The San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami was all over it when the Monta Ellis trade went down Tuesday, sending out an e-mail to Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob to ask some questions about how the trade went down and his overall feelings of the deal as a whole.
Lacob noted that they have fully gone over Bogut's health status and wanted to point out that no off-court situations motivated the team to move Monta, i.e. his sexual harassment suit. He also mentioned that in no way was this move inspired for the team to tank the season to ensure their protected top-7 pick in the upcoming NBA draft, pointing out that the team's current win streak and gutsy victory over the Kings on Tuesday are proof of that.
Here are some snippets from Lacob's e-mail:
I know this is hard for many of our fans, and perhaps not understandable to them, the fact is we just hit a home run.
Andrew Bogut and David Lee together? Andrew is the complementary rim protector and defender that will make David Lee even better. Steph and Klay is a terrific fit, as well. Klay brings size and length and can shoot the lights out from anywhere. And he can really defend.
We lost a terrific talent but basketball is a team sport where the pieces need to fit in order to maximize success. I wish we could have kept all of our pieces but in the end, free agency is tough and we had to trade our way to our end goal.
Another aspect queried by Kawakami was the return of Stephen Jackson to the W's, and how his presence affects the current locker room:
Your question about Stephen Jackson. Yes, he has a somewhat controversial past here. But he also had great success here and is a very, very good basketball player. He is a tough, big wing that can really defend.
Mark Jackson is excited about him and his potential contribution. And, like Mark, I and we believe in evaluating a guy on the here and now and going forward. The past is the past and all that matters is today and tomorrow.
Either way bringing Jackson back will please some and worry others, but no one can really say anything until he hits the court and produces. Should be interesting to see how he meshes with Coach Jackson in the time they have left this season.
Once the initial shock of losing Monta passes the fan base will be more understanding, but if the Warriors keep winning, the complaining will certainly start to subside even faster.
For more on the Warriors please check out Golden State of Mind.
