BRANDAN WRIGHT one of the fastest rising stars in the basketball scene.
 |
Warriors' report card
# KELENNA AZUBUIKE, G, 8.5 points per game, 4.0 rebounds per game, 36.4 3-point field-goal percentage: Showed enough strength to hold his own at small forward. Now the question is if some other team likes him enough to throw too many dollars at the restricted free agent. Grade: B # MATT BARNES, F, 6.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.9 assists per game: You cannot underestimate the effect of his mother's death in November, but you also cannot ignore the lack of production -- and the way Don Nelson excised him from practically any meaningful playing time in the final six weeks. Grade: D+ # MARCO BELINELLI, G, 2.9 ppg, 38.7 field-goal percentage: Had an impressive 17-point performance in the season finale. Unfortunately, that game mattered as much as a summer-league contest. Will need to improve his defense to make an impact next season. Grade: Incomplete # ANDRIS BIEDRINS, F/C, 10.5 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 62.6 FG%: Has proven that he's mastered the art of scoring from 5 feet and in. Now must keep polishing up the face-up game he showed in glimpses this season. Unusual skill set makes it hard to peg what kind of offers he'll draw on the restricted free-agent market. Grade: B+ # AUSTIN CROSHERE, F, 3.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 36.1 3-point FG%: Repeated back injuries are never a good sign for a player who will turn 33 in a couple weeks. Grade: C- # BARON DAVIS, G, 21.8 ppg, 7.6 apg, 2.33 steals per game: Playing all 82 games is a fantastic achievement. Unless, of course, you're averaging 39.0 minutes per contest and shoot 38.1 percent for the month of April as your team falls agonizingly short of the playoffs. Grade: A- # MONTA ELLIS, G, 20.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 53.1 FG%: His defensive deficiencies were put on display and exploited by the opposition, but he still more than made up for it at the other end with his offensive efficiency. Grade: A # AL HARRINGTON, F, 13.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 37.5 3-point FG%: It bears watching to see if Harrington, a savvy veteran, is fed up enough to want to try and force a trade -- or if the Warriors will have to dump his $9.2 million salary in similar fashion to last year's draft-day trade of Jason Richardson. Grade: B- # TROY HUDSON, G: Should hopefully be able to play next season after season-ending hip surgery. Grade: Dropped from class # STEPHEN JACKSON, G/F, 20.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.1 apg: It doesn't get any better than putting together a career year on the floor and taking home community-service awards from the team and the league. Think Pacers fans feel regret at having chased him out of town? Grade: A # STEPHANE LASME, F: Second-round pick played 4 seconds for the Warriors before being dropped to make room for DJ Mbenga, but he averaged 1.5 blocks per game in limited minutes with the Miami Heat over the final month. Just for comparison's sake, the Warriors' leading shot blocker, Biedrins, averaged 1.2 per contest. Grade: Dropped from class # DJ MBENGA, C: Could win a title with the Lakers, who scooped him up after he was waived to make room for Chris Webber. Grade: Dropped from class # PATRICK O'BRYANT, C, 1.5 ppg, 1.2 rpg: Warriors career might be best described as "two years of his life he'll never get back." Grade: Incomplete # KOSTA PEROVIC, C, 1.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg: Pushed around Shaquille O'Neal, and is getting talked up by Nelson for more playing time next season. Of course, we heard that kind of thing about Belinelli back in October. Grade: Incomplete # MICKAEL PIETRUS, G/F, 7.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 36.1 3-point FG%: If he'd played the whole season like he did those final two months, you wouldn't be reading this, because the Warriors would be in the playoffs. Grade: B- # C.J. WATSON, G, 3.7 ppg, 1.1 apg: The team has an option on his services for next season, although it's not fully guaranteed. Grade: C # CHRIS WEBBER, F/C: A feel-good story, but nothing more. Chris Mullin feels Webber helped the Warriors notch an inspirational win over Boston, but his presence also gummed up the works in a terrible loss to a Chicago team missing its three best players. Grade: Dropped from class # BRANDAN WRIGHT, F, 4.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg: The biggest "what if?" of the season is wondering what might have happened had Nelson been willing to run the risk of losing games in December and January to get Brandan Wright ready for March and April. Grade: Incomplete # DON NELSON, coach: Won more games than any Warriors team since 1993-94, but he tried to ride his horses down the stretch, only to find he'd already pushed them past the point of exhaustion. Not finding a way to somehow integrate Wright proved damaging, especially when the Webber fling turned out to be a disaster. Grade: B # CHRIS MULLIN, executive vice president: Took care of the monetary pressures by dealing $10 million man Richardson for promising rookie Brandan Wright, but the veteran reserves he retained or brought in -- such as Barnes, Pietrus, Croshere and Hudson -- collapsed woefully, leaving Nelson bereft of viable options on the bench. Grade: C+
Read more at the www.contracostatimes.com |
BRANDAN WRIGHT ADS OTHER NEWS Syndicated content not available |