Part 3 of 6 Summer Plans - Because GMs don't like going to baseball games

Golden State Warriors 36-46 (I just feel this team should rename themselves the Golden State Small Forwards/Shooting Guards)

Notable Free Agents - Vladamir Radmanovic's $6 mil contract
Core players still on contract - Monta Ellis, David Lee, Stephen Curry, Andris Biedrins, Dorrel Wright, Ekpe Udoh

Recap: Don Nelson was fired by the Warriors before the season started and was replaced by assistant coach Keith Smart. They signed Acie Law in the first part of the season to a small 1 year deal. They traded for Troy Murphy and quickly bought him out in a money saving move. And they worked with new guy David Lee who didn't really play up to his "hey he's a max deal player!" hype he received in New York-but a solid year nonetheless.

Dorrel Wright had a break out season and became a go to guy with his lethal 3 point shot. A small bright spot in the Warriors' season.

Expect them to: 1. Find a new coach. 2. Play in free agency. 3. Try and trade either Stephen Curry or Monta Ellis.

Hopefully they get Rick Adelman or someone who can command a lot of respect and gives a crap about defense because for the past, oh I don't know, 10 years or so, this Warriors team has been a run-n-gun offense that was highlighted when Baron Davis and company took out number 1 seed Mavericks a few years ago.

They shed a lot a lot a lot of money, about 20 million worth and can sign a few good guys to fill out the roster. Unfortunately, this summer's free agent class isn't as great as last year's, but if they try and work a trade into the mix as well with either Stephen Curry or Monta Ellis, they can really shake up this roster and move away from the run-n-gun that has never worked in the history of the NBA as far as championships are concerned. It's fun. It sells tickets. It doesn't win championships.

Indiana Pacers 37-45 (Oh yeahhh they made the playoffs with that atrocious record (AW YEAAA!!!!)

Notable free agents - Mike Dunleavy, TJ Ford, Jeff Foster
Core players still on contract - Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert, Tyler Hansbrough, Darren Collison, James Posey, Paul George, Brandon Rush

Recap: They traded for Darren Collison after he had a great rookie campaign filling in for the injured Chris Paul on the Hornets last year. They continue to push Granger as their franchise player. Tyler Hansbrough continued to prove naysayers wrong and had a productive sophomore season and Roy Hibbert, had his ups and downs but looks like a legitimate center. It may not be the best looking roster but apparently 37 wins gets you an 8th seed in the east. And they won a game against the Bulls! ALL UNDER AN INTERIM COACH FRANK VOGEL!

Look for them to: 1. Make a decision as to whether or not to keep Frank Vogel. 2. Play in free agency as over $25 million dollars is coming off the books. 3. Try and trade James Posey's $6 million expiring contract. 4. Continue to build with a pretty young and talented nucleus.

Frank Vogel has recently was interviewed by the Houston Rockets this week, so he might be on the way out. It's a toss up as to whether or not it's a good idea to re-sign him, although the players have come out and said they want him back.

Aside from the coach though, a LOT of money is coming off the books and the young core is under contract for more than two years. I see a big signing in the form of a small forward to fill out the roster. Maybe a shooting guard and put Paul George on the bench or a power forward and put Hansbrough on the bench. Who knows, but this team has the money to either sign a big name or a couple solid role players.

As for James Posey, he just straight up doesn't play for them anymore. Lot of inactive games and wasn't even a part of the playoff roster. He'll be in the last year of his contract and could be a trade piece for a team trying to shed salary. He isn't a part of the Pacers' future at all. The future will look to build around Granger, Hibbert and Collison. It may not be anything special now, but it is building blocks they can work with. Could be an exciting season next year depending on who they sign.

Utah Jazz 39-43 (Oh how the somewhat mighty have fallen)

Notable free agents - ANDREI KIRILENKO, Kyrylo Fesenko
Core players still on contract - Al Jefferson, Mehmet Okur, Devin Harris, Paul Millsap, Derrick Favors, CJ Miles, Raja Bell, Gordon Hayward

Recap: In the beginning, they traded for Al Jefferson for future draft picks, based on Deron Williams request of the list of big men they could get and DWill said "I'm gonna make you an allstar." Then some ish went down and the team stopped responding to the coach which lead to THE GREAT JERRY SLOAN QUITTING. THEN Deron Williams was TRADED for Devin Harris and Derrick Favors! WHAT?! Wasn't Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer supposed to be the second coming of John Stockton and Karl Malone? Whatever. The team floundered during and after that trade and didn't make the playoffs and now could have an entire new look by next season.

