HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

Former Los Angeles Lakers star and General Manager Jerry West will join the Golden State Warriors as an advisor to the owners, according to The Mercury News’ Tim Kawakami.

The Warriors were recently purchased by Joe Lacob and Peter Guber.  They’re searching for a head coach and a true direction after a 36-46 season.

While West’s position, per Kawakami, won’t be that of decision-maker, West’s recommendations are certainly going to impact the choices of Lacob and Guber.

Whatever power General Manager Larry Riley may have, in most situations the basketball executives are charged with carrying out the wishes of the owners.

West, and the rest of the Warriors’ front office, will have to look at their long-term core of players and decide if there’s enough on the roster to build around.  If not, who needs to go?

Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry make up a potent but slight, both in height and girth, backcourt pair.  They can score but defend and win consistently enough to be a playoff team?

Dorell Wright had a great year with the club but free agent acquisition David Lee was only adequate.  The Warriors are also said to be high on Ekpe Udoh, who came on strong late in the season.

Also Andris Biedrins has regressed, seemingly his troubles at the free throw line eventually encompassing his entire game.

If the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, once agreed upon, includes an amnesty provision that allows for a player to be waived without his salary counting against tax and/or cap, Biedrins may be the casualty.

Given the size of Lee’s contract, if the Warriors had true buyers’ remorse, they could boldly cut Lee but odds are he stays.  If he leaves Golden State it will probably be via trade, given that he still has value around the league.

The Warriors have the 11th and 43rd picks in the coming draft.

Golden State finished 10 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies this past season.  They’d need to jump to at least 45-48 wins from 36 to make the postseason.

It will be interesting to see what direction the Warriors take given the need for an inside scorer and more size in the backcourt.

Golden State might think they’re a piece away.  Would they put in a call to the Los Angeles Lakers for someone like Pau Gasol?  Would the Lakers listen?

Now that West is involved, the Warriors’ cachet just ticked up a notch.

Clippers Pick Still Hotly Debated

The NBA Draft Lottery may have been held this past Tuesday but fans of the Los Angeles Clippers are still trying to wrap their minds around what seems like a lost #1 pick.

The topic has been covered already (Pincus: Clippers Couldn’t Protect Pick to Cavs) but there was some debate, specifically from Tom Ziller of SB Nation (Why Clippers’ Defense Of NBA Draft Pick Trade Doesn’t Hold Up) who argues that the Clippers could have gotten around the illegality.

Then regular HOOPSWORLD contributor Larry Coon chimed in on ESPN Los Angeles to further, "Clippers Keeping No. 1 Pick a Long Shot."

To break it down to its core, the Clippers couldn’t legally protect the 2011 pick that went to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Baron Davis/Mo Williams deal without making their 2012 unprotected pick from the Minnesota Timberwolves vulnerable.

In other words, if the #1 pick came up as it did but was protected, the Cavs would likely end up with the Minnesota pick which could also be a #1 but in draft the Clippers view as far more desirable.

The only way Vice President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey could protect both the 2011 and 2012 picks was to not trade Baron to Cleveland.

Given that the odds were going to be 95-98% against the top pick coming up and the Clippers passionately wanted to exit Davis, who was considered an albatross who would only take away from the Blake Griffin era, the decision was made with great optimism.{AUTHOR_BOX}

That hasn’t changed.

The team gained cap flexibility that they hope to use in an unbalanced trade to bring in a small forward, preferably before July (if possible).  They also view Mo Williams as a good fit for the team with his ability to hit an outside shot (an issue with Davis).

Just as the Memphis Grizzlies trade of Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown should be judged in its entirety, including the financial flexibility that landed Zach Randolph (not to mention Marc Gasol in the original deal), so too should the Clippers deal be judged by how the scenario plays out in full.

To hold the Clippers to an inglorious past, that’s a subjective approach that could prove correct, but it has no bearing on what’s to come.

Olshey and the Clippers believe they’ll add one more key piece to their roster that will help propel them to the playoffs next season. 

It’s too early to say either way if they’re on the right track.

NBA Postseason Power Rankings – Week 5

5/19/11 – The playoffs are down to four teams.  Two have already lost home-court advantage in the Conference Finals.  The Miami HEAT and Oklahoma City Thunder both have opportunities to take over their series but judging by the first pair of games, the toughest battles are yet to come.  Both the Chicago Bulls and Dallas Mavericks are serious threats to advance to the Finals.  Meanwhile the Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics are done for the year.  The NBA Playoffs, five weeks in . . .

Miami HEAT

While seemingly everyone was writing their eulogy after their Game 1 loss to the Bulls, the HEAT were gearing up for an impressive Game 2 where they stole home court from Chicago  Now they need to prove sustain that through two games in Miami

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder got the big, big victory in Dallas but how does Russell Westbrook respond to his fourth quarter benching.  A mature player would learn from it but Westbrook is still awfully young.

Dallas Mavericks

After their four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers and Dirk Nowitzki’s dominating performance in the opener against the Thunder, for a moment it looked like the Mavericks might not lose another game all postseason.  Now they’ve gone and given up home court . . .

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls finally faced the elephant in the room.  What happens if a team can find a way to take Derrick Rose out of the game?  Can Chicago find a way to score?  In Game 2, fourth quarter – no.

Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies had a fantastic season where they turned mediocre expectations for the season into a second-round, seventh-game battle.  Now Memphis has to focus on the offseason and re-signing Marc Gasol.

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks just ran out of steam against the Bulls.  Perhaps the series would have gone differently had Kirk Hinrich been healthy but now it’s the offseason and time to decide what to do with free agent Jamal Crawford.

Boston Celtics

No, the Celtics weren’t healthy (specifically Rajon Rondo) but the question will linger about the Kendrick Perkins trade.  Would he have made a difference?

Los Angeles Lakers

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wants a statue.

New Orleans Hornets

Carl Landry is coming off his final year at $3 million.  Can the Hornets retain him at a reasonable dollar or does he end up elsewhere?

Portland Trail Blazers

So what happens now with Brandon Roy?  Does he start next year with Wesley Matthews off the bench?  Can Brandon get his knees to a point where they’re a minor issue?

San Antonio Spurs

Tim Duncan is going into the final year of his deal (technically he can opt out now but it’s $21.2 million).  What will the Spurs look like in 2012, post-Duncan?

Orlando Magic

If the new Collective Bargaining Agreement does involve an amnesty clause then there’s a good chance that Gilbert Arenas has already played his last game with the Magic.

Indiana Pacers

Was this past year an aberration or is Indiana a playoff team next year?  That’s not entirely clear.

Philadelphia 76ers

Between Andre Iguodala, Rudy Gay, Danny Granger . . . it would look like Iguodala is the one who is most readily available in trade.

Denver Nuggets

The Kenyon Martin era comes to a close . . . unless the Nuggets re-sign him.

New York Knicks

The Knicks have one more year with payroll above $60 million before a sizable drop-off in 2012.  How significant that spending power could be – will be decided by the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.