By J.M. Poulard
If the past decade of NBA basketball has taught us anything, it’s that come playoff time, stars matter. However, fans and even general managers get fooled into believing at times that just having great players on the roster will help bolster the team into title contention. As we have learned over the course of history, that is not exactly true. More than anything, in order for a team to become a perennial NBA championship contender, teams need to have stars; but they need them at the right positions.
For instance, think back to Washington Wizards squad that featured Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and to a lesser extent Caron Butler; the team had talent and players that we considered to be stars at the time, and yet they were destined to make it no further than the second round of the playoffs. The Denver Nuggets made the same mistake when they paired up Allen Iverson next to Carmelo Anthony and just assumed that they would figure things out on the basketball court. That was like putting Jay-Z and R. Kelly together; it looked great on paper and was guaranteed to sell tickets, but ultimately there was only one person that could sing/rap on the microphone at a time, and one person would have to accept playing second fiddle, which never happened.
Now this begs the question: what are the right positions to pair stars up? This is far from an exact science, but essentially in order to consistently be a championship contender, a team needs a great perimeter player and a great big man. And by great big man, we are talking about a player that can anchor your offense in the low post and also control the paint defensively. Mind you, not many players are able to singlehandedly dominate the paint on defense, hence your big man needs to be good on defense but not necessarily dominant if he has other defensive big men helping him. As an example, think of Kendrick Perkins helping out Garnett do the dirty work on defense and Andrew Bynum doing the same for Pau Gasol.
This all sounds great in theory but where is the evidence to support this? Glad you asked. Have a look at the graphic below detailing the NBA Finals participants of this past decade:
| Finals | Teams | All-Star acquired via draft | All-Star acquisition (not via draft) |
| 2010 | Lakers | Kobe Bryant | Pau Gasol |
| Celtics | Paul Pierce | Kevin Garnett | |
| 2009 | Lakers | Kobe Bryant | Pau Gasol |
| Magic | Dwight Howard | N/A | |
| 2008 | Lakers | Kobe Bryant | Pau Gasol |
| Celtics | Paul Pierce | Kevin Garnett | |
| 2007 | Spurs | Tim Duncan | N/A |
| Cavs | LeBron James | N/A | |
| 2006 | Heat | Dwyane Wade | Shaquille O’Neal |
| Mavs | Dirk Nowitzki | N/A | |
| 2005 | Spurs | Tim Duncan | N/A |
| Pistons | N/A | Whole team* | |
| 2004 | Pistons | N/A | Whole team* |
| Lakers | Kobe Bryant | Shaquille O’Neal | |
| 2003 | Spurs | Tim Duncan | N/A |
| Nets | Kenyon Martin | Jason Kidd | |
| 2002 | Lakers | Kobe Bryant | Shaquille O’Neal |
| Nets | Kenyon Martin | Jason Kidd | |
| 2001 | Lakers | Kobe Bryant | Shaquille O’Neal |
| 76ers | Allen Iverson | N/A | |
| 2000 | Lakers | Kobe Bryant | Shaquille O’Neal |
| Pacers | Reggie Miller | N/A |
*The Pistons acquired Chauncy Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace all via trade (they were all All-Stars at some point in their respective careers).
After reviewing the graphic, the one thing that should jump out is the teams that made it numerous times to the Finals. Upon further inspection, you will realize that it’s not by accident that the Lakers, Pistons, Spurs and Celtics have all won championships this past decade and have made at least two separate trips to the NBA Finals.
As I mentioned previously, their general managers did a great job of understanding at which positions their teams needed stars. And the first step to building your contender is normally a great draft pick. Indeed, you will notice that save for Kenyon Martin, every player listed above that was acquired by way of the NBA draft for these NBA finalists will more than likely one day make the Hall of Fame. Once the draft pick has been acquired, that’s when the second domino needs to fall and that teams should start looking to acquire the star to complement the draft pick.
Not only has this method proven to be tried, tested and true; the great general managers have figured out how to make them without overspending. The best example of this is the San Antonio Spurs.