Look for them to: 1. Find a new coach. 2. Re-sign Andrei Kirilenko. 3. Get their players healthy again. 4. Build around their new core.

It'll be tough, but the Jazz do need to find a new coach that can get this team back to the playoffs. I haven't really heard much about who they'd want to replace him with, which could mean they'll roll with Tyrone Corbin who replaced Sloan when he left. As for Kirilenko, both sides have expressed their desire to re-sign, and at a discounted rate! AK said he doesn't want to chase a championship by being a "bit" player (Like Iverson). Although he has said he would listen to the Nets' Russian owner about playing there.

This team just needs to get healthy though. Andrei, Mehmet Okur, Fesenko, Ronnie Price and CJ Miles all had injuries and missed time. Next season will be a fresh start and hopefully everyone will be healthy again. Mehmet Okur can really add some dynamics to this team as another big who can shoot the 3 pointer. They can cause matchup problems with him and Al Jefferson subbing for each other.

For a team that lost it's two best players in Boozer and DWill, they got some great pieces to move forward with, including one of the fastest point guards in the league Devin Harris, and the #3 pick in last years draft Derrick Favors, along with their own draft pick Gordon Hayward and two great bigs- Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap. If they can get Andrei Kirilenko back and Mehmet Okur back from injury, they'd have all the pieces to make a run at the playoffs again.

Phoenix Suns 40-42 (So I guess that Amare Stoudemire wasn't just a great player cuz of Steve Nash then eh?)

Notable free agents - Vince Carter (team option that they better not pick up-$18 mil), Grant Hill, Mikael Pietrus (player option ($5 mil)
Core players still on contract - Steve Nash, Marcin Gortat, Channing Frye, Josh Childress, Hakim Warrick, Jared Dudley (fun names!)

Recap: This team went through a lot of changes this season - At one point they had Jason Richardson, Goran Dragic and Hedo Turkoglu and that changed to Vince Carter and Marcin Gortat and Aaron Brooks. Everyone knows it-put anyone on the same team as Steve Nash and they'll have a great statistical year. But the talent this team used to have got them to the playoffs. This year, they didn't even win half their games. And Steve Nash being the best teammate never demands a trade and just keeps playing, passing and shooting 3 points with crazy accuracy.

Ultimately, Vince Carter became a bench player and played about 20-25 minutes for the last two weeks of the season in a downward spiral to his career.

Look for them to: 1. Not re-sign Vince Carter. 2. Look to replace his spot in the starting lineup by signing a shooting guard, Michael Redd? 3. Re-sign Grant Hill. 4. Re-sign Aaron Brooks. 5. Do everything in their power to please Steve Nash.

Vince Carter is self explanatory. He's not good. Nowhere near worth 18 million. Bye bye Carter. There are rumors that the Suns would be able to get Michael Redd for cheap given his injurious past. I wouldn't do it BECAUSE of his injurious past but they do risk signing a long term deal with someone else and then watching Steve Nash peace out next summer.

Regarding Grant Hill, he is playing great given his age at 38. He finished 7th in defensive player of the year voting! He's a great leader and veteran and if it weren't for the sorry role players the Suns have (Hakim Warrick was supposed to replace Stoudemire, and then Childress and Robin Lopez just didn't play well).

As for Aaron Brooks, they will probably give him his qualifying option of about 2.5 million in case something drastic does happen with Steve Nash. Aaron Brooks fell off a little bit after winning the most improved player award (an award I have major beef with), but he is still one of the fastest dudes in the league and can start and score.

Philadelphia 41-41 (Our first 500 team! And it's our 15th team! Right on track)

Notable free agents - Jason Kapono's $6.6 million contract, Darius Songalia's $4 million contract
Core players still on contract - Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand, Louis Williams, Evan Turner, Jrue Holiday

Recap: 500 team makes the playoffs and wins 1 game against the Heat after a season where Elton Brand came alive again and Jrue Holiday took a big step forward in his young career. They barely got to see what #2 draft pick Evan Turner could do. But in the end, they lost in the playoffs and Andre Iguodala, the face of the franchise, skipped his exit interviews, which leads us to what you should

Look for them to: TRADE ANDRE IGUODALA. Yes. I said it. And from what I've been reading around the internet is that it could be for another SF or for a big man. I'm not going to speculate who but they need to open some playing time for young Evan Turner so that he and Jrue Holiday can start getting this already playoff team (yet only 500 team) in the right direction. Other than that, they need to fill out their bench. It's not that impressive and they won't have a good draft pick to do so, but they can dabble in free agency and sign some bench guys. But that will all depend on who they can get for Andre Iguodala.

