Thompson's scoring output nearly matched Monta Ellis after Ellis was traded. In drafting Thompson, I knew that Monta's reign in Golden State would come to an abrupt end. Klay Thompson is nowhere near as skilled, athletic, or experienced as Ellis, but he can become more like him. In being able to drive the ball and handle the ball more, Thompson will be taken seriously as a shooter, and a finisher at the basket.
Defenders won't know what to do when closing out on him. With Jarrett Jack and Curry tossing him the ball, Thompson shouldn't have any problem scoring adequate numbers compared to Monta Ellis.
If Ellis was 6'7 and still was able to play with the same intensity, he would end up scoring even more. He was regarded, in my books, as one of the best post-up guards in the NBA. It would have been even better if he was taller. Klay should have the ability to easily take guards that are smaller than him. Thompson knows what he's doing in the post.
If Klay plays hard, practices, and helps Curry take the Warriors to the playoffs, his hard work will pay off and he will be regarded as a threat, and potential all-star.
The Warriors gave away one of the most underrated players in the league, who had the potential to go head to head with some of the better NBA players. He drew attention from LeBron and Kobe, two of the NBA's best players. Coaches such as Greg Poppovich made it their primary focus to slow Ellis down in the game. So much for that. Against the Spurs, Monta scored 38 points. The only other player who scored more than him against Greg Poppovich's Spurs was Michael Jordan. Of course, there's no comparison there, yet.
The Bucks traded away Andrew Bogut. Easily one of the best centers in the NBA. He can rebound, score, defend, and do it all. The difference between the two, other than their position, is that Bogut is injury prone, and Monta Ellis is tougher than ever. Ellis went down against the Thunder with a hyper-extension in his knee: many said that was it for the season. What did he do? He played the next day and scored 33 points. Monta Ellis was a true Warrior.
Despite all these good things that I have to say about Ellis, the trade ends up working for the Warriors. They lacked size, the trade gives them size. They lacked good rebounding, the trade gives them that as well. They lacked defensive intensity, the trade also gives them that. Bogut played very well for Milwaukee, but hasn't proven himself to the Warriors yet. Now that he's nearing full rehabilitation, the Warriors have to put him to better use than Monta Ellis. Curry and Bogut will be a feared combo, and Curry and Thompson will be a feared backcourt. This trade, down the road, worked out perfectly for the Warriors.
What about the Bucks? The Bucks may think that they're getting a good deal with Monta Ellis, but it may or may not work out for them.
May Not:
-Ellis and Jennings are both elite players, but they both like to play PG. You can't start two PG's it just doesn't work like that. -A similar problem to the Curry-Ellis dilemma may play out here.
May Work:
-Ellis is all the things I've described him as. He's literally a superman. Ellis knows how to change his game into more of a SG style. He will feel free to take the point whenever Jennings is out.
You tell me, fans. Looking back at the trade, and into the future, was this a good trade? Who was it good for? Comment Below.
The NBA is filled with incredible players who just want to win the title. That's hard to do when there's two superteams in the NBA. The Lakers and the Heat. That is a favored finals matchup, as Kobe and LeBron will finally go head to head. The Dwight Howard would destroy Joel Anthony.
Let's not rule other teams out though. The Thunder, the Nets, the Warriors, the Hornets, the Timberwolves, the Sixers, and many other teams are capable of pulling off upsets in the first round. All these teams have a legitimate shot of making it to the finals. The question is, who wants it more?
- Monta Ellis/Brandon Jennings: I swear, I'm not being biased. Monta Ellis and Jennings are supposed to have the best backcourt in the NBA. With the added big man presence, the Bucks are looking to get it going.. They finally have what it takes.
- David Lee: He is 29 years old, and not getting any younger. Lee knows that it's time to go to work with his team's reloaded roster. Anything is possible. I don't think Lee is going to wait any longer to be in his first playoff game.
- D-Will: Obviously. Deron Williams hasn't been in the playoffs since the Jazz. He wasn't going anywhere with them, so he took his talents to New Jersey. With Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, Lopez, and Johnson, there's no limit to what they can accomplish. Especially if they can pull off an upset.
- Dwight Howard: With new hope on the Lakers, Howard looks to get into the finals again, but this time, he'll be playing alongside Kobe. With the addition of him and Nash, the Lakers must make a title run quickly, and they know that. Before they know it, Kobe's jersey will be hung at the top of the stadium.
- Carmelo Anthony: I'm sure Carmelo Anthony does not want to be the criticized one, just like LeBron was. Critics are already getting on his back about winning a ring. Bosh, Wade, LeBron, and even Darko Milicic have rings. It's time for Melo to get his. He carried team USA on his back most of the way, and he should be confident enough to do that with his Knicks.
- LeBron James: LeBron has had the taste of one title, and he's not going to stop there. He and the Heat without question have the most talented roster in the NBA. LeBron and the Heat are hungry, and they will crush any team that stands in their line of fire.
