Was Chris Kaman a Golden State Warriors Possibility?
The Warriors reshuffled their deck, exchanging Monta Ellis and Ekpe Udoh for what has become Andrew Bogut and Richard Jefferson. That's old news.
The new info—according to ESPN's Ric Bucher in a radio interview—is that the Warriors could have traded Brandon Rush, Kwame Brown and a second round pick to the Hornets for Chris Kaman.
While I don't love the trade Golden State ultimately made in giving up a defensive stalwart like Ekpe Udoh and a scorer like Monta Ellis, this Kaman move would have left me colder.
The New Orleans center's game is deteriorating, he's getting slower than sedated snails. Also, Kaman is shooting a meager 42.3 percent this season, and, hold on, I need to check how the salaries work out....
What! Kaman's really on the last year of his 14 million dollar deal? Yes, if this trade was proposed, the Warriors should have jumped. If they did indeed reject this proposal, I would conclude that a) The Warriors really love Bogut, b) They really wanted to dump Monta and c) Stern's Hornets remain wholly befuddling.
Either way, Warriors GM Larry Riley certainly was not kidding when he said, "I'm telling you, I'd rather have players than (cap) space."