Corey Maggette Trade has MAJOR IMPLICATIONS ON WARRIORS FUTURE

The Trade:

Milwaukee trades Dan Gadzuric and Charlie Bell to the Golden State Warriors for Corey Maggette and the 44th pick in the draft.

The Contracts:

Dan Gadzuric - 1 more year (2010-2011 season) for $7.2 million
Charlie Bell - 2 more years for $3.8 million, then $4.0 million

Corey Maggette - 3 more years for $9.6, $10.2, $10.9 million

What Milwaukee is receiving

This is a good trade for Milwaukee. Why? Corey Maggette can score. His career with the Clippers was as a player who was a first or second option behind Elton Brand. These Clipper teams sucked and he was not re-signed and left to Golden State. Golden State simply is not a good team. They have had a lot of internal problems that start from the coach and management who feel that even if they lose 70% of their games, if the team scores a lot and it's fun, we'll still make money. This team saw Corey Maggette as just another SG/SF who if he's open, will shoot just like anyone else on the team (Monta, Curry, Stephen Jackson, Jamal Crawford, etc.) These past two years, he averaged 18 and 20 points but the team had no success.

As a Milwaukee Buck, he'll be a third option behind Andrew Bogut and Brandon Jennings. With John Salmons likely opting out of the last year of his contract to get a healthy contract elsewhere, Maggette will fill that role of a scoring swingman to run alongside Jennings. Another 8th seed or above is not so inconceivable depending on how the rest of free agency shapes out.

All it cost them was PF/C Gadzuric who barely played and an aging Charlie Bell who can still hit a 3 pointer.

What Golden State is receiving

Trash. Like I said, Gadzuric barely plays and Charlie Bell is a third stringer maybe 2nd stringer on the Warriors. What the Warriors are REALLY receiving is a flexible future.

With this trade, they'll still pay the $10 million that was owed to Maggette with the combined salaries of Gadzuric and Bell. But next summer, and the summer after that when Gadzuric and Bell's contracts come off the books respectively, they can use that money to sign some depth players or a bigger name FA.

What else does this trade say about the Warriors future? It says they're looking to build the team around Stephen Curry and/or Monta Ellis. Ellis is signed until the 2014 season and Curry until the 2013 season. Having two small starting guards is a predicament all itself and I'm still not sure if they can win with not just two small starting guards but THESE two small starting guards who are almost exactly the same player. But the known future is without Corey Maggette and if you're keeping count, that's the fourth SG/SF they've gotten rid of in recent memory (Stephen Jackson, Jamal Crawford, Jason Richardson, and now Corey Maggette).

The trade offers some flexibility in the near future: Gadzuric is a $7 million dollar expiring contract and if recent history has taught us anything (Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol), it's that expiring contracts, regardless of who the player is, are valuable. Some team out there will be looking for a new home for a disgruntled/not-working-out-so-well Mid Level Exception player with a couple years left on contract that might tickle the fancy of the Warriors front office. Flexibility. Options.

Flexibility for next summer: The Warriors have the same payroll as they did before the trade (matching contract dollar amounts) for this upcoming year. They still have enough money to spend on a not so max contract kind of player (not LeBron, Wade or Bosh, but maybe Boozer, David Lee or Brad Miller).

With the Maggette trade, they can sign one of those latter three names (or a player to their level of talent) and then sign ANOTHER such player, or even better than said players, next year as well as Gadzuric's $7 million will come off the books. As I said before, they can also use this money to sign some bench players for depth and maybe use it on a Mid Level Exception type player. Flexible future!

To make that easier to understand:

• GS Payroll this summer before AND after the trade: $55 million.
• GS Payroll next summer before trade: Around $34 million. After trade: Around $28 million.
  

With the Salary cap likely to be around the mid $70 million range, the Golden State Warriors have more money to play with/more options to look at.

