Good news...Harrington went from "possibility" to "good bet"
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Harrington a good bet for Warriors
Tim Kawakami
Mercury News
LAS VEGAS - If I wanted to bet big on a hunch, I'd circle Al Harrington's name in bright ink and prophesy a Warriors news conference by the middle of this week.
I'd plop the free-agent combo forward -- and former Indiana Pacers teammate of Warriors chief Chris Mullin -- right into the Warriors' starting lineup as an instant point producer and tempo-changer.
And I'd leave the minor niggling details, such as how the deal exactly unfolds and how many millions it will cost, up to Mullin and others to debate and conclude.
If I lost myself to Casino Fever, I'd tap into the signs and suggestions percolating at courtside of the Vegas Summer League and I'd risk a bold, high-roller's proclamation.
Hey, wait, I'm here anyway, so let's take a shot: The Warriors appear to be reasonably close to acquiring Harrington from Atlanta in a sign-and-trade deal, though weird complications can always obliterate such a transaction.
``Give us a few days,'' Mullin said when I asked him in general about the likelihood of any deal in the near future.
I'm not waiting. Not my nature. Just deal the cards!
Of course, I must warn that Harrington isn't the A-plus low-post monster the Warriors have been missing and chasing for years and that, because the Warriors are over the salary cap, his acquisition probably will cause the departure of Troy Murphy or Mickael Pietrus or both in the deal.
Some will weep more than others over those last two names.
But the 6-foot-9 Harrington is an accomplished, slashing scorer (18.6 points per game last season) perfectly fit for this NBA Dribblers Era, a decent rebounder (6.9) and he's still only 26. (He's an eight-year NBA veteran, but he's only a few months older than Murphy.)
Harrington is a career 45.2-percent shooter, which doesn't seem great unless you compare it to what the Warriors' top six scorers shot last season: Jason Richardson (44.6 percent), Baron Davis (38.9), Murphy (43.3), Derek Fisher (41.0), Mike Dunleavy (40.6) and Pietrus (40.4).
And Harrington might not be excruciatingly expensive to sign and acquire, since Atlanta is frozen in a bitter ownership dispute, since Indiana wants him but also has Danny Granger, and since many tall forwards have recently changed hands and it is no longer a seller's market.
With Fisher already traded to Utah as a prelude, this is what the Warriors' roster looks like if you add Harrington and subtract Murphy and Pietrus, which is the worst-case scenario:
Center -- Patrick O'Bryant, Andris Biedrins and Adonal Foyle.
Power forward -- Ike Diogu, Chris Taft and maybe Zarko Cabarkapa.
Small forward -- Al Harrington, Mike Dunleavy and Devin Brown.
Shooting guard -- Jason Richardson and Monta Ellis.
Point guard -- Baron Davis, Will Bynum and Keith McLeod.
Plus, Harrington, Dunleavy and possibly Biedrins can play power forward, Dunleavy and possibly Ellis can back up the point and Richardson can play some forward.
If this deal does happen, that's as balanced a roster as the Warriors have had in over a decade, with plenty of room to grow.
OK, if O'Bryant continues to struggle as a rebounder (three total rebounds in two summer games) and because Diogu is no sure thing, there are still problems inside.
Unless Harrington unleashes unknown levels of personal defensive ferocity, the Warriors still will have difficulty preventing the other side from scoring at great frequency.
And it all still rides on Davis, who may or may not be worth the ride.
It's not a guaranteed playoff roster, and the disappearance of Murphy and/or Pietrus could hurt the Warriors' dreams of landing Kevin Garnett when and if the Minnesota superstar truly hits the trade block.
But the Warriors can't wait around forever for Garnett, and they won't. That's what this summer is about: Moving ahead.
The true benefit of trading Fisher, beyond the future salary space it provides for Harrington's potential big contract, is that it forces Coach Mike Montgomery to depend on Ellis.
In the same way, moving Murphy in this deal, in addition to adding an athletic scoring forward, will forcibly prompt Montgomery to play Diogu and to experiment with Dunleavy at multiple positions.
For all those reasons, I expect this to happen and guarantee many years of ridicule if it doesn't. So I could be quiet and wait for an official announcement, but what's Vegas about that?