- Kobe Bryant: Kobe knows that in a couple seasons, he'll retire, but it'd be nice to get one more title to put him ahead of Jordan. The only downside to this is that the rest of the NBA will hear it from Laker fans that Kobe's better than Jordan. (He won't ever be, although he is close). Kobe will go hard from day 1.
- Kevin Durant: After a heart-breaking loss to the Heat in the NBA finals, Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka are looking for more. With the return of Eric Maynor, the Thunder should look to start off strong and hit each team hard. Durant will be relentless this season in his scoring, and will surpass Kobe and LeBron as the league's leading scorer again. He and Westbrook know that they have something to prove this season.
This article was first published by Elijah Abramson on basesandbaskets.com. He has generously given us permission to use his work.
Warriors fans don’t need to be reminded of their sparing success since the new millennium.
Aside from the “We Believe” year in 2007 where the eighth-seeded Warriors beat the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks, there have been numerous miserable seasons as few as 17 wins to complement six seasons of less than 30 wins. But, as players legacies are often defined by playoff success, half of this list is composed of members from the We Believe team.
B/R featured columnist Dave Leonardis ranks the Warriors as the fourth-best fan base in basketball in between perennial contenders like the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and Dallas Mavericks.
Here is a list of the top-10 players to hit the court at Oracle Arena since 2000.
Note: Statistics include entire years when players also played for teams other than the Warriors (ie Monta Ellis playing for the Warriors and Bucks in 2011-12).
Honorable Mention
Erick Dampier—
12.3 PPG/12.0 RPG in 2003-04
Larry Hughes—
22.7 PPG/5.9 RPG/4.1 APG in 32 games for the Warriors in 2000
Gilbert Arenas —
15.6 PPG/4.0 RPG/5.3 APG in two seasons as a Warrior
Jamal Crawford—
19.7 PPG/3.3 RPG/4.4 APG in 2008-09
Dorell Wright
16.4 PPG/5.3 RPG/3.0 APG in 2010-11, started all 82 games
10. Troy Murphy
Years: 6
Points per game: 11.2
Rebounds per game: 8.0
Assists per game: 1.3
Troy Murphy was never a particularly glamorous player but he got the job done. It always seemed like when the Warriors were in need of a three pointer to stop the bleeding , either Murphy or Mike Dunleavy was there to at least temporarily quell the onslaught.
Sadly, Murphy left in the middle of the 2007 season and was a member of the Indiana Pacers when the Warriors defeated the Mavericks in the playoffs.
9. Al Harrington
Years: 3
Points per game: 16.6
Rebounds per game: 6.0
Assists per game: 1.7
Al Harrington is one of those in-between players that created excellent mismatches. Harrington was kind of a hybrid like Dirk Nowitzki and Lamar Odom, possessing the ability to succeed at the power forward position and occasionally the small forward if necessary.
A pivotal part of the 2007 team that made a playoff run for the first time since 1975, Harrington was a fan favorite who was known for draining three pointers.
8. Corey Maggette
Years: 2
Points per game: 19.3
Rebounds per game: 5.4
Assists per game: 2.2
Although Maggette was not a Warrior for as long as Al Harrington or Troy Murphy, he did make the most of his time in Golden State. Coming off a season averaging 22 points per game with the Clippers, the Warriors were excited to get the former Duke star.
Even though he started only 19 of his 51 games played in 2008-09, Maggette managed to still average 18.6 points per game—adding a much needed spark of offensive production.
7. Stephen Curry
Years: 3
Points per game: 17.5
Rebounds per game: 4.1
Assists per game: 5.8
Although hopefully his best years are ahead of him, Stephen Curry has already put together a couple of solid years as a Warrior. From earning All-Rookie first team honors to nearly grabbing a quadruple-double on April 7, 2010 with 27 points, 14 assists, eight rebounds and seven steals, Curry gave the Warriors hope that their rebuilding effort was not futile.
Coming off an injury-shortened season, Curry will look to rebound and make his way up this list.
6. David Lee
Years: 2
Points per game: 18.1
Rebounds per game: 9.7
Assists per game: 3.0
Last season David Lee had nothing short of a spectacular season.
Even though he didn’t make the All-Star team, Lee put up the season worthy of such honors. 20 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game went largely unnoticed in a season that the Warriors ended up tanking in the hopes of getting a high draft pick.
His performance during the previous season (his first as a Warrior) wasn’t unimpressive, either. Lee’s 17 points and 10 rebounds per game were quite comparable to the following season.
The Warriors will definitely be more than happy if Lee can continue this type of production in 2012 and he may, like Curry, make his way up lists of top players to don the blue and gold.
5. Stephen Jackson
Years: 3+
Points per game: 19.2
Rebounds per game: 4.3
Assists per game: 4.4
It’s too bad that Stephen Jackson’s name will be forever attached to the Malice at the Palace because he was (and is) an excellent player.
