Golden State Warriors Offseason: Warriors Extend Stephen Curry Through 2011-2012

ESPN.com reports that the Warriors have already picked up the 3rd year option for rising-star point-guard Stephen Curry. If he keeps up his improvement, makes you wonder what kind of max deal he might sign in the near future.

Curtis Pashelka of MercuryNews.com has a statement from Golden State Warriors general manager Larry Riley regarding the signing of free agent forward Louis Amundson.

“Lou is a player who will provide us with many of the intangibles that help teams win basketball games,” Warriors general manager Larry Riley said in a prepared statement. “He’s a high-energy guy who can rebound, run the floor, defend and get to loose balls.”

More than three weeks after the Warriors reportedly first expressed interest in free-agent power forward Louis Amundson, they agreed to contract terms with him. Marc Stein of ESPN and Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports say the former Phoenix Suns fan-favorite is coming to the Bay Area on a two-year deal worth almost $5 million, one which includes a player option for the second season.

Amundson, a four-year veteran of three teams, owns career averages of 4 points and 3.6 rebounds in 13 minutes per game. He is regarded as a hustle-and-energy player who can make a difference by doing the dirty work off the bench.

On Wednesday, the Warriors officially announced the signing of free-agent swingman Rodney Carney. The team did not disclose the details of his contract, but it’s likely that he signed a minimum-salary contract for one year. He played under those terms for the Philadelphia 76ers last season and failed to impress, scoring 4.7 points in 12.4 minutes per game.

According to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com, the Warriors are close to signing free-agent swingman Rodney Carney:

Howard-Cooper is right: Carney has yet to break out after four years of mediocre-at-best play. For his career, Carney’s averaged 6.1 points and 2.0 rebounds, but has converted only 42.2 percent of his shot attempts. However, he could be useful as a back-end rotation wing in Don Nelson’s offense, due to his athleticism and energy.

Carney, 26, spent the first two years of his career with the 76ers before they dealt him to Minnesota in order to clear cap space to sign Elton Brand. Last year, Carney and the 76ers reunited on a one-year, minimum-salary deal. He posted career lows in scoring (4.7 points) and playing time (12.6 minutes) despite Philadelphia’s lack of depth on the wings.

Free-agent guard Thomas Gardner, who spent last season with the Antwerp Giants, has drawn interest from the Warriors, reports Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld; San Antonio is the other team to express interest in the 6-foot-5 Gardner, whose NBA resume isn’t exactly what one might term extensive.

Gardner, now 25, played in four games for the Bulls during the 2007/08 season, and then appeared in 16 games for the Hawks the year after. The Grizzlies cut him during training camp last fall, at which point he signed in Antwerp. But it looks now that he may be poised to return stateside, and the Warriors are among the interested parties.

Gardner averaged 2.3 points per game at the NBA level, but averaged 12.0 points in his three years at Missouri, including 19.7 in his third and final season.

Curry made the final cut after Rajon Rondo withdrew, and will definitely be participating in the FIBAs World Championships in a few weeks.

With one exhibition game remaining and just four days out from the tip of the FIBA World Championship for Men, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo today announced that Warriors guard Stephen Curry will represent the United States at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

Joining Curry on the 12-man 2010 USA World Championship Team will be: Chauncey Billups (Denver Nuggets); Tyson Chandler (Dallas Mavericks); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder); Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies); Eric Gordon (Los Angeles Clippers); Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers); Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers); Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves); Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Lakers); Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls); and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder).

Considering the need for outside shooting in international basketball (especially from the point position), it seemed obvious that Curry would be a favorite to make it. Rondo’s withdrawal seems to only confirm the need for playing that up-tempo style of basketball Curry thrives in.

(Thanks to Rated-R Superstar for the tip!)

Free-agent power forward Jeff Adrien has yet to play in the NBA, but he drew a little closer to achieving that goal yesterday when he agreed to join the Golden State Warriors for training camp. Gary Washburn reports the former UConn forward will indeed join the Ws when training camp begins.

Adrien went undrafted in 2009 and played in the Spanish league. Last month, as SB Nation’s Scott Schroeder reports, he said he’s open to going through the NBA’s D-League and forgoing playing overseas again.

Adrien, 24, played for the Orlando Magic’s summer league team in early July. Stats available on the Magic’s website indicate Adrien averaged 8.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game during summer-league play.

