# Mickael Pietrus is our 1st draft pick.



## D5 (Jun 23, 2003)

Yup, so Mickael Pietrus was just drafted by the Warriors. He's a guard who is big enough to be forward. I haven't heard anything about him and I'm skeptical on the choice.


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## dr-dru (Feb 9, 2003)

i was hoping for collision. :upset: the plus side of getting pietrus is he's suppose to be a good defensive player. he'll probably be coming in as a backup. and i have a feeling he'll get lost in the team just like dunleavy last year because we already have jason richardson and jamison.


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## Jason Caffeine (May 31, 2002)

I am dissapointed. I thought Pietrus was trade bait with Memphis at first, but now I see we're gonna have to keep him...
He's going to have to share minutes with Richardson at the 2 guard. Which now leaves a few candidates for the point guard spot: 

Arenas-if he resigns
Boykins-if he resigns
Welsch-could work well if Welsch improves from last year
Sura-suitable, but will be gone the year after next, not long term answer
Zimmerman-no thanks
Logan (maybe)-Read one line above

And whoever else they invite in the free agent market...


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## dr-dru (Feb 9, 2003)

another year with a high pick and we don't get a big man.


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## goNBAjayhawks (May 3, 2003)

Well when you look at it there is a good possibility that the Warriors and Bulls are working on a deal. When you think about it the Warriors prob didnt feel hinrich would fall and the bulls felt Pietrus would. So they lock up each others picks. It could become even a 3 way deal with memphis and the Warriors would prob get fizer or Marshall from the bulls.

Bulls Get: Battier, 
Warriors:Hinrich
Grizzlies: Pietrus

This would fit all the needs of all the teams and there would prob be throw ins like(likely place) :Marshall(warriors), Robinson(grizz), Fizer(warrior/grizz), Foyle(grizz), Watson(warriors), Bell(warriors). Not all but possibley some, even if it was just those 3 i think it would be an even trade and we should see it soon. There might be other things involved like future draft picks, it could be blockbuster or just a normal trade but the more i look at it the more it looks like something is in the works. I have so many reasons running through my head, it just seems so obvious.


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## Jason Caffeine (May 31, 2002)

On the other hand, Pietrus is known for his perimter defense-something that the Warriors and Jrich lacked. Pietrus will not step in right away-he will be a defensive stopper and play sparingly. Like last year, we stepped up and took the player that could help our biggest weakness. Last year was perimter shooting, resulting in Welsch and Dunleavy being drafted. This year it was defense on the perimiter-resulting in Piertus. I still wish we could have traded down with Memphis and taken Reece Gaines at #13 and then Brian Cook at #27.


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## bigalw1414 (May 20, 2003)

Hey don't worry about point guards. The Sonics didn't have one for half of last year we we did great! With Barry and Allen we basically had two shooting guards with OK PG and passing skills. Do you guys have two good ballhandelers? Does Richardson have any playmaking abilities?

Of course a point guard is nice to have, but it's not the end of the world if you don't have one I guess is what I'm trying to say.


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## dr-dru (Feb 9, 2003)

richardson is not a ballhandler / playmaker. the good i see from drafting pietrus is that his defensive intensity will rub off on jrich and areans. and hopefully jrich steps up his game or he'll lose his job to pietrus.


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## eddieMoney (Jun 13, 2003)

J-Rich has no handles (an issue we hope he's addressing this summer) and is an average passer at best. The best ballhandlers and playmakers we have at this point (i'm assuming Arenas and Boykins are gone) are Bob Sura and Mike Dunleavy Jr. I suspect that there will be another move soon, either trading the rights to Pietrus or trading J-Rich for a point guard. If neither of those things happen, then I will truly believe that St. Jean is working for other teams who wish to sabotage the Warriors for as long as he can. How else could he make such a pick? Sheer stupidity???


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## _Chip_5 (Jun 16, 2003)

What's wrong with Pietrus? I think he'll be a Shawn Marion, along with playing superb defense. The guy is a winner too; winning the title not too long ago, and has won two other titles the past two seasons. I think Pietrus will get more playing time than Dunleavy did last year, because Pietrus plays great defense(Musselman loves great defense, that's why Sura played so much). And if the Warriors could had just played a tad bit better defense they would had been so much closer to the playoffs. And this draft pick will help make their defense that much better. Plus he'll be no worse than Desmond Mason on offense, but i can see him being closer to Shawn Marion on productivity and what he can do. 

