ESPN’s Chad Ford graded the offseason moves for all the NBA teams and the Warriors stacked up well in the West. The team ranked fifth among the 15 teams in the West and were awarded a B. It’s little surprise that the primary justification for the high grade was the transition of ownership from Chris Cohan to Joseph Lacob. But, Ford also mentioned some of the Warriors’ young talent in the Warriors’ write-up, which is appreciated.

It’s an ESPN Insider article, so I’ll post the link here, but only Insider subscribers can access the entire article.

Here’s Ford’s blurb on the Warriors:

You can argue whether the Warriors overpaid for (David) Lee or whether they blew it by trading Randolph. You can debate the merits of drafting a 23-year-old (Ekpe) Udoh with the sixth pick in the draft. But it’s hard to find anyone . . . and I mean anyone . . . who doesn’t think the Warriors hit a home run when Chris Cohan sold the team. We don’t know much about Joseph Lacob as an owner. But he isn’t Cohan and it seems virtually inconceivable that he’ll keep Don Nelson and Larry Riley on to run the team. Given the core base of talent in Golden State — Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins, Lee, Brandan Wright — the Warriors’ future suddenly looks much, much brighter.

Did the Warriors overpay for Lee? Probably. But it was still a good addition. Did they blow it by trading Randolph? Only time will tell, but I have some doubts that Randolph will ever fulfill his vast potential. Was it a stretch drafting Udoh with the sixth pick? I don’t know. I’m not sure how talented any of the players the Warriors passed on will be. If Udoh can stay healthy, I think he’s at least a solid rotation player. I think the change in ownership makes the Warriors’ future seem much brighter, like Ford writes, but we’ll see if that excitement of unknown promise and potential becomes reality in the next couple seasons.

Ford’s rankings for the West teams is as follows: Thunder, Kings, Jazz, Mavericks, Warriors, Lakers, Grizzlies, Clippers, Hornets, Spurs, Rockets, Timberwolves, Trail Blazers, Suns, Nuggets. Remember, these are rankings for the offseason moves of each team, not preseason rankings for how the teams will finish in the West in 2011.