I'm still going to follow the warriors the rest of the year, but have seen one too many offensive rebounds given up by them not to have my mind wander once and a while.

Say the Warriors luck into the 1st pick this year.  At their current position, 3rd, they have a 18% chance, but 3rd is also the position the Clippers were in last year, and they got the first  pick.  So the W's luck out, get 1st, and draft John Wall.  Do they keep him? On the one hand, he would give the backcourt some much-needed athleticism. But at 6'4 195, is he that much bigger or stronger than Curry or Ellis, both listed as 6'3?  The Warriors have apparently settled with Curry as a PG; if they trade Ellis, it will hopefully be for someone bigger than Wall.

Should the Warriors propose to trade Wall to the Clippers for Griffin?  With Kaman and an emerging DeAndre Jordan, would they bite on the phenom some have described as better than Rose?  Last off season, Riley said he wanted some "beef"; his abject failure at getting anything close was no more apparent than the Warriors performance against the Hornet's front line, where Okafor and West looked like they were playing against midgets.

Wall for Griffin: Would you do this?

Put yourself in Larry Riley's shoes at the end of the year.  Here is your current set of players under contract for the 2011 season:

1: Curry, Watson ($3M + watson's salary, if re-signed)

2: Ellis, Morrow ($11M + 1M)

3: Maggette, Azubuike ($9.6M + 3.3M)

4: Radmanovic, Randolph, Wright ($6.8M + 3.4 + 2 = $12.4M)

5: Biedrins, Turiaf ($9 +$4 = 13M)

Total: $53M + Watson.  I included Watson because he will be an RFA. All current d-league callups will be unrestricted free agents.

Sidenote: one thing that jumps out right away is the amount of money injured right now. Turiaf is the highest-salaried player on the court at $4M, followed by Curry's 7th pick rookie deal.

Rather than look at it from the point of who to trade away, what position needs the most upgrade? I'd have to say the 5.  It's been two years in a row that Biedrins has had significant injuries, and despite his youth (24), no parts of his game seem to be improving.  He is a great rebounder, an OK but not great defender, but has yet to demonstrate any go-to offensive moves, and has no range or foul shooting ability.  Is that enough for a starting center on a good team? It was a few years, ago, but given the current balance of the roster,  I think this is where an upgrade would  be felt the most, followed closely by the 4.  With the 3rd pick, the W's could be in line to pick up a 4-5 in Favours or Cousins.  But big men usually take longer to contribute out of the draft, so I don't think they would make a huge difference next season. What trade(s) would you make to land a more consistent center?

A few possibilities, in no particular order or skill level:

Dalembert (13M)

Gooden (free agent)

Gortat (6M)

Channing Fry (player option next year for 2M)

Okafor (11M, long contract)

Nazr Mohammed (7M)

Jeff Foster (6.5M)

Phoenix wants to cut payroll.  They just traded shaq for spare parts.  Could Amare be next?  The excellent suns beat reporter Paul Coro offhandendly mentions that the Dubs are still agitating for Amare, with a package centered on Biedrins.  In this context, the expiring contracts the Dubs got from Atlanta would be part of that package:

Amare $16,378,325

for

Biedrins $9,000,000

Claxton $5,209,454

That would work out, salarywise, and net the Suns more than they got for 15-time all star Shaq.   The Suns are down a centre now, so Biedrins would fit right in. That leaves the Suns deficient in the PF deparment. Maybe they'd want Jordan Hill too, or Wright. 

Would you do it? I think that the Suns are definitely considering it.

I think the most underrated player in the draft (see newsday article) deserves his own nickname.

Some people object to T-Will, so I propose:

Terre-Will

With a nickname like that the warriors would have to draft him.

Incidentally, check out how well he does on the shooting guard stats at draftexpress

Might be the perfect antidote for black-hole's maggette + Azabuike.

With the extra passing from Tere-will, we could afford to keep CJ as the backup point.

The chances are that Jamal won't opt out. In all the Warriors interviews I've heard lately (riley, randolph, ellis), crawford's name is not even mentioned in terms of next year :  he's obviously not in their plans.

The options for trades are pretty limited. He's slated to make $9.4M next year. There isn't that many players around that make within 125% of Jamal, and are on the block out there. I don't think that trading him for two players is the answer -- the warriors aready have a pretty full bench, especially with whomever they draft.

Looking at http://hoopshype.com/salaries.htm I came up with a few alternatives.  None of them seem that likely.

1) Jamal for Stackhouse.  This works out salarywise.  A pure dump, since the W's could release him and pocket ~5M.

2) Jamal for Dalembert. Dalembert has $23.5M left for two years. The salaries work out, and Phil. are looking to trade him.  Riley has said they need some "beef".

3) Jamal for Hinrich.  Would fit, but not very likely from Chicago's end.Ironically, there were rumors that the W's almost traded Harrington for Hinrich, but then Hinrich hurt his hand and went out for a few months, so they traded for Craw instead.

Other possibilities are to give him to another team that is under the cap, like Denver did with the Clippers with Camby last year.  Or package him with Maggette, and match some big salary, but nobody liked it when I suggested Maggette and Crawford for McGrady.

Any other suggestions? Who could be in the market for the NBA leader of 3+1 plays?

Houston is rumored to be shopping McGrady.  Here's an offer they can't refuse. This assumes Jamal won't opt out.

To the Warriors:

Tracy McGrady: $23,239,561

To Houston:

Jamal Crawford: $9,360,000

Corey Maggette: $8,937,931

Marco Belinelli: $1,547,000

= $19 844 931

It works out salary-wise.  The W's would take in more salary (~$3.5M), but only for one year. It would clear some room for Morrow and the new draft pick to play, and clear some cap room for $2010.   Crawford would play much anyway, and even Nelson would like someone who passed more at the 3. 

lineup

Ellis/draft pick (Curry, Evans or Holiday)

McGrady /Morrow

Jackson / Azabuike

Randolph / Wright

Beidrins / Turiaf / Davidson (or a "beefier" guy)

What do you think?  I don't think Houston could get much more for him that this.