[h1]Kawakami: A couple of big men for Warriors to target: Kevin Love, Shawn Marion[/h1]
Tim Kawakami
Mercury News Columnist
Article Launched: 05/29/2008 01:37:45 AM PDT
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UCLA's Russell Westbrook, left, Kevin Love (42) and Josh Shipp react during... ( Mark J. Terrill )
This is not a target-rich environment, but I have two bull's-eyes for the Warriors: UCLA's Kevin Love in the draft or the Miami Heat's Shawn Marion by trade.
That's my practical either/or off-season plan for solving the Warriors' immediate and eternal need for a versatile big forward.
As a bonus, if the Warriors find that rare forward, then every other major irritant, including the Baron Davis contract situation and the Don Nelson lame-duck situation, sort of fades into semi-irrelevance.
Get a forward who can shoot and pass. Plug him into a three-man front-line rotation with Brandan Wright and Andris Biedrins.
Assume that somebody like Marion can cover up Monta Ellis' defensive liabilities or somebody like Love can pass it perfectly to Ellis and blend nicely with Biedrins and Wright.
Do any of that, and there's your future core, with or without Davis and Nelson beyond this coming season.
But if the Warriors, picking 14th overall, just draft another project big man who doesn't fit Nellie's system, like Ike Diogu or Patrick O'Bryant, they gain almost nothing.
So it's Love in the June 26 draft, which means the Warriors have to figure out if he will fall to their 14th pick (unlikely) or if they can trade up to get him.
Or it's Marion from Miami by trade, which means it would have to be for Davis, whether or not both players exercise their June 30 opt-out clauses. (I doubt either will, so you can trade them straight up.)
I've
tried to come up with hundreds of alternatives, but Love and Marion are the best and brightest options that can survive plausible reality checks.
For instance: I think the Clippers are going to make it nearly impossible to land Elton Brand; Kansas State's Michael Beasley is not attainable for the Warriors; Seattle's Chris Wilcox is no improvement over Al Harrington; and I'd guess that, as always, quality restricted free agents (Josh Smith, Emeka Okafor, among others) are staying put.
So let's break down the two possibilities . . .
Why Love could work: There's a slight chance Love's lack of athleticism might cause him to slip to 14, in which case the Warriors' front office would be enormously pleased. My guess is that Love is their guy and has been their guy for months.
Interestingly, Davis played with Love in some UCLA pickup games and I'm told that Davis' inner circle, which can be brutal on young players, thinks that Love's game is very translatable to the NBA.
Love might measure much shorter than his listed 6-foot-9 at this week's Orlando pre-draft camp and he'll never be explosive, but he has lost some weight and has shown superb passing skills and a developing outside shot, which is perfect for the Warriors' style.
I doubt the Warriors want to choose from the expected big-man/athlete grab bag at picks 12-20: JaVale McGee, Darrell Arthur, Robin Lopez, Marreese Speights. I don't think Nellie would play any of those guys next season, especially since he has Wright and Biedrins.
But Love also could go as high as No. 3 to Minnesota, No. 5 to Memphis or, more likely, anywhere from Nos. 9 through 12 (Charlotte, New Jersey, Indiana, Sacramento).
So the Warriors should target Milwaukee and the eighth spot. Would the Bucks flop picks if the Warriors offered to use their $9.9 million trade exception to take on Bobby Simmons' terrible contract? How about the exception plus next year's No. 1?
I'd go as far as offering Wright in the deal - since he duplicates Biedrins in Nelson's system - but I hear that the Warriors will not be trading Wright.
If none of that works on draft night, on to Plan B . . .
Why Marion could work: This possibility opened up when Miami got the No. 2 pick instead of No. 1, because Chicago might grab point guard Derrick Rose first. That would leave Miami with Beasley at No. 2, which might not work smoothly with Marion.
Hmm, Miami could have an instant Eastern Conference playoff-ready roster with Beasley and Dwyane Wade . . . if Pat Riley could just import a proven point guard.
Assuming they don't opt out, Marion and Davis would have almost identical monster one-year contracts remaining. Marion loves to play fast and might get big money from the Warriors over three or four seasons. Davis needs a new team to pay him big money.
The Warriors could draft a point guard at 14 to pair with Ellis - D.J. Augustin or Russell Westbrook - or draft a project big man (easier to do if you have Marion) and try to trade for a big point guard to replace Baron.
Hey, these two options are at least as realistic for the Warriors as Kevin Garnett was last summer - and for about two minutes last draft night, the Warriors thought they had KG.
You never know what Chris Mullin will do, but you know he's searching for a versatile forward. Love and Marion are in the crosshairs. The hunt continues.
any thoughts? I honestly think we should draft DJ Augustin at #14 if he's there. I'm not too crazy about drafting another project. By the way I hate that Wilcox/watson deal for Harrington and #14. I want Harrington out, but not for Wilcox. I hope Mullin can shake things up, but I don't see us making any kind of deal moving up in the draft. It would be nice to have Love but it ain't happening.