Because they did such an amazing job drafting players, they have never needed to actually acquire a big name player in a trade or through free agency. During the time that the Spurs were busy winning titles during the past decade; they did it for the most part with one of the lowest payrolls in the league. Have a look at the graphic below (payrolls in bold represent Spurs championship seasons):
| Season | NBA Rank | Spurs payroll | Team w/highest payroll | Highest payroll amount |
| 2009-10 | 7 | $79.1 | Lakers | $91.4 |
| 2008-09 | 20 | $68.0 | Knicks | $96.6 |
| 2007-08 | 11 | $69.8 | Mavericks | $101.0 |
| 2006-07 | 9 | $65.3 | Knicks | $117.0 |
| 2005-06 | 10 | $63.0 | Knicks | $126.6 |
| 2004-05 | 24 | $47.2 | Knicks | $102.4 |
| 2003-04 | 25 | $46.1 | Knicks | $89.4 |
| 2002-03 | 17 | $52.8 | Blazers | $105.2 |
| 2001-02 | 24 | $45.7 | Knicks | $85.5 |
| 2000-01 | 8 | $57.2 | Blazers | $86.5 |
| 1999-00 | 16 | $42.6 | Blazers | $73.9 |
Salary information comes courtesy of Patricia’s NBA Salary Page
Quite a masterful job of adding talent at an alarmingly low dollar figure by the Spurs. The Portland Trail Blazers and New York Knicks on the other hand were the leaders in terms of player salaries for most of the decade and yet have no titles to show for it. Granted, they fielded some talented teams but never even made it to Finals during the time frame. That would be almost like purchasing tickets to fly from Vancouver to Disney every year, except the plane always drops you off in Seattle.
Why should all this matter to Warriors fans though? Because the Dubs are halfway there. The Face of the franchise is already an All-Star caliber shooting guard, they have an above average point guard running the show in Stephen Curry, a center with size and good rebounding ability and Dorell Wright has proven to be a very good small forward on this team. The road to playoff contention now requires the acquisition of a big man capable of producing like few in the league can. No one is saying that these players are available, but it sure would be well worth it to inquire about them:
- Andrew Bogut
- Brook Lopez
- Chris Kaman
- DeMarcus Cousins
- Eddy Curry (I just put his name here to make sure you are all paying attention)
- Kevin Love
- Roy Hibbert
- Zach Randolph
The addition of any of these players (besides Curry obviously) could be the missing piece to Golden State’s playoff hopes. Granted, any acquisition by trade would result in the Warriors losing some pieces; but it all depends on their value to the team. For instance, the Dubs could sell the Clippers on the idea of taking Dan Gadzuric and Brandan Wright’s expiring contracts with possibly a draft pick for the services of Chris Kaman (run it by the ESPN trade machine, I dare you).
Or we could try this three team trade:
1. Golden State ships Vlad Radmanovic’s expiring contract to Toronto and David Lee to Minnesota
2. Toronto sends Jose Calderon to Minnesota
3. Minnesota trades Kevin Love and Anthony Tolliver to Golden State and Sebastian Telfair’s expiring contract to Toronto
The Timberwolves would basically receive Jose Calderon and David Lee in the trade (good pick and roll one two punch), while the Raptors would shed Calderon’s three year $29 million contract by receiving the expiring contracts of Vlad Radmanovic and Sebastian Telfair and the Dubs would receive Kevin Love and Anthony Tolliver. A draft pick could potentially help sweeten the pot for Minnesota but the essentials for a deal are there.
These are just prospective moves, but the recipe for perennial playoff contention is right there for all to see. Indeed, the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat have set themselves up quite nicely to follow the blueprint. The only question left now is: are the Warriors next?
Questions or comments? Feel free to leave them in the comments section or you can contact me by email at [email protected]. You can also find me on Twitter with the handle name ShyneIV.
i feel the warriors have put up an impressive effort so far in the season. and upper management needs to really stop analyzing and make a decision as to the direction they want to go.
if i were GM. there’s really two things i would present to the new owners.
1. shoot for playoffs this season via trade.
the 76ers are doing well as of late. but are looking at a first round sweep at the hands of miami. they have a solid young group who they should be looking to build around.
trade Gadz/Radman/b.wright/Biedrins for Iggy & Brand.
reason it makes sense for philly: they have more than 15m in expiring contracts already. with this trade its puts them at around 30m to rebuild around their young talent. and have biedrins which would be an improvement over hawes.
Warriors starting 5 becomes. 1. Curry 2. Ellis 3. Iggy 4. Brand 5. Lee.
dubs would be undersized at the 5 spot but should have enough quickness to play good help defense. d.wright williams udoh off the bench. gives us depth and a playoff birth.
or 2. (which is the long shot) get ready for an active offseason.
trade ellis + money to new york for fields + eddy curry’s piece of shit contract.
be active early once all of those expirings are off the books. sign Tyson Chandler / Tayshaun Prince / Carl Landry. then extend Fields. resign reggie williams. & draft a backup point if J.Lin doesnt pan out.
2011-2012 starting 5
1. Curry
2. Fields
3. Prince
4. Lee
5. Chandler
with lin williams d.wright udoh biedrins coming off the bench. dubs would be deep.
just my opinion.
If you haven’t noticed Ellis is the team he is what makes the Warriors go. Trading him makes no sense at all. Trading Ellis to the Knicks for Eddy Curry’s expiring and Landry Fields are you serious? Put down the crackpipe!
Again what the Warriors need to is acquire another three like I mentioned before with the two biggest names being Jeff Green and Josh Smith. I’d take Green because he’s younger and built more solidly.