Though the 6-foot-7 Adrien doesn’t have the size of the typical NBA power forward, he’s nonetheless able to score against taller defenders thanks to his agility, soft touch, and ability to draw fouls; that he attempted 35 free throws in his four games with Orlando attests to that last fact.

The Warriors have a better track record than most teams when it comes to identifying overlooked talent such as Adrien—look at how C.J. Watson, Anthony Morrow, and Anthony Tolliver turned out—so there’s a chance he could stick. We’ll see what happens when training camp convenes in early October.

Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports the Warriors are among the teams expressing interest in Louis Amundson, a 27-year-old power forward who spent the last two seasons with the Phoenix Suns. He averaged career-highs in scoring (4.7 points), rebounds (4.4), minutes (14.8), and field-goal shooting (55.1 percent) in 79 appearances, all off the bench.

Amundson’s energy and hustle could help the Warriors’ front line this season, were he to sign with them. Golden State’s only healthy big men at present are David Lee, Brandan Wright, Andris Biedrins, and Dan Gadzuric.

The Hornets, Pacers, and “an unidentified fourth team” are all in the hunt for Amundson, says Stein.

Earlier we noted that new Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob’s arrival might mean the end of the Don Nelson era.

David Aldridge of NBA.com now writes in support of that sentiment, saying Lacob is a “first-rate” owner but has change on his brain.

I think he wants to get rid of Nellie but doesn’t want to buy him out at the full rate. If that happens, while I think Keith Smart deserves a crack at the full-time gig, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Warriors engage in a full search.

Smart, of course, is currently an assistant coach with the team.

For everything Warriors, head over to SB Nation’s Golden State of Mind.

Golden State Warriors center Andris Biedrins isn’t happy with his current employer, according to this interview he conducted with a media outlet in his home country of Latvia. In this translation provided by Warriors World, he dishes on several topics, including the decision he and his agent made to move away from the Warriors’ medical staff this summer:

“It was me and my agent’s decision, we decided to go our own way. It’s a risk, but, at the same time, after the first injury early in the year, the Warriors said that it’s nothing special. When I had to do surgery, my agent and I, we were a bit disappointed, we thought that, maybe, surgery was the right course of action from the start. The franchise naturally tried everything to keep me in, because if I had surgery early on then I might have missed the entire season. We felt like the team made me play to quick after the first injury; so we decided to go our own way on this – our doctors and experts.”

Biedrins also touched on his strained relationship with coach Don Nelson and his unhappiness with his fellow Warriors, saying, “most of my teammates are egoists.” Ouch.

There’s reason for Biedrins to be frustrated. His minutes dropped from 30 per game two years ago to 23.1 last season, and his scoring average cratered, from a career-best 11.9 per game to 5.0 per game over the same span.

According to ShamSports.com, the web’s best NBA salary database, Biedrins’ contract will pay him $36 million over the next four seasons, which is something to consider if the Warriors wish to cut ties with him. But there’s no reason why he can’t bounce back after a rough year. With new management and perhaps a new coach in place, he could get a fresh start in Golden State, where he’s spent his entire six-year career. And, as Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk points out, he “seems to have figured out how to be his own man,” so he has that going for him as well.

Free-agent big man Anthony Tolliver is leaving the Golden State Warriors to join the Minnesota Timberwolves, reports Chris Tomasson of NBA FanHouse. The deal is worth $4.8 million over two years, according to Tomasson’s sources.

As we pointed out last week, Tolliver was weighing his options, which were to return to Golden State or to sign with Minnesota. He’s chosen the latter.

Tolliver averaged 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds for the Warriors last season in 44 games, with 29 starts.

Two weeks ago, Chris Tomasson of NBA FanHouse reported the Warriors may be interested in bringing back versatile big man Anthony Tolliver, who averaged a surprising 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds last year willing in for a number of Golden State’s felled power forwards and centers.

Now, it looks like closure may be coming on that front, as Darren Wolfson of the Star Tribune reports that a decision on Tolliver’s future is “expected in next 2 days.” Wolfson says Tolliver spoke with Timberwolves GM David Kahn this morning, which indicates that his decision may have come down to the Warriors and Timberwolves.

On July 1, the Warriors did not make Tolliver a qualifying offer, which stripped them of their right to automatically retain him by matching any offer another team made for his services.

Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie doesn’t see how the recently-signed Jannero Pargo can help the Golden State Warriors, not with the “similarly styled” Stephen Curry and Charlie Bell already on the team. He also doesn’t understand why any NBA team continues to bank on Pargo helping.

We’re looking at a two-year contract at $2.4 million, which is very little by NBA standards, but how many times does it have to be beaten over teams’ heads that NBA squads are worse off when Pargo sees minutes? Even if it’s for only a few minutes. I don’t mean to sound so cold, there, but Pargo is just a type of player that doesn’t really help things, even if he’s just there for spot duty, or a guy to fill out the practice roster.

Royce Young of CBSSports.com writes that the new owner of the Golden State Warriors, Joe Lacob, isn’t exactly giving head coach Don Nelson a seal of approval. Young quotes Lacob’s interview with KNBR.

“It’s not really whether Nellie is here this year or not. He’s not going to be here beyond this year, that is clear,” Lacob said. “His contract ends and I could tell you, he would tell you, this is last year IF he coaches. We are going to be thinking about the future. The only question is when we begin that future and whether this is the right thing to have him coaching during this period. We’ll have to make that decision.”

Don Nelson, who is the NBA’s all-time winningest coach, has his contract expire after next season. Lacob said he prefers a younger coach and mentioned specifically Scott Brooks for the Thunder. He didn’t mention Brooks as a candidate for the Warrior job, but just as an example of the type of coach Lacob is interested in.

The Warriors have signed seven-year NBA veteran Jannero Pargo according to Yahoo! Sports’ Marc Spears.

Golden State has signed free agent guard Jannero Pargo to a two-year, $2.4 million contract, his agent Mark Bartelstien told Y! Sports.

The soon-to-be 31-year-old Pargo averaged 5.5 points and 1.4 assists while shooting a floundering 34% from the field with the Chicago Bulls last season.

He will more than likely be the primary backup to Stephen Curry for the upcoming season.

Yao Ming invited him personally, reports Marcus Thompson.

Houston Rockets center Yao Ming is having his annual Charity basketball game in Taipei on Wednesday. All-World center Dwight Howard is playing. So is rookie point guard sensation Brandon Jennings. And NBA’s Most Improved Player Aaron Brooks.

But with a lineup like that already set, Yao Ming felt the need to pick up the phone and call Lin personally to invite him to play. Lin accepted and is leaving tonight. Not bad for a guy who would be doing well to get 10 minutes a game as a rookie.

His parents are both Taiwanese, so it’s no huge surprise Lin would get the invite. The big question is will China embrace him as much as Taiwan will? People might think it’s a given, but there are some bigger geopolitical issues at work here. This’ll be the first step of introducing Lin to Asia, and you figure it’s the first of many.

LIN: My GPA was not a 4.2. That’s been the rumor. It’s not even possible. My friends have been absolutely killing me about that. I had a 3.1 at Harvard.

In a Q/A with San Jose Mercury sports writer Tim Kawakami, Jeremy Lin clears the air about his grades among other interesting things. An interesting read for sure as he recounts to Kawakami, and in more detail than most interviews or features, some of the struggles with racial stereotypes lobbed at him during his college days and how he responded to it. He’s been an underdog and still is one, but looks like he’s finally turning heads and changing perceptions of what it means to have a high basketball IQ.

Ryan Leong is reporting that Lin is officially a Warrior. Here is the press release:

The Golden State Warriors have signed free agent guard Jeremy Lin to a contract, the team announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced.

Lin, 21, recently completed a four-year stint at Harvard, where he averaged 12.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 115 career outings. The 6’3” guard became the first player in Ivy League history to record at least 1,450 points, 450 rebounds, 400 assists and 200 steals. He was an All-Ivy League First Team selection this past season (2009-10), when he averaged 16.4 points, 4.5 assists, 4.4 rebounds and shot 51.9% from the floor in 29 games. A native of Palo Alto, Lin’s senior season at Harvard was highlighted by a 30-point, 9-rebound and 3-assist performance against #13 ranked Connecticut.

After not being selected in the 2010 NBA Draft, Lin played for the Dallas Mavericks in the 2010 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas earlier this month. He averaged 9.8 points and 3.2 rebounds in 18.6 minutes in five outings with the Mavericks, shooting a team-leading 54.5% from the floor.

