Even with the dust still settling on the signing of Mark Jackson as the Golden State Warriors new head coach, there is still business going on behind the scenes at W's camp. ESPN's Ric Bucher broke the rumor yesterday that the Philadelphia 76ers were in talks for a swap with Andre Iguodala and Monta Ellis. This is obviously something that is still in a preliminary stage, but according to CSN Bay Area's Matt Steinmetz, this might be a move that warrants serious attention from the Warriors and their fans.
Steinmetz points out that both players have very similar contracts as Ellis is owed $11 million for the next three seasons while Iguodala makes $13.5 million next season with increases by $1.2 million each of the next two years. Both teams could easily make a swap of the two players instead of adding extra players or incentives to make the deal. He also points out that with the addition of Jerry West and the moves owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber are looking to make, a big trade this offseason could help reenergize the franchise and get them ready for some high quality play in 2011-12.
West is on record as saying he believes you have to make bold moves to be successful and the most obvious outcome of that would be to break up the backcourt of Ellis and Stephen Curry.
Ellis is beloved by Warriors fans and many would hate to see him go, but with the addition of A.I. the Warriors would have a nice scoring group of Dorell Wright, David Lee, Stephen Curry, and Iguodala. A.I. also is a very solid defender and facilitator, two things that the W's need to improve on as well.