I’m sure you’ve all heard or read about the rumors involving Anthony Randolph. Reportedly, unhappy with the Warriors’ performance this season, including a 7-17 record (only the Minnesota Timberwolves, with four wins, have fewer victories in the Western Conference), the Warriors’ front office has put the entire roster on the trade block, including Anthony Randolph.
As far as I can tell, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports was the first to report the news. Read his article here.
The San Jose Mercury News’ Marcus Thompson II followed up on the news here and Tim Kawakami reacted to the news here.
Many other media outlets have reported or reacted to the news, but these three links above are where I learned about it, so those are the links I’ll provide here.
Some reports have responsibly indicated that the Warriors don’t want to trade Randolph (or fellow trade block occupants Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry or Anthony Morrow), but are willing to consider anything right now. The good to take out of this is that this doesn’t appear to be a firesale.
The Warriors aren’t going to trade these guys for less than fair trade value like they did with Stephen Jackson. The Jackson trade was a necessity. Jackson has been great for Charlotte since the trade, but he was poison on this team, with sometimes uninspired effort on the court and a toxic presence off the court. The Warriors had to trade him for the best value they could. In the end, though Vladimir Radmanovich and Raja Bell didn’t add up to Jackson’s talent, bringing in those two and shipping out Jackson was addition by subtraction.
These latest trade rumors are more a case of the Warriors’ front office looking at what they can do to improve the team. If trading Randolph (or Ellis, Curry or Morrow) will make the team better or bring in a star player, it’s something the Warriors should certainly consider.
At this point, I question Randolph’s trade value. The fact that the Warriors haven’t valued him enough to play him in front of Mikki Moore and at times Chris Hunter is a warning signal to opposing general managers. The good thing is that NBA general managers are suckers for the talented players with emotional or other issues; every GM thinks their team is the one that can fix a player and help him realize his vast potential. If the Warriors really want to trade Randolph, they’ll certainly be able to find NBA teams that want him.
What the Warriors must do, however, is hold out for fair trade value. If they don’t get offers that will bring in a star player or improve the team’s talent, they need to hold onto Randolph and hope that he can figure out his issues in Oakland. Slam Online reported that the following players are being mentioned in trade rumors involving Randolph and the Warriors: Caron Butler, Tyrus Thomas, David West and Chris Bosh. With the exception of Tyrus Thomas, any of those three players would be a talent upgrade to Randolph and would make the Warriors better.
Here’s a look at some trade ideas that might work:
WIZARDS AND WARRIORS
To Wizards: Anthony Randolph and Corey Maggette
To Warriors: Caron Butler and Dominic McGuire
Analysis: The salaries match up to make this trade work. I wonder if the Wizards would balk at taking on Maggette’s big contract. I think some Warriors fans might think this would be giving up too much for Butler, but for me, this is a good trade because it brings in a star player (Butler) for two good players, one who has the potential to be a star (Randolph). McGuire is a salary throw-in.
HORNETS AND WARRIORS
To Hornets: Anthony Randolph, Ronny Turiaf, Speedy Claxton
To Warriors: David West
Analysis: It would be hard to give up Ronny Turiaf, but this trade would finally give the Warriors a legitimate All-Star at power forward. This trade would work for the Hornets because they would get cap relief (Claxton’s $5 million contract comes off the books after this season) and the young talent (Randolph) they’d want in a trade for West. They’d have Randolph for this season and next on his rookie contract before they have to decide if he’s worth signing to a long-term deal.
RAPTORS AND WARRIORS
To Raptors: Anthony Randolph, Stephen Curry, Andris Biedrins
To Warriors: Chris Bosh
Analysis: It will take this amount of talent (maybe more) to land a player like Bosh. The Warriors would also have to consider whether Bosh would be willing to re-sign with Golden State after this season. If it was a situation like the Amar’e Stoudemire trade last summer where Stoudemire said he wouldn’t want to sign an extension with the Warriors, you walk away. This is only a good trade if Bosh sticks with the Warriors long-term. This trade would also work if the Warriors swapped Ellis for Biedrins in the offer. If the Raptors decide to trade Bosh before the trade deadline (I think they will because they don’t want to lose him for nothing), there will be a lot of competition in the trade market. The Warriors offered Randolph and Biedrins last season for Bosh and were turned down. Maybe Curry will sweeten the deal enough to make the Raptors reconsider.