As the captain of the Palo Alto High School basketball team as a senior in 2006, Lin guided the Vikings to the State Championship with a victory over Mater Dei at ARCO Arena in Sacramento.

Marc Stein of ESPN.com provides new contract details in the Golden State Warriors’s pursuit of Jeremy Lin, an undrafted guard from Harvard who lit up the Las Vegas Summer League.

The Golden State Warriors are closing in on signing summer-league sensation Jeremy Lin, according to sources with knowledge of the talks.

Sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday that the Warriors, by offering to guarantee more than half of Lin’s potential first-year salary of nearly $500,000, have reached an agreement in principle with the point guard from Harvard.

Lin is expected to receive a multiyear deal, sources said.

For more on the signing, head over to SB Nation’s Golden State of Mind.

From the Dallas Morning News:

Jeremy Lin’s agent, Roger Montgomery, just confirmed that his client has decided to sign with the Warriors. More details to come, but basically, Montgomery said the deciding factor is that Lin, a Palo Alto, Calif. native, “is getting to go home. That’s every player’s dream.”

The Mavs blog on the site provides a little more on the quote:

"That was one of the major factors, is that he gets a chance to go full-circle and come back home and play for his hometown team," Montomery said. "That's always a young man's dream, to get a chance to play professional sports for the team you grew up rooting for."

What makes this even sweeter is that Lin wanted to come back home. It’s always great to see athletes return to their roots.

As Samuel Lam reported earlier, the Warriors are rumored to be signing Jeremy Lin. Warriors beat writer Marcus Thompson II adds more to this intriguing “Summer madness” that is the Warriors off-season:

The Warriors fan said he emailed new owner Joe Lacob asking Lacob to sign Jeremy Lin, the Palo Alto-bred guard from Harvard. And the fan could not believe that Lacob took the time to respond to his email. So you can imagine how excited that fan will be when he finds out that Lacob not only answered the email, but he also … excitement warning … ANSWERED HIS REQUEST!!!!!

Is this really how it went down? Hope so because that is a story worth repeating at the water cooler with friends and co-workers. With Warriors poor luck with their new teammates getting injured, lets hope Jeremy Lin doesn’t break his hand signing his contract.

Marc Stein of ESPN via Twitter:

Warriors closing in on signing of Mavs summer-league sensation Jeremy Lin. ESPN.com link forthcoming

That’s the only info we have out right now. More to come as it becomes available. It now comes full circle for that piece I wrote back during the draft.

HoopsWorld reports:

The Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors have completed a sign-and-trade for C.J. Watson, according to sources. Watson, who was a restricted free agent, will be dealt to Chicago in exchange for a second round pick. He has agreed to a three year, $10.2 million deal with the Bulls.

Solid pickup for the Bulls if he does go; it provides Derrick Rose with an instant backup who could augment Chicago's strength at point guard while providing Rose some much needed rest during the regular season. Plus he had a knack for making big shots off the bench.

As for the Warriors, this goes down as the first real move from Lacob and Gruber, although they haven't technically become owners yet. Steinmetz provides perspective: 

But with a first-year salary that could have started at close to $4 million, it’s likely the Warriors’ brain trust deemed that too steep. That brain trust obviously now includes Lacob and Guber, who agreed to purchase the team from Chris Cohan last Thursday.

I guess it’d make sense that Nellieball athletes don’t have spotters. Matt Steinmetz with the report.

Udoh tore ligaments in his left wrist on July 4, while participating in what the Warriors called a supervised workout among Udoh, Stephen Curry and summer-league invitee Joe Ingles.

According to sources, Udoh sustained the injury while weightlifting that night. It is unknown whether the wrist was 100 percent at the time or not.

According to Marcus Thompson, it's down to Ellison and the 24 Hour Fitness founder.

The field of potential buyers was whittled down to four finalists: Mastrov's group, Ellison's group, a group head by Texas-based Wall Street financier David Bonderman; and one that includes Mandalay Entertainment Group chairman Peter Guber.

Last week, Warriors owner Chris Cohan, who hired Galatioto Sports Partners to sell the franchise, trimmed the list of prospective owners in half. Cohan chose the two highest bidders after each group submitted purchase of sale agreements, which included binding bids.

The winner could come later today. Stay tuned!

