Steinmetz: Warriors and Free Agents

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May 18, 2010STEINMETZ ARCHIVEWARRIORS PAGEWARRIORS VIDEOMatt Steinmetz
CSNBayArea.com
General manager Larry Riley would like nothing more than for the Warriors to buck the odds and move into one of the top two slots by getting a lucky ping-pong ball in Tuesday's NBA Draft Lottery.Its a longshot, of course, but such good fortune would mean that John Wall or Evan Turner would be coming to the Bay Area. That would certainly make Rileys day, but apparently it wouldnt make his offseason.Wall and Turner are the prizes of this years draft, but there are higher priorities for Riley. When asked on Monday what the Warriors need most, Riley was very specific.
Id like to see an experienced rebounder who could actually do something offensively as well, Riley said. I think that would help our basketball team a great deal.There are several free agents available who fit Rileys description: Amar'e Stoudemire (restricted), Chris Bosh, David Lee and Carlos Boozer. But the only way the Warriors could pluck one of those power forwards is if they are able to work a sign-and-trade and it would likely involve Monta Ellis.At the same time, any of those players would have to agree to come to the Warriors. And who knows if they would.There is a second-tier of players who are more realistic. Players such as Amir Johnson, Udonis Haslem, Luis Scola (restricted), Tyrus Thomas, Ian Mahinmi and Brendan Haywood.Obviously, youre not going to get an experienced rebounder in the draft, but if you get a good rebounder out of the draft and he has some offensive upside it would be helpful to us, Riley said.

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