Also who did you want the Warriors to pick in that position? Gaines is exactly like Jiri Welsch; being a combo guard, good shooters(i'd bet Jiri's a better shooter), and having PG skills to work with.

Ridnour is a good offensive player but he isn't good defensivly and the Warriors don't need that.

Barbosa will be a good player but i think Pietrus will be better, and it would had been too high to draft Barbosa at 11. But Barbosa playing behind Marbury could be scary down the road. 

Collison would had been a decent pick, or the safe pick. But i thought they could had gotten a solid post player in the second round; in which they could had with Badiane availalbe, but didn't pull the trigger. So i would guess that they don't believe getting a post player is the biggest concern right now. And where are the people who say that the Warriors should take a risk more often, such as that Ebi trade rumor? I would had thought those people would be happy with this draft pick.


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## NISMO (Jul 15, 2002)

*TRADE J-RICH-*

I'd do this trade....
J-rich to chicago for K.Hinrich-

J-rich though having good offense does not have D at all.. he got burnt by everyteams SG... Even the memphis grizzlies guards burnt J-rich... He is not very good in sideways mobility.. From what I have read about.. Peitrius is a very good defender first, then a decent offensive player next..

Remember the warriors are one of the worst teams at defending.. The keys to winning games are having good defense look at the spurs..
The W's have to start with defense.. and going with a very defensive minded rookie with the same upside as j-rich does isn't a bad idea.. sure we might loose arenas' but we could gain K.Hinrich whom is more of a real point guard whom could get our guys more touches and get the ball to the right guy at the right place for a shot.

Mikael P. does have a offensive mind as well.. he is a winner, which right now he is playing in the euro final four I believe in .. and He is not a two foot jumper.. very good athleticlly.. NBA body already.. I believe that his upside is more than the point guards that were left on the draft when we were picking..

Ridnour- good offense no D. 
Gains- combo guard, we already have tons of those in GSW.
Barbosa- Possible lingering injuries.. but intriging pick..

But all in all I think Petrius is a decent pick.. You got to remember during a draft if the players that you wanted are not there and the cost of trying to get those players that you wanted that were picked by other teams are to high... then you always pick up the best possible player available like petrius..

Forget collison- we already have twan and murph and fortson.
No centers there.. and no other sg with Petrius's upside


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## FaTaL (Nov 21, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>dr-dru</b>!
> another year with a high pick and we don't get a big man.


were there any good ones left???? the only big man with talent in this draft was darko and please dont say collinson aka fuller.


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## FaTaL (Nov 21, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>dr-dru</b>!
> richardson is not a ballhandler / playmaker. the good i see from drafting pietrus is that his defensive intensity will rub off on jrich and areans. and hopefully jrich steps up his game or he'll lose his job to pietrus.


pietrus and j-rich are very similar athletic wise but pietrus has basketball skills. he can beat his man off the dribble and can jump off of one foot.


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## Ballin101 (Nov 4, 2002)

What I would like for the Warriors to do is keep both Pietrus and J-Rich. I know they are similar players in terms of athletic ability, but I think that trading J-Rich now could come back to burn the Warriors. Having Pietrus is good because it will put some pressure on J-Rich to get better. If he doesn't improve his defense and overall game with that kind of pressure, then you know he should be kicked out the door. Of course, this is contingent on the Warriors resigning Arenas, otherwise they will have to move one of the two to get a quality point. My targets for the Warriors this summer other than resigning Arenas (obviously), are to acquire Jamal Crawford and Stromile Swift somehow. I like Earl Boykins, but Jamal Crawford is younger and a lot bigger. The only reason I think they can do that is because of the plethora of 2's and 3's they have, and the fact that both Mills and Sura are in the final years of their contracts (making them hot commodities). We'll see what St. Jean comes up.


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## FanOfAll8472 (Jun 28, 2003)

> Hey don't worry about point guards. The Sonics didn't have one for half of last year we we did great! With Barry and Allen we basically had two shooting guards with OK PG and passing skills. Do you guys have two good ballhandelers? Does Richardson have any playmaking abilities?


Maybe you dont realize, but Barry is a great passer, that's why . No, JRich does not in any way whatsoever have playmaking abilities.



