Turiaf A Warrior, Azubuike A Clipper

One Los Angeles team does nothing, the other one makes another move. Both involve the Golden State Warriors.

Mark Bartelstein, the agent for Rony Turiaf,  says that he expects the Lakers not to match the $17-million contract the Golden State Warriors offered for the Lakers backup center.  Barring any unforseen circumstances, Turiaf will officially become a Warrior today.

The main reason is that the Lakers are already $4 million over the salary cap and the Warriors front-loaded Turiaf’s contract, which makes it even harder for the Lakers to match.  The Warriors will give Turiaf $4.5 million this season and $4.2 million in each of the next two seasons.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers offered Warriors guard Kelenna Azubuike a three-year contract worth $9 million. 

The Warriors have the opportunity to match the offer, but will more than likely pass, since they have a glut of players at the guard spot. With Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette, Stephen Jackson and last year’s first round pick, Marco Belinelli, all ahead of Azubuike in the rotation, it doesn’t make much sense for the Warriors to match the offer, especially after shelling out $17 million for Turiaf.

The two contracts would cost the Warriors $26 million for two backup players. The Clippers, on the other hand, would be able to reunite Azubuike with former Warriors teammate Baron Davis, adding considerable strength to their bench.

The 24-year-old Azbuike, a blossoming shooting guard from England, averaged 8.5 points over 80 games last year with the Warriors. The Clippers used their $3 million in salary cap space left over from the deal—or should I say “steal”—negotiated with the Nuggets for outstanding defender Marcus Camby.

As a side note, Camby says that he was shocked by the deal and feels disrespected by the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets virtually gave Camby away to the Clippers in order to free up salary cap space.

In a related story, the Lakers now have an interest in Miami’s Shawn Marion, something which I had hoped from the start of the off-season.  But the Warriors are also thinking about Marion and his $17.2 million contract now in its final year. 

A deal involving Lamar Odom and perhaps the unsigned Sasha Vujacic would be far better than a trade with Sacramento for Ron Artest and having to eat Kenny Thomas’ $20-million contract in return.