But, I do believe it wasn’t in the Warriors best interest for Jackson to make a return to Golden State in the Monta Ellis trade—thankfully he ended up being traded nearly immediately (for Richard Jefferson).
That’s certainly not to say he didn’t make a significant contribution to the Warriors—especially in the “We Believe” run. His 33-point show in Game 6 clinched the series against the Mavs for the Dubs.
Let’s be real, you don’t remember J-Rich for his on-court performances. Well maybe aside from his nasty jams in those five-on-five opportunities, Richardson is famous for his incredible dunk contest shows.
If you need to be refreshed on how—with Vince Carter, of course—Richardson made the dunk contest relevant to the NBA again, look no further than this video.
His consistent effort in the regular season was hidden behind that between-the-legs reverse dunk.
3. Baron Davis
Years: 3+
Points per game: 20.0
Rebounds per game: 4.4
Assists per game: 8.1
Baron Davis was the Monta Ellis before Monta Ellis.
He would take shot after shot in transition but more often than not you had to keep your mouth shut because it went in.
Davis was another critical cog in the wheels that led the Warriors to their first playoff appearance in more than three decades.
If you get nothing else out of this list, check out the video. This dunk over Andrei Kirilenko never fails to give you chills, nostalgia and an uncanny desire to high-five the nearest Warrior fan.
2. Antawn Jamison
Years: 5
Points per game: 20.2
Rebounds per game: 7.5
Assists per game: 1.8
In the 2000-01 season, Antawn Jamison had his best season in Golden State, averaging 25 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. He played in all 82 regular season games for the Warriors from 2001 to 2003 and led the team in scoring each of those years.
Before being traded to Dallas, Jamison scored over 50 points per game on two separate occasions and provided something for Warriors fans to cheer for in years when they won as few as 17 games and never reached a .500 record.
1. Monta Ellis
Years: 7
Points per game: 19.5
Rebounds per game: 3.7
Assists per game: 4.5
Love him or hate him, there is no disputing his place atop this list.
Monta was a blur heading to the rim and a well above average, if not elite, scorer. He played some high-risk defense that often led to easy baskets for opposing offenses rather than transition baskets for the Warriors but Monta was the undeniable heart and soul for the Warriors from the conclusion of the 2007 season until being traded to the Bucks last season.
The peak of his time as a Warrior was back-to-back seasons as a 24 PPG scorer in 2009-10 and the following season.
Logging unparalleled 48-minute games across his tenure (which occasionally led to injuries), Monta was a warrior among Warriors.
The Warriors and their fans expect to make the playoffs this year, maybe even past the 8th spot. Thats a pretty lofty goal that can and hopefully will be achieved. I don't think there has been enough analyzing about a huge factor.
That factor is Stephen Curry. The Warriors quest to the post season all depends on how this guy is feeling. He played most of his games in his rookie season, but other than that he's struggled to stay on the court. Now that he would have had six months to rest, his confidence, along with ankle muscle, will have been heavily boosted.
Hopefully his ego isn't boosted as well and he gets tattoos like Monta Ellis. Both Andrew Bogut and Curry know that they need to get it right, and somehow avoid cold hands of injury. Bogut will hopefully end up right when he says that he was just unfortunate. For many years, the story for the Warriors is that they all keep getting injured. Will that change?
Stephen Curry will be the X factor. I don't think that Jarrett Jack will have all the necessary skills to completely take over for Curry if he goes down yet again.
It's going to be a curse, but the Warriors are finally looking to get it done this offseason: provided that they don't trade the main core.
Question of this article. Will the Warriors finally get it right? Comment below.
Was Monta Ellis a curse? You know, that 6'3" guard who took 90 percent of his team's shots? Good luck, Milwaukee.
And finally, Bud Selig's imaginary blue-ribbon panel secretly met with East Bay officials to discuss the possibilities of a new waterfront ballpark for the A's. Why does it have to secret, Bud? Reveal the identities of your panel so we can start ripping them instead of you! I'm am so looking forward to 2014.
Monta Ellis brought all of us Warrior fans so much joy. He literally filled up the seats. Golden State was lucky to have such a dynamic scorer, All-Star snub, and great player. Although he never signed autographs, he was a great guy and loved the fans. We were all sad to see him go.
While that's nice and all, the Warriors may be lucky to have gotten rid of him. Ellis and Stephen Curry are the same type of guards. Both PG AND SG style. That is why it can't and will never work. No offense to the Bucks, but either Ellis or Brandon Jennings is going to need to be less selfish.
Klay Thompson am Curry will actually be a feared backcourt. One can handle and shoot, and the other can strike threes with limitless range.
Ellis was a great player, but his forever curse of being a 6'3 SG may have been the cause of the extended playoff drought.
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