Relegating Dorell Wright to the Bench. Oklahoma City will have a hard time matching a contract to Green because they’re going to have to spend money to keep Russell Westbrook, so when Green becomes a restricted free agent they at least get something in return for Green.
If it means giving up Udoh, Brandan Wright, and a first round pick in 2011 I’m all for it!
Then the Warriors can go after a free agent like Carl Landry and bring in a decent backup point guard.
You actually have a bench and a solid starting lineup that can make the playoffs.
Why would the Warriors want Tayshaun Prince? When he’s absolute garbage! He’s one of the most overrated players in the NBA. Sure he can defend, but he can’t score, he can’t shoot, and he’s not a consistent player.
did you see d.wright last night?? he deserves the starting spot. if we pick up prince.. he can be our lebron/melo/kobe defender. it’s hard enough to defend them as it is, but at least you’ll have someone with championship experience developing the rest of the squad.
udoh is probably the most promising big the dubs drafted after giving up on randolph. giving him up would be a mistake. im all for carl landry.. but we’re not gonna get anywhere near the playoffs with biedrins at starting center.
curry is a better point guard with the ball in his hands. monta is an efficient scorer with the ball in his hands. there’s only 1 ball. yes i love how they have figured it out and are playing well together as of now.. but we are still under .500. monta is our golden trade chip. well priced at 11m for a top 5 scorer in the league. if you think things are going just dandy, then you must like missing the playoffs and gambling with a 13-15 pick come draft time. i actually want to see our team win.
adding another scoring threat isnt gonna get us any closer to playoffs and we wont be mentioned as a contender unless management does something drastic.
Rasheed, you lost all credibility when you put Chris Kaman on that list. Yikes. Guy is a sieve.
There is no way Minnesota is going to give up Kevin Love. Just like how you have Minnesota getting another point guard in the deal.
This is what happens when a fan makes up trades that benefits his team.
What, do you really think that Minnesota is going to trade K-Love, who’s one of the most exciting players in the league now and cost them only $4M/year, for Lee and Calderon whose combine salary is $20/year?
And comparing Monta Ellis-Andrew Bogut, to Kobe-Shaq is really funny.
The problem isn’t Ellis this Warriors team could make the playoffs if the team had depth. As in acquiring either Iguodala, Josh Smith, Jeff Green, Danny Granger, or some other starting small forward.
Then make another trade to bring in Carl Landry to come off the bench. So, the Warriors would be able to put a lineup of Ellis, Curry, either Smith/Green, Lee, and Biedrins and on the bench Wright, Landry, Williams.
That would be a playoff team and it would be built around Ellis, but if Ellis has an off game it means someone else can step in.
Also, if the Warriors are serious about making the trade including as many draft picks as possible would be good too. The NCAA is going to have weak class after weak class starting with the 2011 NBA draft.
So, the Warriors should take advantage of that and trade those picks!
By the way, we should be talking about what makes a championship contender, not just a routine visitor to the playoffs. Monta Ellis is not on the level of most of the people in the list that was put together. He is not someone you build around and talk championship with.
I agree with every serious name on there except Cousins at this point…I think he’s too viotile mentally to contribute to a championship caliber team right now…
Sorry, but I find the trade proposed laughable Kevin Love isn’t going anywhere.
As for the centers list I’m perfectly fine with the way Andris Biedrins has been playing of late except for last night’s game.
What will more likely happen is that the Warriors trade for a three because there’s not a lot of options when it comes to big men. So, that means bringing in someone like Andre Iguodala, Josh Smith, Gerald Wallace, Danny Granger, or Jeff Green.
Personally, I’d rather see Green. Solid defender, can shoot from the outside, and is big for a three. That would mean Dorell Wright is put on the bench which even though Wright has shown plenty of improvements he still has a long way to go to become an efficient player night-in and night-out.
With Reggie Williams and Wright anchoring the bench it definitely improves the team because Wright has shown he can score and so can Williams. So imagine the Warriors getting 20-22 between the two, and some contributions from they likes of Udoh, Radmanovic, and Law. Bench points per night goes to 30-32 per contest, it allows for Ellis and Curry to get rest.
The reason why the Warriors aren’t a playoff team is because the Warriors do not have any depth and Ellis and Curry are playing too many minutes.
Would never want to see Brook Lopez in a Warriors uniform! He is the most disappointing player in the NBA. A 7 footer that is averaging 5.6 rebounds! Awful! Just awful!
Andrew Bogut is also overrated and can’t stay healthy.
“You guys have heard me say many times the worst place to be is 40 wins. You’ve either got to be really good, or really bad. I’ve never said that really bad wouldn’t be painful, but that puts you in the best position to build a championship team. It’s almost impossible to go from average to great. It’s easier to go from horrible to great.”
— Mark Cuban, 2/7/11