Richardson Still Hurt From Trade

Richardson Still Hurt From Trade
By: John Denton

Imagine working your whole professional life for the house of your
dreams. You put in the extra hours, you sacrifice and you endure all
the low points and hard times because you know the payoff will
eventually be sweet.

Now, imagine you move into that house and it's everything you dreamed
of and more. You're hosting friends, throwing parties, lounging in the
pool and living the good life. You realize all of the sacrifices were
worth it because this is what you always wanted.

Then, BAM! You're evicted. Out on the street, sent packing and told
everything you worked to build is no longer yours.

That, my friends, is exactly how Jason Richardson felt back in late
June. And to a certain extent, it's still the way he feels now.

After helping the Golden State Warriors craft the NBA's feel-good
story of last season, one in which they tarred-and-feathered the top-
seeded Dallas Mavericks, Richardson was unceremoniously dumped on
draft night so the Warriors could acquire power forward Brandan
Wright. He was shipped across the country, from the up-and-coming
Warriors to a Charlotte franchise just four years removed from
expansion status.

"It was a total shock," Richardson admitted.

The bare-boned basics of the trade made sense to most. Richardson is
still owed $50 million over the next four seasons and trimming payroll
was a necessity with extensions for Baron Davis, Matt Barnes and
Mickael Pietrus looming. The Warriors certainly needed some size and
GM Chris Mullin is already telling folks he thinks the cat-quick
Wright can become a star in Don Nelson's system. And by moving
Richardson out, it opened up more playing time at shooting guard for
last season's Most Improved Player, Monta Ellis, and electric rookie
Marco Belinelli.

All good reasons, for sure. But naturally none of them make sense to
the still somewhat heartbroken Richardson. He has learned to laugh
about it somewhat, though.

"It wasn't that hard to leave because I had to. They didn't give me a
choice," he said with a smirk. "But hey, it's in the past now, and
I've tried to just keep it in the past. I'm trying not to think about
it. I'm with the Bobcats now, and I hope I can keep stay here for a
long time."

Richardson always seemed somewhat out of place during the down years
in Golden State, what with the way he seemed to approach every game
with Garnett-like intensity even as the Warriors wandered aimlessly
through mediocrity. His duels with Kobe Bryant were legendary because
he always played with the same sort of ferocity and fearlessness when
it came to taking big shots. NBA insiders said for years Richardson
was one of the game's most underrated players, in large part because
Golden State's teams were so lousy.

He improved each season after getting drafted fifth overall in 2001,
boosting his scoring average from 14.4 to 15.6 to 18.7 to 21.7 to
23.2. And when point guard Baron Davis joined the team two seasons
ago, he did what few star players are willing to do - surrendered the
go-to status to Golden State's dynamic point guard without a peep.

More importantly, he did it for the right reasons. His hope was the
Warriors might someday break a playoff drought bordering on the
absurd.

The unthinkable came last spring when the Warriors made a furious push
into the playoffs and manhandled Dallas by playing harder and smarter;
a franchise once a joke had become the hottest thing in the NBA. This
upcoming season Richardson had hoped to reap even more of the rewards
of finally helping Golden State become contenders.

Instead, he's seemingly starting over again in Charlotte. The Bobcats
are loaded with individual talent with Emeka Okafor, Ray Felton and
Gerald Wallace and could very well become the sleeper in the Eastern
Conference with the addition of a go-to scorer like Richardson.

"There's definitely playoff-caliber talent here, but we've got to put
it all together," he said. "The transition has gone smooth. I wasn't
expecting to gel this fast because we have a new coach (Sam Vincent)
and a new system. But these guys are easy to play with and I'm going
to be fine."

Fine, yes, but also hurt and still feeling a little betrayed by a
Warriors franchise he helped build into a winner after so many lean
years. But know this: Richardson was a Warrior who actually lived up
to the nickname.

On Oct 10, 5:36 pm, Preacher <n....DeleteThis@noway.com> wrote:
> earlc....DeleteThis@gmail.com wrote:
> > The bare-boned basics of the trade made sense to most. Richardson is
> > still owed $50 million over the next four seasons and trimming payroll
> > was a necessity with extensions for Baron Davis, Matt Barnes and
> > Mickael Pietrus looming.
>
> Someone obviously doesn't cover the Warriors. No mention of Biedrins or
> Ellis. And that Pietrus extension is liable to be a BIG one.
>

Exactly. You caught the same thing I did, and before me. I stopped
reading at that point because he lost credibility by not bringing up
AB, but pointing out MP was due an extension.....

Rizzo