Although offseason deals can only get consummated at the conclusion of the July moratorium, the Golden State Warriors have essentially lost the services of Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry.

Andre Iguodala and the Dubs have reportedly agreed to a four-year $48 million deal. His acquisition certainly makes the Warriors formidable, but it’s quite possible that bench production will take a slight hit in 2013-14.

Golden State traded away Richard Jefferson, Andris Biedrins and Brandon Rush to the Utah Jazz for Kevin Murphy in order to create salary cap space. The transaction alone was not sufficient to sign the former Denver Nugget though.

The Dubs renounced their free agents, which gave them the necessary cap room for the Iguodala signing. Once that last domino fell, Jack and Landry were all but gone.

Reports indicate Jack has agreed to sign on with the Cleveland Cavaliers courtesy of a four-year deal worth $26 million. Landry got himself essentially an identical contract according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports with the Sacramento Kings.

Both players were part of a bench brigade that helped the Dubs win 47 games during the 2012-13 regular season and earn a second round berth in the postseason.

Their departure robs the Dubs of an incredible level of intrigue and entertainment. Jack was often the best Warrior down the stretch of games but there were also instances where fans clamored for his benching given some of his questionable decisions.

Jack thoroughly enjoyed emulating Russell Westbrook by getting himself to the top of the key for a cool mid-range jumper regardless of the time left on the clock. His body language often screamed I got this, even when that was not the case.

Landry was far more predictable and consequently less of a wildcard. Mark Jackson counted on him for points near the rim as a result of his post-up attempts. Also, he was essentially butter from mid-range with his deadly jumper.

The big man converted 43.6 percent of his mid-range jumpers per NBA.com’s advanced stats tool. That figure was the second best on the team in 2012-13 (minimum of 100 attempts).

Landry’s jump shot often contributed to Golden State’s excellent floor spacing and allowed teammates to get to the rim.

One can argue that Jack and Landry were instrumental to the culture change Jackson instilled, especially after jettisoning Monta Ellis. The Dubs’ two best bench players in 2012-13 exhibited great physical and mental toughness.

They rarely if ever got rattled and played with an edge the starters occasionally lacked. There is no way around it: Jack and Landry will be missed.

The franchise chose a different direction and the players invariably did the same. Both of them performed well in the Bay and hopefully they are not forgotten.

Perhaps Jack and Landry were rentals, but they were just about at the top of the list.

Farewell gentlemen.

Questions or comments? Feel free to leave them in the comments section or you can contact me by email at [email protected].

One Response

  1. Ren

    i want to know what’s next after iggy.. I know there still holes in the lineup most esp the 4/5 because ezeli will be out for a couple of months (surgery) so i am hoping they make it happen for

    1) ALDRIDGE or
    2) ASIK

    Both saying they want out.. There’s also a scenario that might play out too the long rumored

    David Lee + HBarnes for KEVIN LOVE + Shved…. Man it’s great to be a dubs fan right now.. i love the ownership group decisions and special thanks to the LOGO himself Jerry WEST!