In true under-the-radar fashion, the Golden State Warriors traded for point guard Steve Blake on Wednesday night.
With roughly 17 hours before the NBA deadline, Golden State sent the seldom used Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of the three-player deal.
Second-year general manager Bob Myers executed yet another unheralded move that fills a major need for the Warriors.
Let’s grade it.
Despite their fantastic 32-22 record, the Warriors tenuously occupy the No. 7 playoff seed in the absurdly competitive Western Conference. Sitting 10 games above .500 no longer affords much in the way of stability for squads West of the Mississippi.
Golden State’s starting-five of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, David Lee and Andrew Bogut is nearly unrivaled in the NBA. It boasts a 21-11 record and ranks fourth with a collective 79.4 points per game
Unfortunately, this team’s 29th-ranked reserve contingent is anything but.
Now enter Steve Blake.
The 11-year pro out of Maryland is the consummate underrated point man.
Blake runs an NBA offense like a genuine floor general, and can do so as a starter or off the bench. He brings excellent court vision, three-point accuracy, blue-collar toughness, a high basketball IQ and 38 games of valuable postseason experience.
This ongoing 2013-2014 season has also materialized as a seminal campaign for the decade-plus veteran.
Blake has averaged 9.5 points and 3.8 rebounds in 27 games. He has posted personal-highs with 7.6 assists and 1.3 steals, not to mention a third-best player efficiency rating (12.5) and shooting better than his career average from distance (39.7 percent).
The well-traveled point guard will indeed prove a considerable steal and substantial upgrade for his seventh franchise in the Association.
Current backup Jordan Crawford is averaging career-lows in points (6.6), rebounds (1.6), assists (2.2), three-point percentage (25.0) and PER (9.9). He has not appeared at all comfortable or competent as the leader of the Warriors offense off the bench.
A whopping negative-0.2 win shares on that end of the court is proof positive.
Crawford can now move to his more natural shooting guard position with Blake on the floor. This twosome will also serve as a formidable reserve duo, and can even function proficiently alongside Curry and/or Thompson when head coach Mark Jackson employs smaller lineups.
All told, the Warriors are now fully equipped with a dynamic backcourt. And Jackson—a former point man himself—will continually extract the best out of these four guards.
From a financial standpoint, GM Myers orchestrated a savvy and fiscally responsible deal.
He took advantage of the trade exception that Golden State acquired when it sent Brandon Rush to the Utah Jazz. Rush and Blake’s salaries are an equal match at $4 million.
The club also remains below the luxury tax threshold and still retains two additional exceptions worth $762,195 and $9.8 million. Those don’t expire until June and July, respectively.
Furthermore, Brooks was a de facto dead-man walking with just 15 minutes played as a Warrior. Bazemore registered more floor time, but was a total black hole with his 6.3 PER and negative-0.2 win shares.
The Warriors are still one big man short. But the overall bench unit will now contribute as a legitimate reinforcement down the stretch—and not as a psychosis-inducing impediment.
Count on Blake sitting front and center of that group during Dub Nation’s championship run come playoff time in May.
Grade: A
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