Nothing confirmed yet, but according to Matt Steinmetz, it's looking likelier that the Silicon Valley mogul is on his way to being the winning bidder for the Warriors.

An NBA source said Tuesday that he'd heard over the past week that Oracle software billionaire Larry Ellison, in tandem with the team's current minority ownership group, had emerged as the front-runner.

That same source also said that he understood that the group led by 24-Hour Fitness owner Mark Mastrov was second in the bidding.

Early Tuesday afternoon, a Bay Area-based source with knowledge of the bidding process, said that he'd be surprised if Ellison's group did not come out on top.

Rusty Simmons of the SF Chronicle reports it's a torn ligament in his left wrist and will receive surgery on Wednesday:

A Warriors news release said the 6-foot-10 power forward from Baylor was injured in a supervised workout at the team's Oakland facility July 4. Udoh said it happened that day while attempting a dunk; point guard Stephen Curry said it happened while catching a routine pass from director of athletic development Mark Grabow; and shooting guard Reggie Williams noticed Udoh's wrist was hurting days earlier, while Udoh was bench pressing.

So where was the injury from? Well...

One Warriors decision-maker said he believes Udoh was hurt while working with a personal trainer in Atlanta during the week between the draft and when he returned to Oakland. "We're sure it happened earlier, and Ekpe certainly should have told us, but that doesn't change our minds about him," he said.

If the Warriors brass wants to show consistency in the matter of disciplining a player for lying to management because of an injury, they have one of two choices.

1) Suspend him for some period of time.
2) Trade Monta Ellis.

Why do I get the feeling they'll end up doing both?

Morrow looks like he's gone via sign-and-trade. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports:

Nets and Warriors are finalizing sign-and-trade for Anthony Morrow that will return a $4 million trade exception to GState, sources tell Y!

Well, at least Warriors fans can rest assured they aren't leaving without something for Morrow!

Update from Steinmetz. (thanks Rated-R Superstar!)

MT2 is correct about base year. Warriors will get trade exception worth $2.6 million from Nets for Morrow

Steinmetz talked to Morrow earlier today, and from the pretty sad nature of the quotes, it’s not looking like he’ll be a Warrior much longer.

“Both places I feel would be great opportunities,” Morrow said. “The Warriors gave me my first chance. I love the Bay. But it’s a business and that’s what it comes down to. I really thank God for the fans in the Bay and thank God for the confidence the Nets have in me. I feel like it’s a win-win, either way.”

…

“I’m hearing a lot of different things,” Morrow said. “I know they’re interested, but if they can’t do it, I understand.”

Usually you don’t feel sorry for professional athletes, but you can just feel that Morrow was looking forward to playing with David Lee. Now he might be Courtney Lee’s backup on a LeBron-less New Jersey squad.

Three years, 11 million to be precise, reports Rusty Simmons.

The 6-foot-9, 24-year-old was the 19th overall pick out of high school in the 2004 draft. He averaged 7.1 points and 3.7 rebounds for Miami last season and is considered a plus defender. "We're looking at several 3-men, and we feel like we're close to a deal," Riley said. A Warriors source said Wright "is the direction we're going to go."

I'm not certain if this is the small forward most Warriors fans were thinking of when Riley made the promise of getting a 3-man, but take what you can get at this point I guess. How much this influences the Anthony Morrow situation remains yet to be seen, but clearly Wright is a complimentary piece and probably won't be in a starting role next season.

And if he IS starting...well...yikes.

Steinmetz also reports the following figures:

I'm hearing numbers on Dorell Wright are 3 years, $11.4 million: $3.5 ... $3.8 ... $4.1

So don’t think he’s doomed to fly east yet, especially since Golden State does have cap flexibiltiy without going over the luxury tax.

While it is true the Warriors were hoping to bring Morrow back at a lesser number, the fact remains that $4 million per season is not an outrageous figure. And the Warriors like Morrow. A lot.

The Warriors feel like they “discovered” Morrow, signing him in 2008 after he went undrafted out of Georgia Tech. He’s now one of the best 3-point shooters in the league and one of the hardest workers on the team.

Morrow is far from a complete player, but there is no doubt that his game is still growing. And let’s not forget, Morrow is as classy as they come when it comes to being a teammate and professional.

Bad news for Warriors fans already saddened by the Udoh injury.

Art Garcia of NBA.com tweets.