If you're a Warriors fan: you are hoping to the basketball gods above that the Warriors aren't done making moves. You're hoping they sign a top FA this summer and continue to make cap space either for depth or another top name FA next summer. They've got the money, let's hope they don't eff it all up like they did with the Maggette signing two summers ago!

Some other things they have to deal with:

1. Andris Biedrins' $9 million a year contract until the 2014 season. Ughh. This guy is not a good Center and is crippling the Warriors roster. A Center with no post moves, no free throw shooting, no killer instinct, no decent hair cut who barely plays and is only suited for the run-n-gun style the Warriors play, which is a terrible way to play as proven by the last 3-4 years of no basketball success besides the taking out the fraud Mavericks number 1 seed.
2. Brandan Wright and Anthony Randolph: both signed at least for the next couple of years yet they barely play. Wright is a PF and Randolph an SF. With Corey leaving, they'll be looking for a PF/C player so perhaps Randolph will finally get some decent playing time. The Warriors will have to make a decision on what to do with Wright. Either ship him for a draft pick or some kind of package deal or let him play!

Overall, I'm very proud of the Warriors making this move as they strive for a better future and take out the trash they seem to have subtly admitted overpaid for. Again, this better be the first of at least two or three they do this summer.

Contract info from HoopsHype

The Warriors are getting a new owner, what they really need is a new identity

(Photo from nba.com)
Long story short, the Warriors are for sale. There is speculation that head coach, Don Nelson may be coaching his last few games this season and may not return next year. Unfortunately, I will not be purchasing the team just because of time constraints and the long commute.

But if I was the billionaire buying this team, number 1 on my to-do list is get rid of Don Nelson. Number 2 is hire some kind of psychic mind bending therapist to erase the run-n-gun, no defense, 3 pt shoot till you cant shoot no mo mindset instilled in the players' heads. Let's take a closer look.

Don Nelson started this gig at the start of the 06-07 season. The Warriors had just come off back to back 34-48 seasons under head coach Mike Montgomery. The Baron Davis trade was not getting the Warriors any closer to the playoffs, or so it seemed. Then Don Nelson played Monta Ellis, played to the teams strength which was shooting 3's and running fast breaks any chance they got, which got the Warriors to a 42-40 records and the 8th seed of the playoffs and knocked out the MVP Dirk Nowitzki lead number 1 seed Mavericks. Then they lost to the Jazz in the next round, but there was hope in the bay area.

Montgomery's 05-06 Warriors scored 98.5 points on 43.3% shooting and gave up 99.8 to opponents on 45.7. 625/1832 3pointers.
Nelson's 06-07 Warriors scored 106.5 points on 46.3% shooting and gave up 106.9 to opponents on 46.2%. 700/1966 3pointers.

He got more points on the board at a better percentage, but didn't do much on the defensive end. More possessions for both sides of the ball when you run fast breaks so that explains the boost in points on the board, but the FG% bump shows they didn't do much focusing on defense.

But hey, they go to the 2nd round of the playoffs! So let's try again in 07-08... Success! Only not so. Nelson kept the run n gun style and the Warriors record was a nice 48-34, only that year, you needed 50 wins to make the playoffs in the West as the Warriors were 2 games behind the 50 win Denver Nuggets for the 8th seed. :(

Nelson's 07-08 Warriors scored 111 points on 45.9% shooting and gave up 108.8 to opponents on 46.8%. 761/2185 3pointers.

Better luck next year - 08-09 season. They lost Baron Davis and Al Harrington and gained Jamal Crawford and Corey Maggette. They went 29-53 and did not make the playoffs.
Nelson's 08-09 Warriors scored 108.6 points on 45.8% shooting and gave up 112.3 to opponents on 46.8%. 550/1475 3pointers.

Which brings us to this season. With rookie Stephen Curry, one of their few non bust draft pick in awhile (along with Anthony Randolph-jury still out, and Monta Ellis-2nd round pot of gold, compared to Ike Diogu, Marco Belinelli, and Patrick O'Bryant), paired up with Monta Ellis in the backcourt, Corey Maggette and Stephen Jackson with ol reliable Andris Biedrins at Center. Except Stephen Jackson pouted and got a trade to the Bobcats for Raja Bell and Vladamir Radmanovic (both injured). The Warriors stand at 19-51.