> What I would like for the Warriors to do is keep both Pietrus and J-Rich. I know they are similar players in terms of athletic ability, but I think that trading J-Rich now could come back to burn the Warriors. Having Pietrus is good because it will put some pressure on J-Rich to get better. If he doesn't improve his defense and overall game with that kind of pressure, then you know he should be kicked out the door. Of course, this is contingent on the Warriors resigning Arenas, otherwise they will have to move one of the two to get a quality point. My targets for the Warriors this summer other than resigning Arenas (obviously), are to acquire Jamal Crawford and Stromile Swift somehow. I like Earl Boykins, but Jamal Crawford is younger and a lot bigger. The only reason I think they can do that is because of the plethora of 2's and 3's they have, and the fact that both Mills and Sura are in the final years of their contracts (making them hot commodities). We'll see what St. Jean comes up.


Sorry, but it'll be hard to trade for Swift, unless you bait Pietrus (at which a Pietrus for Swift and Watson trade wouldn't be bad), despite the fact that the Warriors dont need anymore young, athletic, turnover-causing players!

I think something some ppl dont realize is that the Bulls took Hinrich to keep (at least I think). He can shoot and run the triangle O...plus, whose behind Crawford? Eventually, Jay Williams maybe trade bait.



> Bulls Get: Battier,
> Warriors:Hinrich
> Grizzlies: Pietrus
> 
> This would fit all the needs of all the teams and there would prob be throw ins like(likely place) :Marshall(warriors), Robinson(grizz), Fizer(warrior/grizz), Foyle(grizz), Watson(warriors), Bell(warriors). Not all but possibley some, even if it was just those 3 i think it would be an even trade and we should see it soon. There might be other things involved like future draft picks, it could be blockbuster or just a normal trade but the more i look at it the more it looks like something is in the works. I have so many reasons running through my head, it just seems so obvious.


Doubt it. Bulls still need a pg, like hinrich, and why not just try to pick up Pietrus instead of Battier??? In addition, Fizer would probably go the Warriors instead of Marshall, as I doubt the Warriors would want Donny back.

I think the Pietrus pick was also showing Arenas that they want him back. How du think Areans woulda liked going back with Hinrich/Ford/Gaines there? I agree that the Warriors might need another pg other than Boykins...maybe Sura or Zimmerman, but maybe one via free agency. I think a big man for the future is most important (big man as in C, not PF) thing for next year.


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## Hero (Jun 28, 2003)

Man, as a Warrior fan, I hate this draft! I love J-Rich to death, and can see him averging 20 points and 6 assists in two years! Plus he can shoot the 3-ball, and he's extremely entertaining to watch and I want him to remain a Warrior for the rest of his career. But when the Warriors picked up another SG/SF guy in Pietrus, I immediatly know it's not going to happen. What's wrong with J-Rich!? He's averged 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists a game! Those are impressive numbers for a second year guard. All I want to see is Pietrus get traded the hell out of Oakland.


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## j44break (Jun 28, 2003)

seeing as though the warriors run an open offense, it gets everyone a chance to hold the ball and make plays. i don't think it requires stopping and playing the traditional style of setting plays and requiring a point to throw up a hand signal while taking the ball up. i think pietrus is a fairly good pick, not that i've seen him play or anything, but GMs considered him as the "French Jordan" (note: French, not American, or NEXT Jordan). if we stick to this run and gun offense, without relying on a point to carry our offense and run the hell out of everyone else, then we could have pietrus and jrich coincide with one another being an offensive (and pietrus being a defensive) threat. if jrich isn't our man, then sura can solve our defensive problems for the mean time, but we can't always look for trades to appear out of thin air--mock drafts won't solve our problems--neither will rookies, the way the warriors draft and take risks. but if gilbert leaves for the money, then fine, we can boo him the next time he plays here for any other team for leaving because of the money. IMO i think he had too many turnovers to be a point anyway, and he turned out to be more of a gary payton prototype with flaws because he ended up shying toward shooting the ball more, missing the ball more, and turning over the ball more, like he originally had been in arizona. they only called him a point because they needed to start a point--so they some what had 2 2s to begin with. if pietrus can defend the 1, 2, and 3, then maybe he can sub in for dunleavy if he's got a bad day. pietrus and dunleavy at 3 can force jamison, to switch up the 4 with murphy, damp, foyle, or maybe even fortson, depending on who's playing 5. so my point is that arenas can go because yeah, he's been a scorer, but he still hasn't proved to be a good point because of his turnovers and bad shot selection IMO. boykins we can get if we have the money, but i'm not good with figures, and ST. can figure that out. so we have a bunch of 2s that must turn out to be combo guards because of muss's "open offense." 

