By Justin Taylor
The Warriors have no draft picks and no cap space but they
do have some big time issues to address this offseason. It may sound impossible
to retain or replace Jarrett Jack AND Carl Landry under those circumstances but
I’m confident Bob Myers and Joe Lacob will get the job done. I’m convinced the
Warriors will either buy a draft pick, pay the luxury tax this season or do both.
That’s because they know as well as I do that the luxury tax bill will be a one
time fee. After next season the ghosts of Andris Biedrins and Richard Jefferson
will stop haunting the books and everyone will be able to breathe easier.
Nobody would complain about some more home cooking as long as it doesn't cost too much
The recipe to replacing Jack and/or Landry without putting a
dent in that cap space earmarked for a stud in 2014 is easy, right? You just do
exactly what you did to get those two in the first place. You let all of the
big free agent names come off the market and get yourself a couple of solid
veterans on cheap one year deals. There is nothing better than a professional
athlete in a contract year because you know you will get maximum effort every
single night.
Here is my free agent target list which includes what yearly salary I'd pay and for how long; since it's not my money of course. I feel like we need another big man for when Bogut misses games, a power forward and a point guard so those are the only positions I'm looking at.
FULL DISCLOSURE:
Last year I was all about Jason Kidd coming back to the Bay, providing veteran
leadership and a pass first point guard that this roster lacked and still does.
Boy was I wrong on that call. Hopefully I can learn from my mistakes and give
Bob Myers a better road map this season.
Center
Andrew Bynum At what price: $14-$18 million At what length: 5 years
HAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! Yeah right!!!!!!!!!
Can't wait to laugh at whichever NBA team gets this case of indigestion
Chris Kaman At what price: $6-$7
million At what
length: 2 years
It is slim pickings at the center spot. So much so that I
think Kaman will get more than my target price in the first week or two of free
agency. We need more of a rebounder anyways.
Zaza Pachulia At
what price: $4 million At what
length: 1 year
This is a tough guy that might push Ezeli if and when Bogut
goes down. I’ve got a feeling he’d look really good with a change of scenery
and a one year deal.
Joel Pryzbilla At what price: $800k At
what length: 1 year
Haven’t seen him in a couple years but I bet he can still
rebound. Would come super cheap late in free agency which is exactly what the
type of deal I’m targeting.
Jason Collins At
what price: $800k-$900k At
what length: 1 year
This is a last resort and it would be more like paying to
have someone giving Ezeli extra coaching than it would be for anything on the
court.
Power Forward:
Carl Landry At what price: $5-$6 million At what length: 1 year
I’m hoping like hell he opts into his deal but if he gets
more somewhere else I think there will be other highly motivated cheap options
out there.
Elton Brand At what price: $2-$3 million At what length: 2 years
I don’t see the downside if you can get Elton Brand in the
fold to play 15 minutes a night for a couple million a year. He just seems like
a perfect fit to help bring the kids along while still giving you a solid post
presence in spurts.
Nothing like an experienced chef coming off the bench
JJ Hickson At what price: $4-$5 million At what length: 1 year
He was on the short list last year and would still look good
playing here as long as it’s a very short contract. As in, expiring from the
minute the ink dries.
Dejaun Blair At what price: $2-$4 million At what length: 1 year
As long as he’s playing on a one year deal I don’t think his
lack of ACL’s will come back to bite us. At this price the Spurs might want to
keep him but it’s not out of the question.
Andray Blatche At what price: $1 million At what length: 1 years
Stupid, crazy, head case, insanely cheap 8th man.
He’s a steal at that price unless you think he can affect the team’s chemistry,
which I don’t think one knucklehead can.
Jason Maxiell At what price: $5-$6 million At what length: 2 years
I’ve always been a fan and if he came for cheaper I might be
a bigger fan of his than I’ve been of Landrys.
David West At what price: $6-$7 million At what length: 3 years
This is a pipe dream because he’ll go early in the free
agency period but I’m keeping him on my list until he’s gone.
Brandan Wright At what price: $1-$2 million At what length: 3 years
Remember the guy we traded Jason Richardson for? He’s much
better than that guy as long as he’s playing 20 minutes or less a night. That’s
exactly what we need at exactly the price we want to pay.
Point Guards:
Jarrett Jack At what price: $5-$6 million At what length: 2 years
When you look at the list below you’ll see a couple names
that provide a lot of what Jack does for half the price. The Warriors need a
guy that can create his own shot in the lane during crunch time. Even if it
costs a little extra I think he is still one of the top options on this list.
Nate Robinson At what price: $1-$2 million At what length: 2 years
If you thought Jarrett Jack shot you into as many games as
he shot you out of then you probably hate Lil Nate. As a last resort you can do
so much worse than this guy though. He bleeds toughness and his balls might
actually account for half his body weight. No player in the league will take
over more games off the bench for less money.
DJ Augustine At what price: $3-$4 million At what length: 3 years
I’m not a huge fan of DJ but it is a risk I might be willing
to take late in the FA period. If he doesn’t get swooped up early he’ll be
cheap and will be entering his prime in the next few years, just like many
other Warriors.
Spanish style? Yes please.
Jose Calderon At what price: $4-$5 million At what length: 2 years
I’ll be watching every Calderon rumor very closely cause he
is exactly what this roster has needed the last few years; a point guard who
makes the scorers on the floor better with his passing and ability to space the
floor. After making $10 million per over the last handful of years the only
question is how big will his impending pay cut be? All I know is that no other potential 6th
man on this list will mesh better with our mix of shooters and post players.
The big drawback is that he plays even less defense than Curry and Jack if you
can believe that.
Shaun Livingston At what price: $1 million At what length: 1 year
This is another name you might find once every known
commodity is off the table. You could do a lot worse for the money he’ll
command. Just know that he won’t replace 75% of what we got from Jack but he’ll
be an upgrade to the second unit defense.
Earl Watson At
what price: $2-$3 million At
what length: 1 years
I’m not sure what Earl has left but if he’s playing on a one
year deal I bet you get every last drop out of him.
Mo Williams At what price: $4-$5
million At what
length: 2 years
Here is a Jarrett Jack clone for you. Williams will have no
problem being the man on the second unit and taking the biggest shots in any
game. The biggest question here is how big of a pay cut will Mo be willing to
take? He’s definitely not making the $8+ million salary he’s been clearing but
it might not matter. He’ll probably be one of the guys that gets signed in the
first week of the Free Agency period.
Randy Foye At what price: $2-$3 million At what length: 2 years
Another Jarrett Jack lite that will be hitting his prime
very shortly and won’t put too big a dent in the salary cap.
Did I miss anybody? Overpay someone? Let me know!