Have you ever wondered who ended up filling in those draft picks that were traded to Orlando w/ Penny Hardaway for C Webb back in 93?

I was bored one day so I decided to do some research and interestingly, here's what I found.

1993:

Golden State Warriors get:

Chris Webber ('93 1st Rnd 1st Pick)

Orlando Magic get:

Anfernee Hardaway ('93 1st Rnd 3rd Pick)

GSW's 96 1st Rnd pick - (This pick was then traded to the Washington Bullets for Scott Skiles and the Bullets '96 2nd rnd draft pick who ended up being Randy Livingston)

GSW's 98 1st Rnd pick - Keon Clark

GSW's 00 1st Rnd pick - Mike Miller

As we all know, the Webber/Nellie fiasco occurred in 1994 leading to the following trade:

1994:

Washington Bullets get:

Chris Webber

Golden State Warriors get:

Tom Gugliotta

WB's 96 1st Rnd pick (This was actually the pick the warriors originally traded to the Magic so essentially, the dubs got back their pick) - He ended up being the infamous guy picked over Kobe Bryant, Todd Fuller.

WB's 98 1st Rnd pick (There must've been a stipulation here where the warriors got whichever pick was higher between the Bullets and the Dubs because they got to keep their pick based on their record at #5) - Vince Carter. What seemed lopsided at the time now turns out to be slightly even as he was then traded for Antawn Jamison and cash. The extra cash may have made it a little uneven.

WB's 00 1st Rnd pick - Chris Mihm

Now why didn't Chris Mihm ever end up on the Warriors you ask? Here's why...

1999:

New York Knicks get:

Latrell Sprewell

Golden State Warriors get:

John Starks

Chris Mills

Terry Cummings

The following season a 3 team trade occurrs between the Bulls, Sixers, and the Dubs...

2000:

Chicago Bulls get:

Bruce Bowen

John Starks

GSWs 00 1st Rnd Pick - Chris Mihm

Philadelphia 76ers get:

Toni Kukoc

Golden State Warriors get:

Larry Hughes

Billy Owens

So in conclusion, when the warriors traded for C webb, they actually gave up Anfernee Hardaway, Keon Clark, and Mike Miller. And when they got rid of C webb, they actually got a pretty good return in Tom Gugliotta, Vince Carter, and Chris Mihm ( I excluded Todd Fuller since that pick ended up coming back to us and I just hate that name because it always reminds me of where we missed Kobe).

If I'm bored 15 years from now, I might do something similar with the J Rich trade or the Pau Gasol trade .

Most would agree that the warriors are missing a few pieces from being a championship contender, but with a little luck, it is possible for them this season.

The worst possible matchups for the warriors in the playoffs are obviously Utah and San Antonio and then the Lakers. Looking at the standings, the warriors can avoid these teams if they eliminate each other.

Currently, todays standings are as follows:

          Team      GB
 1.      * New Orleans     --
 2.      * LA Lakers     1.0
 3.      Houston     1.0
 4.      * Utah     3.0
 5.      San Antonio     1.0
 6.      Phoenix     2.5
 7.      Dallas     5.0
 8.      Golden State     5.5
 9.      Denver     6.0

The warriors can definitely play with New Orleans, Houston, Phoenix, and of course Dallas so if we played the Hornets in the first round, we can upset them despite David West's size because Nellie's so good at exposing superstar vulnerabilities and will do so with Chris Paul the same way he does with Nash and Dirk.

Therefore, the perfect playoff scenario at the end of the regular season for the warriors would be as follows:

          Team     
 1.      New Orleans    
 2.      San Antonio     
 3.      LA Lakers     
 4.      Utah    
 5.      Houston
 6.      Phoenix    
 7.      Dallas    
 8.      Golden State    

(Let's hope that Denver gets eliminated since we matchup better against Dallas)

-Golden State beats New Orleans in the first round.
-Dallas beats San Antonio with a healthy Dirk back and Kidd finds his groove in the Mavs system.(This is an even year so don't expect the Spurs to repeat as champs.)
-Phoenix beats LA and Shaq gets his revenge once again.
-Houston avenges last years elimination to beat Utah and T-mac finally loses his 2nd round virginity.

Rnd 2 would look like this:
Golden State vs Houston
Dallas vs Phoenix

Golden State can play with Houston who would've been lower in the playoff seeding had they not had their 22 game win streak full of easy teams and tough teams with missing superstars.

A Dallas and Phoenix series would be interesting after both made blockbuster trades, but for hollywood's sake, let's say Dallas takes it in 7 for a rematch against the Dubs in the Western Conference finals.

Western Conference Finals looks like this:
Golden State vs Dallas

Real NBA fans know the main reason why Phoenix traded for Shaq. They had no answer for Tim Duncan with their current roster so Shaq was worth the gamble. That is the exact same reason Dallas went after Jason Kidd. Their old roster with Devin Harris couldn't match up with the Warriors. With J Kidd, they can now handle Baron's strength at the Pt. Guard position.

Similar to last years playoffs, the Warriors can still beat Dallas but it would take them 7 games this time since Kidd's there.

Ideal Championship would then look like this:
Warriors vs Cavs (After LeBron eliminates the Celtics in the east finals)

Warriors defeat Cavs in 5 the same way they won against the Bullets in the 70s. Against all odds and to prove to everyone in the world that...

WE BELIEVE!!!