A new era in Golden State
The Warriors finally had some success. They had made the playoffs two straight seasons, they were winning games on a regular basis and they had a great young talent in Antonio Mcdyess. However, things quickly spiralled out of control. Controversy surrounded the Warriors, an exodus of talented players followed and it all summed up with the removal of the Warriors GM and font office staff. The Warriors were in a state of flux and uncertainty. They were a team with no GM and no directions.
News then came in of the hiring ofhornetstime247; the past GM of the Toronto Raptors, to take over the controls of the Warriors franchise. Nobody could of predicted the moves that were to follow the new GMs arrival. In a shocking series of events that caught everyone by surprise the Warriors made a huge splash in the FA market by signing 3 of the leagues top young FAs: C Ernest Brown, PF Jerome Moiso and SG Courtney Alexander to large, multiyear contracts. The signings of Alexander and Moiso were largely applauded by league officials but it was the signing of unproven center Ernest Brown that had some people scratching their heads in bewilderment. "This is a guy that averaged 6ppg and 5rpg last year being a backup to Shaq and he got 11 mill a year?!? I guess if your big you'r gonna get paid in the NBA no matter what" Said one unnamed lague official when asked about the signing. However, hornetstime247 defended the signing saying Brown can provide things on the basketball court that many players in this league simply can not.
"Defence is what wins championships and and Ernest Brown has a chance to be one of the best interior defenders in the league. He was not highly touted coming into the league but in his few short years in the league so far he has definitely made some people take notice. He's young, big and can score inside and can defend the paint. Quality centres are a premium but they are a necessity to win big so we paid a premium in order to get him". Said hornetstime247 during a afternoon press conference.
"Courtney Alexander is the guy we brought in to be our go to perimeter scorer. He is a well rounded player, young player who took a big step towards being a star last year in Philly and we hope he can continue that progress with us" "I'd also like to say that we are equally excited about the signing of Jerome Moiso who will be our primary big man of the bench at both the PF and C positions. He's a starting calibre front court player who will anchor our bench unit. We are very excited about him"
Just when Warriors fans were trying to catch their collective breath following the three big FA signing two huge trades were quickly announced that saw the Warriors ship out the 2 assets many people felt they were going build around. The first trade saw Antonio McDyess and Eduardo Najara be traded to New Jersey in exchange for Jermaine O'Neal, Eddie Griffin and Phoenix's 2004 unprotected 1st round pick. The 2nd trade then saw the Warriors trade their 2003 1st round pick to the New York Knicks in exchange for 3 more unprotected 2004 1st round picks, the knicks 2003 second round pick and Corey Maggette. The trades in total give the Warriors a superstar calibre player in the post to pair with Ernest Brown, two young, quality talents in Griffin and Maggette and four 2004 unprotected first round picks.
"It would have been easy for me to come into this job and give away all my best players and just hope we were bad enough to land Lebron James or Dwayne Wade; but I don't believe in losing on purpose, its not fair to our fans, our players or our coaches if I don't provide my best effort to put the best product on the floor I can this year. Every year I am GM of this team our only goal is to win a championship. We feel like we are a playoff team, some other teams out there don't and that inflated the value of our draft pick this year in our eyes. We were shocked to get so much out of our 2003 first rounder. We ended up with 4 draft picks and Corey Maggette who will compete for our starting SF job. We are very happy about that trade" Explained hornetstime247, who then continued to remark on the O'neal deal.
"I'm a huge Jermaine O'Neal fan and the opportunity to get him along with Eddie Griffin and that Phoenix 04 pick was something I couldn't pass up. O'Neal and Brown gives us an incredible interior presence and Moiso and Griffin backing them up only adds to that. That combination is going to be our staple this year and in the future."
"We feel like we are a playoff team. We are young, hungry and motivated to prove the doubters wrong. Our inside presence will separate us from the pack, we just need our young guys to step up and deliver and we have fair that they will do so. Get excited Golden State, its gonna be a fun ride"