Now they're looking for a new owner. I only hope the new owner sees this as a grand opportunity to make some changes. For the past few years they've signed and drafted guards and SG/SFs just to fit into their style of play. This has not worked. It's time for a change. Get rid of Nelson and get some half court offensive plays and focus on defensive stances and rotations. This team is not a championship contender. Gosh, it's barely a playoff contender or even a regular season contender!

• Centers torch this team and it doesn't seem like Biedrins or Turiaf are going to be the big men to stop the league's top centers and power forwards. That's not to say they should draft or sign another Adonal Foyle type player. More like a Carlos Boozer type.
  
• Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis are both 6-3 having to guard SGs who have 3-4 inches on both of them. I hate to say it but they might have to get rid of one of these guys via trade and get a true SG or a big man.
  
• They need to draft another talented player like they did with Curry and not pull another Patrick O'Bryant type. This year they're gonna be guaranteed picks 1-6 (so far) and this year's lotto, based on what I've seen in March Madness, is gonna be pretty good and have some decent big men (Favors, Cousins, Monroe, Patterson). I'll laugh though if they get the #1 pick, draft John Wall and somehow start him with Curry and Monta-- No! new owner, new coach, let's not repeat this small ball lineup.
  

Honestly, they need to take a page out of the Clippers' playbook and fire their coach, start fresh next season, cuz it just ain't working the way it is now. #1 on the to do list, get rid of Nelson.

Ex Warriors who have made it to the NBA Finals

(Photo from NBAtradeJournal)

Most basketball heads talk about how the Warriors let great/pretty good players go such as Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, Jason Richardson, Baron Davis, Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, etc. And yeah, these guys are pretty darn good at what they do and yes, the Warriors have hardly been the team to beat since letting those players go. But while they've produced nice numbers and made the playoffs, they've never been to the Finals. Those that did leave the Warriors were mainly role players and no stars on the team they were representing in the said Finals. Just something to keep in mind. Read between your baselines.

Here is a list of ex warriors players who have made the finals since the 1999-2000 season. Bolded are the ones who actually won the championship. In parenthesis are how many years after they left the warriors they made it to the Finals. Listed in order of how quickly they made the finals after leaving the Warriors.

DJ Mbenga, 2008 and 2009 Lakers, 2008 Warriors (1yr)

• Best year with Warriors: First half of 2007-2008, 1.2 pts, 1.9 reb, .6 blk, 39% FG
  
• Last year as a Warrior: Same as above
  
• Best year after being a warrior on finals team: 2008-2009, 2.7 pts, 1.3 reb, 1 blk, 47% FG
  
• Year on the finals team: Same as above
  
• Best year after warriors team on any team: Same as above
  

Mickael Pietrus 2009 Magic, 2004-2008 Warriors (1 yr)

• Best year with Warriors: 2006-2007, 11 pts, 4.5 reb, 1.3 3ptm, 48.8% FG
  
• Last year as a Warrior: 2007-2008, 7.2 pts, 3.7 reb, 1 3ptm, 43.9% FG
  
• Best year after being a warrior on finals team: 2008-2009, 9.4 pts, 3.3 reb, 1.5 3ptm, 41.3% FG
  
• Year on the finals team: Same as above
  
• Best year after warriors team on any team: Same as above
  

Adonal Foyle 2009 Magic, 1998-2007 Warriors (2 yrs)

• Best year with Warriors: 2000-2001, 5.9 pts, 7 reb, 2.7 blk, 41.6% FG
  
• Last year as a Warrior: 2006-2007, 2.2 pts, 2.6 reb, 1 blk, 56.5% FG
  
• Best year after being a warrior on finals team: 2009 Orlando, 1.9 pts, 2.9 reb, .9 blk, 63.6% FG
  
• Year on the finals team: Same as above
  
• Best year after warriors team on any team: Same as above
  

Erick Dampier, 2006 Mavericks, 1998-2004 Warriors (2 yrs)

• Best year with Warriors: 2003-2004, 12.3 pts, 12 reb, 1.9 blk, 53.5% FG
  
• Last year as a Warrior: Same as above
  
• Best year after being a warrior on finals team: 2004-2005 Mavs, 9.2 pts, 8.5 reb, 1.4 blk, 55% FG
  
• Year on the finals team: 2005-2006 Mavs, 5.7 pts, 7.8 reb, 1.3 blk, 49.3% FG
  
• Best year after warriors team on any team: See 2004-2005 Mavs above
  

Derek Fisher, 2008 and 2009 Finals, 2005-06 Warriors (2 yrs)