Ekpe Udoh expected to see at least two specialists for injured wrist. Nellie worries rook could be out for “months.”

Alarmist enough for you? Talk about an eventful Friday night for Dubs fans.

Wojo has a short writeup on the Morrow signing, attributing the financial instability in Golden State to the unlikelihood of keeping Morrow.

The Golden State Warriors aren’t expected to match the offer, a league source said. Morrow has to take a physical Monday before he can sign the offer sheet. The Warriors will then have seven days to decide to match.

...

With the franchise in financial flux because of an impending sale and having just committed $80 million to forward David Lee(notes), the Warriors aren’t expected to spend to keep Morrow.

Sebastian Pruti at Nets Are Scorching says not so fast:

I personally think that the Warriors “shrugging off” of Marrow could be a smokescreen.  This is because if teams know a restricted free agent will have his offer matched, they will just jack up the offers forcing teams to pay big if they want to keep their guy.  The Nets could have signed Morrow to a good deal thinking that the Warriors won’t match, just to have the Warriors turn around and match it (This is kind of what happened with Marcin Gortat last year).

Matt Steinmetz is with Larry Riley at NBA Summer League in Vegas, and he managed to get this comment from the Golden State GM on Twitter. It might be close.

Larry Riley hasn’t heard “officially” about morrow/offer sheet but he believes it.
…
Riley said Ws will have to decide about whether to match. I think that’s a little higher than warriors want to go but they do like him

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweets:

Anthony Morrow has agreed to a 3-year offer sheet worth approximately $12 million with New Jersey, a league source tells Y!

It's another decent move by New Jersey, who are slowly starting to rebuild from their horrid 2010 campaign. The question is will Golden State let their fifth player from last season go?

Once the summer of LeBron comes to a conclusion, we’ll be able to look to the Las Vegas Summer League action. The Warriors have a team involved and SB Nation’s own Ridiculous Upside has a preview of the Warriors Vegas squad.

Apparently the Warriors and Knicks are working on a sign-and-trade deal exchanging David Lee for Anthony Randolph and spare parts. MTII breaks the story:

The Warriors won’t offer Lee a max deal, but one source suggested Golden State’s ceiling is a six-year deal starting at about $13 million. New Jersey is still an option, also the Minnesota Timberwolves — who Lee visited earlier this month and was reportedly impressed.

Are the Warriors overpaying for Lee’s services? Is this just inflation because of Amir Johnson’s astronomical pay raise? Apparently this isn’t a done deal yet. Contingent upon that one guy… what’s his name? I think LeBron?

If James announces he’s decided to play anywhere but New York, the Warriors are in play for Lee. The Warriors are one of a few teams in the mix for Lee via a sign-and-trade with the Knicks. And the Warriors have an offer the Knicks favor, a team source said.

The Warriors announced today that 2010 first round pick Ekpe Udoh injured his left wrist at the Warriors practice facility and will be unavailable for the team’s Las Vegas Summer League team.

Earlier today, Damon Bruce was discussing Warriors ownership and how badly the team needed to be sold, with the injury being one more sign of the problems with ownership. Obviously they didn’t injure him themselves, but it’s definitely some bad ju-ju over in the East Bay.

There’s no word yet on whether Udoh will need surgery. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area is reporting that the Warriors are one of a handful of teams interested in trying to work a sign-and-trade deal with the Knicks to acquire power forward David Lee. The rumored addition of Amare Stoudemire would make the five year veteran expendable.

Any such deal would include one (or more) of Monta Ellis, Anthony Randolph, or Andris Biedrins. There are of course plenty of questions surrounding Lee. Steinmetz mentioned a few of them:

However, the questions about Lee are not dissimilar than the questions about Ellis. How meaningful are his numbers given his team’s lack of success? Why doesn’t Lee help the Knicks win more games? How much do Lee’s numbers impact a game?

Brian brought up the possibility earlier of Miller to the Bay, but Matt Steimnitz dismisses the possibility off the top; interest is just too high for the Dubs’s middling offer to be considered.

Yes, the Warriors made a call to Mike Miller’s agent, Arn Tellem, but that will likely be the end of it. Miller is drawing significant interest around the league and seems certain to be offered more than the mid-level.

That takes the Warriors out of the running, unless we’re talking sign-and-trade, which is remote.

And if the latest rumor is true from FoxSports…well, he might not be too far away for Warriors fans to start booing.

