Tim Kawakami
Another day came and went Wednesday and Erick Dampier did not switch teams, get filthy rich or announce that he wants to retire in order to try his luck at the Tour de France.
This must not be a fun time around the Dampier household, I'm guessing.
Another day came and went. With no announcement, no deal, no intriguing new offers and no comment from the Warriors about their plans involving Dampier, who expected to be counting his millions as a New York Knick by now.
Because the Warriors really have no other plan but the simple two-step strategy they have stuck to for 15 days, which might be about to pay off nicely:
• 1. Dare Dampier to sign a free-agent contract with Atlanta (the only under-the-cap team to show interest).
In this scenario, the Warriors get nothing for a valuable player, but Dampier gets stuck on a bad team unwilling to pay him as much as a winner would. Lose-lose.
• 2. Or wait for an over-the-cap contending team such as the Knicks, Indiana Pacers or Memphis Grizzlies to offer something in a sign-and-trade that Warriors executive Chris Mullin actually wants.
The only way for the Warriors to capitalize on that scenario is to wait it out and forget about pressure from New York, its media and Dampier's agent, Dan Fegan, who also represents Jason Richardson and Troy Murphy.
So far, it's a no-go, and Mullin has spent his rookie off-season listening to G.M.s try to bluff him.
Mullin hasn't been able to pry former teammate Jonathan Bender from Indiana or Stromile Swift, James Posey or Shane Battier from Memphis.
(Just Mullin's luck: He can't make a deal with Indiana's Donnie Walsh or Memphis' Jerry West, two legendary executives, because he thinks like them. He wants the players they don't want to give up, and he doesn't want the players they're willing to dump.)
Oh, and that much-reported and much-offered Knicks package of Othella Harrington and Nazr Mohammed?
Warriors sources say Mullin has rejected that package every time Knicks General Manager Isiah Thomas has proposed it, believing that it is better to let Dampier walk away for nothing than to take the Knicks' expensive castoffs.
The truth, Warriors sources say, is that Dampier and Fegan overestimated the player's worth right from April.
That's when Dampier opted out of his remaining two years and $15.7million and rejected three- and four-year extensions offered by Mullin, averaging $9 million to $10 million a season.
So what happens now?|
A few possibilities:
• Phoenix could edge into the picture if, as expected, the Los Angeles Clippers match the Suns' offer sheet for guard Quentin Richardson today. That will give the Suns more incentive and cash to deal with the Warriors and Dampier.
What player might key a sign-and-trade deal with the Suns? Remember this name: Zarko Cabarkapa. The 6-foot-11 forward, the Suns' first-round pick last year, showed incredible athleticism and energy but is stuck behind Shawn Marion.
• The Knicks could sweeten the pot by agreeing to take Evan Eschmeyer's remaining three years and $10-plus million or by adding draft picks.
• Memphis, which apparently has tried to fashion a three-way deal involving Atlanta (which would get Bonzi Wells), could amp up those talks by adding Swift or Battier.
• It's a long shot, but Dampier could return to the Warriors on a one-year deal for $5 million or $6 million and try again next off-season. That idea has been ''floated,'' said one Warriors source, though Mullin has already invested $41.6 million in center Adonal Foyle and traded for veteran Dale Davis.
It's one way for Dampier to preserve a chance at big money down the road. Given the egos involved, don't expect it to happen.
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/sports/9271186.htm
Another day came and went Wednesday and Erick Dampier did not switch teams, get filthy rich or announce that he wants to retire in order to try his luck at the Tour de France.
This must not be a fun time around the Dampier household, I'm guessing.
Another day came and went. With no announcement, no deal, no intriguing new offers and no comment from the Warriors about their plans involving Dampier, who expected to be counting his millions as a New York Knick by now.
Because the Warriors really have no other plan but the simple two-step strategy they have stuck to for 15 days, which might be about to pay off nicely:
• 1. Dare Dampier to sign a free-agent contract with Atlanta (the only under-the-cap team to show interest).
In this scenario, the Warriors get nothing for a valuable player, but Dampier gets stuck on a bad team unwilling to pay him as much as a winner would. Lose-lose.
• 2. Or wait for an over-the-cap contending team such as the Knicks, Indiana Pacers or Memphis Grizzlies to offer something in a sign-and-trade that Warriors executive Chris Mullin actually wants.
The only way for the Warriors to capitalize on that scenario is to wait it out and forget about pressure from New York, its media and Dampier's agent, Dan Fegan, who also represents Jason Richardson and Troy Murphy.
So far, it's a no-go, and Mullin has spent his rookie off-season listening to G.M.s try to bluff him.
Mullin hasn't been able to pry former teammate Jonathan Bender from Indiana or Stromile Swift, James Posey or Shane Battier from Memphis.
(Just Mullin's luck: He can't make a deal with Indiana's Donnie Walsh or Memphis' Jerry West, two legendary executives, because he thinks like them. He wants the players they don't want to give up, and he doesn't want the players they're willing to dump.)
Oh, and that much-reported and much-offered Knicks package of Othella Harrington and Nazr Mohammed?
Warriors sources say Mullin has rejected that package every time Knicks General Manager Isiah Thomas has proposed it, believing that it is better to let Dampier walk away for nothing than to take the Knicks' expensive castoffs.
The truth, Warriors sources say, is that Dampier and Fegan overestimated the player's worth right from April.
That's when Dampier opted out of his remaining two years and $15.7million and rejected three- and four-year extensions offered by Mullin, averaging $9 million to $10 million a season.
So what happens now?|
A few possibilities:
• Phoenix could edge into the picture if, as expected, the Los Angeles Clippers match the Suns' offer sheet for guard Quentin Richardson today. That will give the Suns more incentive and cash to deal with the Warriors and Dampier.
What player might key a sign-and-trade deal with the Suns? Remember this name: Zarko Cabarkapa. The 6-foot-11 forward, the Suns' first-round pick last year, showed incredible athleticism and energy but is stuck behind Shawn Marion.
• The Knicks could sweeten the pot by agreeing to take Evan Eschmeyer's remaining three years and $10-plus million or by adding draft picks.
• Memphis, which apparently has tried to fashion a three-way deal involving Atlanta (which would get Bonzi Wells), could amp up those talks by adding Swift or Battier.
• It's a long shot, but Dampier could return to the Warriors on a one-year deal for $5 million or $6 million and try again next off-season. That idea has been ''floated,'' said one Warriors source, though Mullin has already invested $41.6 million in center Adonal Foyle and traded for veteran Dale Davis.
It's one way for Dampier to preserve a chance at big money down the road. Given the egos involved, don't expect it to happen.
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/sports/9271186.htm