• Best year with Warriors: 2005-2006, 13.3 pts, 2.1 reb, 4.3 ast, 1.5 st, 1.4 3ptm, 41% FG
  
• Last year as a Warrior: Same as above
  
• Best year after being a warrior on finals team: 2007-2008 Lakers, 11.7 pts, 1.8 reb, 2.9 ast, 1.0 st, 1.4 3ptm, 43.6% FG
  
• Year on the finals team: see above and 2008-2009 Lakers, 9.9 pts, 2.3 reb, 3.2 ast, 1.2 st, 1.5 3 ptm, 42.4% FG
  
• Best year after warriors team on any team: See 2008-2009 Lakers above
  

Josh Powell, 2009 Finals, 2007 Warriors (2 yrs)

• Best year with Warriors: 2006-2007, 3.5 pts, 2.3 reb, 52.6% FG
• Last year as a Warrior: Same as above
  
• Best year after being a warrior on finals team: 2008-2009 Lakers, 4.2 pts, 2.9 reb, 44.4% FG
  
• Year on the finals team: Same as above
  
• Best year after warriors team on any team: 2007-2008 Clippers, 5.5 pts, 5.2 reb, 46% FG
  

Brian Shaw - 2000-2002 Lakers, 1998 Warriors (2 yrs)

• Best year with Warriors: 1998, 6.4 pts, 3.9 reb, 4.4 ast, 33.6 FG%
  
• Last year as a Warrior: Same as above
  
• Best year after being a warrior on finals team: 2000-2001 Lakers, 5.3 pts, 3.8 reb, 3.2 ast, 39.9% FG
  
• Year on the finals team: 1999-2000 Lakers, 4.1 pts, 2.9 reb, 2.7 ast, 38.2% FG, above 2001 Lakers, 2001-2002 Lakers, 2.9 pts, 1.9 reb, 1.5 ast, 35.3% FG
  
• Best year after warriors team on any team: See above 2000-2001 Lakers
  

Chris Mullin - 2000 Pacers, 1986-1997 Warriors (3 yrs)

• Best year with Warriors: 1988-89 26.5 pts, 5.9 reb, 5.1 ast, 2.1 stl, 50.9% FG
  
• Last year as a Warrior: 1996-97 14.5 pts, 4 reb, 4.1 ast, 1.6 stl, 53.3% FG
  
• Best year after being a warrior on finals team: 1997-98 Pacers, 11.3 pts, 3 reb, 2.3 ast, 1.2 stl, 48.1% FG
  
• Year on the finals team: 1999-2000 Pacers 5.1 pts, 1.6 reb, .8 ast, 42.8% FG
  
• Best year after warriors team on any team: 1997-98 season above.
  

Larry Hughes, 2007 Cavs, 2000-2002 Warriors (5 yrs)

• Best year with Warriors: 2000-2001, 16.5 pts, 5.5 reb, 4.5 ast, 1.9 stl, 38.3% FG
  
• Last year as a Warrior: 2001-2002, 12.3 pts, 3.4 reb, 4.3 ast, 1.5 stl, 42.3% FG
  
• Best year after being a warrior on finals team: 2005-2006 Cavs, 15.5 pts, 4.5 reb, 3.6 ast, 1.5 stl, 40.9% FG
  
• Year on the finals team: 2006-2007 Cavs, 14.9 pts, 3.8 reb, 3.7 ast, 1.3 stl, 40% FG
  
• Best year after warriors team on any team: 2004-2005 Wizards, 22 pts, 6.3 reb, 4.7 ast, 2.9 stl (league leader), 43% FG
  

Kevin Willis - 2003 Spurs, 1996 Warriors (7 yrs)

• Best year with Warriors: Second half of 1995-1996 season, 11.3 pts, 7.8 reb, 43.3% FG
  
• Last year as a Warrior: Same as above
  
• Best year after being a warrior on finals team: 2002-2003 Spurs, 4.2 pts, 3.2 reb, 47.9% FG
  
• Year on the finals team: Same as above
  
• Best year after warriors team on any team: 1997-1998 Rockets, 16.1 pts, 8.4 reb, 51% FG
  

Damon Jones, 2007 Cavs, 2000 Warriors (7 yrs)

• Best year with Warriors: First half of 1999-2000 season, 5.2 pts, 3 ast, 46.3% FG
  