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Harrington a good bet for Warriors
Tim Kawakami
Mercury News
LAS VEGAS - If I wanted to bet big on a hunch, I'd circle Al Harrington's name in bright ink and prophesy a Warriors news conference by the middle of this week.
I'd plop the free-agent combo forward -- and former Indiana Pacers teammate of Warriors chief Chris Mullin -- right into the Warriors' starting lineup as an instant point producer and tempo-changer.
And I'd leave the minor niggling details, such as how the deal exactly unfolds and how many millions it will cost, up to Mullin and others to debate and conclude.
If I lost myself to Casino Fever, I'd tap into the signs and suggestions percolating at courtside of the Vegas Summer League and I'd risk a bold, high-roller's proclamation.
Hey, wait, I'm here anyway, so let's take a shot: The Warriors appear to be reasonably close to acquiring Harrington from Atlanta in a sign-and-trade deal, though weird complications can always obliterate such a transaction.
``Give us a few days,'' Mullin said when I asked him in general about the likelihood of any deal in the near future.
I'm not waiting. Not my nature. Just deal the cards!
Of course, I must warn that Harrington isn't the A-plus low-post monster the Warriors have been missing and chasing for years and that, because the Warriors are over the salary cap, his acquisition probably will cause the departure of Troy Murphy or Mickael Pietrus or both in the deal.
Some will weep more than others over those last two names.
But the 6-foot-9 Harrington is an accomplished, slashing scorer (18.6 points per game last season) perfectly fit for this NBA Dribblers Era, a decent rebounder (6.9) and he's still only 26. (He's an eight-year NBA veteran, but he's only a few months older than Murphy.)
Harrington is a career 45.2-percent shooter, which doesn't seem great unless you compare it to what the Warriors' top six scorers shot last season: Jason Richardson (44.6 percent), Baron Davis (38.9), Murphy (43.3), Derek Fisher (41.0), Mike Dunleavy (40.6) and Pietrus (40.4).
And Harrington might not be excruciatingly expensive to sign and acquire, since Atlanta is frozen in a bitter ownership dispute, since Indiana wants him but also has Danny Granger, and since many tall forwards have recently changed hands and it is no longer a seller's market.
With Fisher already traded to Utah as a prelude, this is what the Warriors' roster looks like if you add Harrington and subtract Murphy and Pietrus, which is the worst-case scenario:
Center -- Patrick O'Bryant, Andris Biedrins and Adonal Foyle.
Power forward -- Ike Diogu, Chris Taft and maybe Zarko Cabarkapa.
Small forward -- Al Harrington, Mike Dunleavy and Devin Brown.
Shooting guard -- Jason Richardson and Monta Ellis.
Point guard -- Baron Davis, Will Bynum and Keith McLeod.
Plus, Harrington, Dunleavy and possibly Biedrins can play power forward, Dunleavy and possibly Ellis can back up the point and Richardson can play some forward.
If this deal does happen, that's as balanced a roster as the Warriors have had in over a decade, with plenty of room to grow.
OK, if O'Bryant continues to struggle as a rebounder (three total rebounds in two summer games) and because Diogu is no sure thing, there are still problems inside.
Unless Harrington unleashes unknown levels of personal defensive ferocity, the Warriors still will have difficulty preventing the other side from scoring at great frequency.
And it all still rides on Davis, who may or may not be worth the ride.
It's not a guaranteed playoff roster, and the disappearance of Murphy and/or Pietrus could hurt the Warriors' dreams of landing Kevin Garnett when and if the Minnesota superstar truly hits the trade block.
But the Warriors can't wait around forever for Garnett, and they won't. That's what this summer is about: Moving ahead.
The true benefit of trading Fisher, beyond the future salary space it provides for Harrington's potential big contract, is that it forces Coach Mike Montgomery to depend on Ellis.
In the same way, moving Murphy in this deal, in addition to adding an athletic scoring forward, will forcibly prompt Montgomery to play Diogu and to experiment with Dunleavy at multiple positions.
For all those reasons, I expect this to happen and guarantee many years of ridicule if it doesn't. So I could be quiet and wait for an official announcement, but what's Vegas about that?
