No Baron? No Problem! Golden State Warriors Should Target Josh Smith

"Baron’s gone to Clips!  We’re fuct.  Same old Warriors."  (A text I received last week from my buddy)

Because of their franchise's incompetent history, Warriors fans all over were sending similar texts to each other, when Davis, the catalyst for their turnaround, bolted the Bay for L.A. and a five-year, $65 million deal.

While losing an All-Star point guard—he was an All-Star last year, nobody can convince me otherwise—coming off the best year of his career hurts, the Warriors have many options to retool. 

Mention the word rebuild to a die-hard W’s fan and you will likely be subject to an expletive-laced tirade aimed at owner Chris Cohan and GMs of the past and present (Mullin, St. Jean, etc.). 

Throughout the '90s and 2000s, the Warriors were perpetually rebuilding.  Whether it was smart drafting (Todd Fuller over Kobe, Mike Dunleavy over Amaré, Adonal Foyle over T-Mac), shrewd free agent signings (Derek Fisher: six years, $37 million), or frugal extensions for their existing players (Troy Murphy: five years, $58 million; Adonal Foyle: five years, $41.6 million), the Warriors’ front office found ways to stay in mid-lottery purgatory. 

Excuse me, after writing that, I spent seven minutes fighting the urge to stab myself in the eyes with freshly sharpened pencils.  Everything changed on February 24, 2005.  On the day that brought Baron to Oakland in exchange for Speedy Claxton and Dale Davis (and a season crappy enough to bring the Hornets Chris Paul), the Warriors' fortunes seemed to change. 

That trade, along with moves for Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington, seemed to finally put the “build” back in rebuild. 

With or without Davis, the Warriors have a strong young core of players to build around—Monta Ellis (age 22), Andris Biendris (22), and Brandan Wright (20).  They must focus on this young trio, and add players that are going to be entering their primes around the same time. 

Warriors fans and pundits have clamored for names like Brand and Iguodala—but there is one guy from the city of snap who would be the best fit for the new-look Dubs.

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