• Last year as a Warrior: Sames as above
  
• Best year after being a warrior on finals team: 2005-2006 Cavs, 6.7 pts, 2.1 ast, 38.7% FG
  
• Year on the finals team: 2006-2007 Cavs, 6.6 pts, 1.6 ast, 38.6% FG
  
• Best year after warriors team on any team: 2004-2005 Heat, 11.6 pts, 4.3 ast, 2.7 3ptm, 45.6% FG
  

Donyell Marshall 2007 Cavs, 1995-2000 Warriors (7 yrs)

• Best year with Warriors: 1999-2000, 14.2 pts, 10 reb, 2.6 ast, 1.1 stl, 1.1 blk, 39.4% FG
  
• Last year as a Warrior: Same as above
  
• Best year after being a warrior on finals team: 2005-2006 Cavs, 9.3 pts, 6.1 reb, .7 ast, .7 stl, .5 blk, 39.5% FG
  
• Year on the finals team: 2006-2007 Cavs, 7 pts, 4 reb, .6 ast, .5 stl, .5 blk, 42.4% FG
  
• Best year after warriors team on any team: Second half of 2003-2004 season on Toronto, 16.2 pts, 10.7 reb, 1.4 ast, 1.2 stl, 1.6 blk, 46.7% FG
  

Tyrone Hill - 2001 76ers, 1991-1993 Warriors (8 yrs)

• Best year with Warriors:1992-1993, 8.6 pts, 10.2 reb, 50.8% FG
  
• Last year as a Warrior: Same as above
  
• Best year after being a warrior on finals team: 2000-2001 76ers, 9.6 pts, 9 reb, 47.4% FG
  
• Year on the finals team: Same as above
  
• Best year after warriors team on any team: 1994-1995 Cavs, 13.8 pts, 10.9 reb, 50.4% FG
  

Mitch Richmond - 2002 Lakers, 89-91 Warriors (11 yrs)

• Best year with Warriors: 1990-1991, 23.9 pts, 5.9 reb, 3.1 ast, 1.6 stl, 49.4% FG
  
• Last year as a Warrior: Same as above
  
• Best year after being a warrior on finals team: 2001-2002 Lakers, 4.1 pts, 1.5 reb, .9 ast, .3 stl, 40.5% FG
  
• Year on the finals team: Same as above
  
• Best year after warriors team on any team:1996-1997 Kings, 25.9 pts, 3.9 reb, 4.2 ast, 1.5 stl, 45.4% FG
  

Tony Massenburg, 2005 Spurs, 1992 Warriors (13 yrs)

• Best year with Warriors: 7 games of last part of 1991-1992 Warriors, 2.3 pts, 1.7 reb, 62.5% FG
  
• Last year as a Warrior: Same as above
  
• Best year after being a warrior on finals team: 2004-2005 Spurs, 3.2 pts, 2.7 reb, 40.7% FG
  
• Year on the finals team: Same as above
  
• Best year after warriors team on any team:1998-1999 Vancouver Grizzlies, 11.2 pts, 6 reb, 48.7% FG

Read between the baselines

None of these players were THE MAN on the team that made the finals. Most were role players not providing any real help with the exception of Larry Hughes, Mickael Pietrus, Derek Fisher, and a little bit of Donyell Marshall. The stars on the Warriors that made the Finals with other teams were mainly just along for the ride (Mitch Richmond, Chris Mullin). Erick Dampier seemed to provide his Warrior-like numbers as a starting center for the Dallas Mavericks. Larry Hughes provided some nice scoring and defensive numbers for the Cavs, also as a starter. And Derek Fisher got some nice exposure this year during the Finals with his cluth 3 pt shooting, but still, not a star, but a nice role player to have.

As for the latest stars to depart from the Warriors? Baron Davis is rebuilding on the Clippers. Gilbert Arenas is cashing in nicely for being hurt most of the time. Antawn Jamison is watching him from the court on a losing Wizards squad. Jason Richardson is in Phoenix as the playoffs seem further away with the loss of Shaq and Amare talking about maybe leaving next year. Finally, Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy are close to making the playoffs in Indiana, but Dunleavy's been hurt this past season. Good players, but what do they have to show for it? Don't be so quick to bash the Warriors. Hopefully, for their sake, Stephen Curry and Anthony Randolph can do some good things for the Bay Area Basketball fans.

Those are the facts. And that's one way to read between the [base]lines.