Orlando's quest for backup points for Jameer Nelson continues unimpeded. The latest target by Otis Smith is Golden State's secondary 1, according to John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com.

Upgrading the depth behind standout point guard Jameer Nelson is a major point of emphasis. Golden State restricted free agent C.J. Watson is a target of the Smith’s as is veteran Steve Blake. Smith admitted that the team was active just after midnight Thursday, the start of the free-agent courting period, expressing "interest to the guys that we really like.’’

After the jump, get Ben Q. Rock's take on Watson from Orlando Pinstriped Post, the Magic SB Nation blog.

Versatile play making small forward you say? Rusty Simmons has Williams on the way out of Atlanta. (HT SB Nation Atlanta)

Atlanta is shopping small forward Marvin Williams, who regressed a little after a promising 2008-09 season. The Warriors have already contacted the Hawks and might call Houston, if swingmen Trevor Ariza and Shane Battier are really on the trade block.

This makes sense, since the Joe Johnson max contract pretty much floods the cap for Atlanta and requires unloading some of the weight--Williams was the logical choice here.

Whether Golden State would want to take on that contract is another thing though. And who would Golden State have to give up to make this happen?

Larry Riley has been quoted as saying that the Warriors need a small forward with playmaking skills and Warriors beat-writer Marcus Thompson II provides a few names, some who have now been arguably overpaid in this off-season spend-a-thon. By the way money is flying around today, you would think the NBA is recession proof.

If Amir Johnson (see below) is getting $34 million for doing next to nothing for the Raptors (unless they know something we don’t know about him, like him being the next Chris Bosh), will the Warriors end up splurging or have they learned from their past mistakes? Looks like Mike Miller might be our best bet based off MTII’s assessment:

6. SF Mike Miller (unrestricted)
DATA: 30 years old, 6-8, 218
His production has dropped the past two years since leaving Memphis. That should drop his price, too. At his best, he’s a superior shooter who also can distribute and rebound. At his worst, he’s passive and soft, especially on defense.

Passive and soft? Looks like he’ll fit in just fine.

Matt Steinmetz reports.

Amir Johnson re-signed by Raptors. He was on Warriors’ radar before drafting Udoh.

However, Marc Spears reports the Raptors signed him. For a pretty hefty fee.

Amir Johnson(notes) has reached agreement on a five-year, $34 million contract to return to the Toronto Raptors, his agent Kevin Bradbury told Yahoo! Sports on Thursday.

To which Steinmetz tweeted…

Amir Johnson wouldn’t have been on Warriors’ radar if they knew that’s kind of money he was gonna get.

In the NBA, you need a strong outside shooter who can step into his shots to win titles. Ray Allen, Trevor Ariza, Derek Fisher, Bruce Bowen, Robert Horry, Rip Hamilton Steve Kerr have proven that corollary over the past decade and a half.

That strategy seems to be in play here, as a bunch of NBA playoff teams are looking to acquire one of the best shooters in the game today. Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets this:

G-State restricted free agent Anthony Morrow has slew of interest, including Spurs, Celtics, Lakers, Blazers, Clips and Jazz, sources say.

It’s hard to say which place he would fit in the best if the 46 percent three point shooter (seriously, I look at that stat and shake my head in bewilderment) decided to look elsewhere. Boston probably works the best if Ray Allen departs (Utah too if Kyle Korver is gone), although L.A. and San Antonio could use a sharpshooter with Fisher aging and Roger Mason disappointing respectively.

Dave Krieger of the Denver Post is reporting the Nuggets are reportedly trying to swing a trade for Warriors big man Andris Biedrins, but are having some trouble due to a lack of trade pieces:

The difficulty in acquiring Biedrins is one more sign of the trouble the Nuggets are having this summer trying to improve an aging team with a swollen payroll under an owner determined to stem the franchise’s financial losses. The best they can offer is J.R. Smith, who doesn’t have much trade value at the moment, or Kenyon Martin, who has only one year left on his contract, but a year with a hefty $16.5 million price tag.

Much more to come on this one.

The news is now official:

The Golden State Warriors have extended qualifying offers to guards Anthony Morrow and C.J. Watson, the team announced today, making both players restricted free agents. Per team policy, financial terms were not disclosed.

Read more: Warriors Extend Qualifying Offers to Morrow, Watson
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