pg/sg: jrich/pietrus/sura/welsch/zimmerman (pg)/logan(pg)
sf: dunleavy/jamison/welsch (seeing as though he's on the "murphy weight gain plan" with dunleavy)/pietrus/mills
pf: murphy/jamison?/foyle/damp/fortson?
c: damp/foyle/murphy/fortson?(malik rose type)

it doesn't seem that bad, seeing as though we have a deep 2 and 3 bench, and the season's not even here yet. if trades come to let go of some dead weight, fine, if not, fine, warriors are the warriors. in practicality, they're not going to win the championships, but hopefully improve from next year seeing as though constrictions with money have taken us by the ***.

what's good is that a number of our guys can play these positions--so in reality, we don't have combo guards, but we have a mix of players with a slight possiblity in playing the 3, and we have a decent front court that can rotate amongst each other. 

we'll see.


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## Hero (Jun 28, 2003)

I just thought of this! If Arenas leaves, we can try J-Rich at the point! Towards the end of the season, I begin to see Arenas giving the ball to J-Rich to bring up the court more and more, and if J-Rich does get a bigger summer, he possibly COULD be our next point guard.


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## dr-dru (Feb 9, 2003)

it would take a miracle for jason richardson to be able to play point.


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## Hero (Jun 28, 2003)

That's the exact same thing said about Arenas playing point. :sour:


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## Pumpkin_Escobar (Jun 8, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>bigalw1414</b>!
> Hey don't worry about point guards. The Sonics didn't have one for half of last year we we did great! With Barry and Allen we basically had two shooting guards with OK PG and passing skills. Do you guys have two good ballhandelers? Does Richardson have any playmaking abilities?
> 
> Of course a point guard is nice to have, but it's not the end of the world if you don't have one I guess is what I'm trying to say.


True is this! Just think back to the glory days of the Bulls, they didn't have a true point on thier roster. Dunleavy has some PG skills. Before he was drafted there was speculation that he would possibly play the point forward in his first year or so.


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## Jason Caffeine (May 31, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Hero</b>!
> I just thought of this! If Arenas leaves, we can try J-Rich at the point! Towards the end of the season, I begin to see Arenas giving the ball to J-Rich to bring up the court more and more, and if J-Rich does get a bigger summer, he possibly COULD be our next point guard.


Anyone remember the Larry Hughes experiment?


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## Jason Caffeine (May 31, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Profanity</b>!
> 
> 
> True is this! Just think back to the glory days of the Bulls, they didn't have a true point on thier roster. Dunleavy has some PG skills. Before he was drafted there was speculation that he would possibly play the point forward in his first year or so.



The Bulls ran a triangle offense. They don't need a point guard.


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## FaTaL (Nov 21, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Hero</b>!
> I just thought of this! If Arenas leaves, we can try J-Rich at the point! Towards the end of the season, I begin to see Arenas giving the ball to J-Rich to bring up the court more and more, and if J-Rich does get a bigger summer, he possibly COULD be our next point guard.


j-rich doenst even dribble good enough for a sg hows he going to play pg? j-richs weakness is ball handling and beating players off the dribble, if you cant do either u cant play pg.


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## Hero (Jun 28, 2003)

What do you think he's practicing right now?


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## MightyReds2020 (Jul 19, 2002)

Personally I would want to see JR what he shows next season before making a decision on him. He's still very young and has huge potential. He could very well just had a sophomore slump whole season long. Everyone was figuring him out but he couldn't counter-attack. With a summer of refining techniques and watching videotapes, I hope he comes out next year with a vengence. If not, then trade him. The downside is then his trade value will be lower.


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## . (Jun 30, 2003)

*Re: TRADE J-RICH-*



> Originally posted by <b>NISMO</b>!
> I'd do this trade....
> J-rich to chicago for K.Hinrich-
> 
> ...


pietrus looks like a less athletic matrix without the shooting touch, dude needs to refine his jump shot and ball handling skills before the warriors can maximize his potential
what do you think ?


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## Dime Fa Shizzle (Jun 9, 2003)

i dont care if arenas leaves anymore...cant dwell in dat for long. If he bolts, then he bolts. 


the more realistic option is to sign SPEEDY CLAXTOn.


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