Why the Andrew Bogut Deal Does Not Look so Bad After All

[Legacy]

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Any Golden State Warrior fan can admit that their heart sank when they heard about the Monta Ellis for Andrew Bogut swap. They might have even turned a little red to know that Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown’s expiring contract was a part of the trade. You know for a fact that Warrior fans felt a little nauseated knowing that Captain Jack aka Stephen Jackson was headed to the Bay Area.

 

However, after a few days of agony and pain which included a heart throbbing welcome-back party for Ellis on Friday, Warrior fans should look ahead. As Chris Mullin said, be patient. As the owners and front office have been saying, “we hit a home run.”

 

Despite the horrible cliché, a fan should actually be excited for what’s going to be happening with the franchise for years to come.

 

In modern day NBA, it is extremely hard to find a skilled seven-footer. The Warriors traded for one and by doing so, they did trade a fan favorite, who is also a 6’3" shooting guard. Ellis is probably one of the more underrated players in the league, but it was either him or Stephen Curry for Golden state and they went with the latter.

 

When Bogut is healthy, he is arguably a top-three center in the league. His incidents have also been freak accidents, in which he suffered no torn ACL or any other career threatening injuries. As long as he stays away from the feet of David Lee or Andris Biedrins or does not have Curry’s luck, he should be fine.

 

He plays defense, which is what the Warriors need. He rebounds the ball, which is what the Warriors need. And he is a big body, which is another thing which the Warriors desperately needed.

 

Not to mention, Bogut and Lee can be one of the better frontcourts in the NBA when both are at 100 percent.

 

Mix that in with a healthy Curry in his third season running the team, Klay Thompson who has potential to be a good starter in this league and Dorrell Wright who will be looking to rebound off a career-worst season.

 

And that’s not even to mention a good draft pick in a deep draft class.

 

Sure, Ellis is gone, but a backcourt with him and Curry was never going to get the Warriors far. Udoh was finally showing signs of solid play, but he most likely has reached his potential and will be a solid rotation player in the league. And Captain Jack got traded right away for Richard Jefferson and another pick for this deep draft class.

 

Give Coach Mark Jackson another year under his belt and familiarity with his players, and you have an extremely solid group of players.

 

What most people are failing to see is that this is of course a condensed season, meaning it’s shorter than the average due to the lockout. Injuries will happen and new coaches will have a tough time adjusting to the pace and their teams.

 

Permitting injuries, next season the Warriors will be in the playoffs.

 

Yes, I pulled a Joe Lacob and guaranteed the Warriors in the playoffs for next season. Hopefully, I’m not put in a position in front of Warrior fans to get the same non-pleasing reaction as Lacob though.

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1111841-warriors-second-look-why-the-bogut-deal-does-not-look-so-bad-afterall

Edited March 20, 2012 by Legacy