guard Paul George shifting to small forward.
- HoopsWorld's Stephen Litel argues that the Heat should try to trade Dwyane Wade if the team fails to come back to win the series.
- Shaun Powell of NBA.com says team president Pat Riley failed to stock the roster with competent role players, and that's one of the reasons Heat coach Erik Spoelstra may lose his job if he doesn't deliver a title.
Portfolio Review: Believe it or not, the Indiana Pacers stand at somewhat of a crossroads. This is a young, up-and-coming team with an incredibly deep assortment of talent at more than reasonable contracts. But right now, unless Paul George takes an early Tracy McGrady-like leap in quality of play, this is a team with a very definite ceiling.
Larry Bird has done a tremendous job of not only putting together assets, but assets that mesh well together. Furthermore, with each player, there is depth to replace them. This leaves the entire roster flexible. This is a team that is already a third or fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, but will always remain behind Miami and Chicago. Right now it has the liquid assets, the cap space, and the potential to be more. But flexibility of this magnitude is a temporary luxury in the
NBA and what the Pacers can be will determined over the next few months.
Prime Assets: Cap space and solid, young talent at every position. Indiana is not exactly a prime free agent destination, but fortunately the Pacers have enough cap flexibility and depth to put together a Carmelo Anthony-like deal without gutting their team like the New York Knicks did. The Pacers can put together a solid package with any combination of their roster.
Worthless Stock: Many NBA general managers are past the stage of offering max contracts to the likes of Michael Redd or Kenyon Martin. The remaining few already have their salary caps tied up in the likes of Joe Johnson. Danny Granger is the quintessential non-franchise player paid like a franchise player. As such, he represents one of the few Pacers hard to move. Too talented to give up for scraps, too overpaid to appeal other teams.
But then again…: Danny Granger and George Hill for Carmelo Anthony works too, should the Knicks rethink last year's trade.
Danny Granger‘s status as Indiana’s best player has gone into question over the course of this season. With his drop in scoring and overall contribution not matching up with his significant salary, there’s a growing chance that he could be traded. According to Fox Sports’ Chris Tomasson, when asked if he could be dealt before this Thursday’s trade deadline, Granger said, “possibly.”
Here’s a look at a few other notes from around the league:
- In a tweet from ESPNBoston’s Chris Forsberg, Doc Rivers said that Chris Wilcox‘s heart issue could be similar to Jeff Green‘s in that it might end his season. Boston was already looking for more front court depth before news of this injury was revealed, and it could now ratchet up their hunt. CSNNE.com’s A. Sherrod Blakely added in another tweet that Wilcox used to receive monthly check-ups when he was in Detroit. Right now he’s officially listed as out indefinitely.
- According to The Denver Post’s Benjamin Hochman’s twitter feed, Wilson Chandler is currently working out in Denver, waiting for his agent to negotiate a contract with the Nuggets.
The Warriors' second half got off to a rough start in Indiana last night, as Golden State fell behind by 31 points through three quarters en route to a 102-78 loss. As the Warriors look to regroup tonight in Atlanta, here are a few morning updates on the club:
- According to both Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle and Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link), Warriors sources don't put much stock in the Monta Ellis/Brook Lopez rumor that surfaced this week. Thompson says the Warriors would want more than Lopez for Ellis.
- That Lopez/Ellis rumor originally came up as part of a three-way deal that also involved Orlando and Dwight Howard. However, the Warriors are still more interested in pursuing Howard themselves than accomodating a trade that sends him to the Nets. Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News runs through all the stars that would need to align for the Warriors to realistically make a play for Howard.
- The Warriors must have a lot of confidence that they can convince Howard to re-sign with the team if they acquire him, tweets SI.com's Chris Mannix.
- While the Warriors are still interested in Danny Granger, the Pacers won't deal him, says Thompson (via Twitter).