Love and Randolph are linked in trade rumors, and it makes cosmic sense.  Two players, screwed by comical talent squandering, brain-melting irrationality. Just thinking about either situation makes me crave an aneurism.  Or an NBA front office job.

Anthony Randolph: The Weeping Pogo Stick

Minute thieves: Mikki Moore (seriously?), Chris Hunter (who?), Vlad Rad (!), anyone over 6-2

We all know the story, though certain details remain murky. Divorced from all rumors about what Nellie and Randolph are like behind the scenes, understand this: Anthony’s production warranted more minutes.

I’ve heard fans complain about “inconsistency” and I’ve endured that paternalistic front office bleat: “Randolph needs to play under control!” Because, holy hell, if Anthony Randolph had played over 30 minutes a night, his occasional missteps would have ruined that successful season. The Warriors might have (gasp!) lost more games without the steady hand of “showtime” Mikki Moore.  We interrupt this sarc-gasm to bring you Anthony Randolph’s 2009-2010 statistics:

22.7 mpg, 11.6 pts, 6.5 rbs, 1.5 blks, PER: 18.6

Back to the sarc-gasm. God forbid we see those averages nearly double. Playing Vlad Rad at center just made sense at the time, OK?

Kevin Love: The Pillsbury Twitter Account

Minute thieves: Ryan Hollins, Darko (snicker) Milicic, Damien Wilkins

You really had to watch Minnesota on League Pass to appreciate this. Kurt Rambis delivered the worst coaching performance of the season in relative anonymity, though I’m sure a certain Spanish star paid attention. No wonder Ricky Rubio’s eating tapas right now.

First, the Wolves convinced themselves that Al Jefferson and Kevin Love “couldn’t play together.” This became a meme around the league, an article of fact. True the two are defensive deficient, but I’ve seen similar combos work  (Those old Kings teams of the early 2000s for example).  Below this sentence, Love’s stats mock the Wolves:

28.6 mpg, 14 pts, 11 rbs, 2.3 assts, PER: 20.7

God forbid this rebounding machine play 10 more minutes. Why the lack of burn, was Love ruining the flow of Corey Brewer’s impeccably run triangle offense? Even if Jefferson and Love weren’t ideally suited, what happened boggled. Rambis flailed around, giving starters minutes to dregs like Darko and Ryan Hollins. All season I wished I could jump through my TV and shout to Kurt: “You know who’s a worse match for Jefferson? A guy who completely sucks!” And I’ve never even been to the Midwest.

These failed experiments didn’t give David Kahn pause—he scurried to radio shows and whined about his “mismatched” frontline (“Take my center…please!”).  Apparently Kahn missed that  “don’t look desperate” lecture in GM 101.

Can’t wait to see how the Wolves and Warriors handle these two young talents. As they say in “The Wire”: “(He) does not cast off talent lightly. He heaves it away with great force”

4 Responses

  2. dubsallday

    Love may be averaging a double-double, but anyone who’s seen Randolph play his first 2 seasons (or even last year’s summer league) knows he is more than capable of doing the same if given 30+ minutes. He could also use some encouragement and trust from the coaching staff to build his confidence. His skinny frame has made him a soft target and matchup nightmare defensively. However, if Randolph is really putting on the pounds, the Dubs need to keep him. Period. Warriors brass can’t afford to mess this up. The kid just needs to focus. He needs to spend less time being an all-around big man, and more time focusing on his rebounding. The rest will come over time, as he asserts his presence down low. His great length and agility, plus the fact the he hustles makes finding ways to score come naturally. He has all the tools to be better than Bosh. He also needs to work on his low post game. The Warriors have plenty of shooters. The ceiling is still high for this guy, although at times he looks lost and terrible. If he can focus on being an inside presence, rather than a finesse player, he’ll be a force for any club. At worst he’ll end up like Lamar Odom, a highly skilled role player on a very good team (hopefully some day it’s the Warriors). It’s apples and oranges to compare Randolph to Tyrus Thomas and Stromile Swift. Neither of those two can handle the rock and initiate a break the way AR can. In terms of dunking, blocking shots, and upside, then yes. Otherwise, Randolph is a far more unique talent in his own right. How else could he have attracted the attention of Jerry Colangelo and Team USA?

    Let’s hope the Warriors keep Randolph. Imagine a pick-&-roll tandem of AR and Steph?

    p.s. What ever happened to Brandan Wright? Why don’t we trade him instead. The Warriors did him a huge favor by exercising their 4th year option for next season. That guy is like the wishbone of a Thanksgiving turkey- snapped at the beginning of every season. Will he ever play a full season??? Can we get at least 20 consecutive games? Don’t get me wrong, I like his game, but the Warriors should look to move him before Randolph. He also possesses a tremendous amount of upside (when healthy).

  3. DeuelWarrior

    I am loving that sass. I feel we should give him one full year. One full year of play, with Curry and a coach who will notice that he can play and that he should be shown confidence in his play by the team and coach in order to build his comfort out on the court.