1. Warriors trade away MONTA ELLIS, Ekpe Udoh, and Kwame Brown for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson.
Uhh, yeah, you read right. Stephen Jackson. I'm sorry but I have to flat out be honest - I would take ANY player in the entire league over Stephen Jackson. You know the sad sorry chap sitting on the bench that we all wish we didn't have anymore - Andris Beidrins? Yeah, I'd keep him over Stephen Jackson. Jackson is a diva, a whiner, a P.I.T.A. (figure out the anagram guys, this blog has to stay S.F.W.) and POISON in the locker room. I don't care what his stats or figures are or could be, he only ever wants money, and is unhappy everywhere. Of all people, HE'S coming back to the Bay?! Do the new Warriors front office even remember when Jackson was doing everything he could to get AWAY from here?! And now he's coming back?!?!?! You've got to be kidding me!!! PLEASE get rid of him before he gets to play a game here.
So that's really the part of the trade that bothers me the most. Let's work on these issues in order of most to least severe shall we?
Here's the thing that bothers me second most. Tied for second place: Is Bogut going to stay healthy long enough to be worth it? And really, Ekpe Udoh is gone? Sure Bogut has been having only "freak" incidents, (as opposed to Curry with his perpetual Achilles ankle...) but how many freak incidents can a guy have? The number one important thing in sports is to stay healthy so we can count on you. Yeah I know he's a big guy and he can put up stats, but Bogut needs to prove it to me. As for Udoh, I'm sad we don't get to see him develop more here in the Bay. He was really starting to show his colors, and I was liking it.
Lastly - Monta Ellis. Don't get me wrong, emotionally this is a total downer for me. Monta is EASILY my most favorite player on the Warriors team. I don't own ANY "player" merchandise for the Warriors EXCEPT for Monta Ellis. As he said in his iconic interview when he was new, "I'm a Warriors, I'll always be a Warriors." I will wear my Ellis 8 Warriors shirt forever - in my heart, Ellis is a star, and he will always be my favorite Warrior. I will miss him SORELY and it will be eternally strange seeing him come back with the opposing team.
Now, rationally speaking - I'm actually not entirely bummed about Ellis moving on. Yes he's amazing, but we know and have always known that he's not enough for this team to be a winning team. In order to get all the pieces needed, something had to give. When Ellis spoke after the trade, he also wasn't bummed (the team on the other hand was morose, somber even), and mentioned that he felt it was time to move on. I'm a little sad Ellis isn't going to a playoff team, for all he's capable of, I feel he truly deserves the recognition and opportunities that would come with belonging to a big team. But I wish him all the best of course, and will continue to look for him in games.
Right now the team is doomed obviously, and everyone knows it. Am I sold on the Warriors new front office? No. They will have a lot of proving to do, and will have to win my trust and respect, and then maybe my love.
2. 49ers Sign Randy Moss to One-Year Contract.
A classmate jokingly asked me today if my Randy Moss Niner Jersey was in the mail and I unflinchingly said, "uhh, no." My jury is still out on Moss. I see it going either one of two ways - either next year the niners are a post-season dynamo again and Moss is the #1 Wide Receiver, or Moss is poisonous to the chemistry and dynamic of this team and he's out before regular season ends. I actually don't really want either to happen, but I think one of them will, and though I unfortunately am leaning more towards the latter of the two, I hope that Harbaugh and the team saw something real and that Moss will pull through and learn to be a team player (ha) for the Niners. (Plus he's old....sports is one field where you definitely DON'T get better with age.)
Well, that's my two cents on what's new around the bay, it's back to practice for me, and then later, more work documents to handle.
Be back soon!
