because there has to be a sign and trade in the works. I just can't
see Baron opting out of $17.8 million without the sure knowledge that
something was in the works, and a sign and trade is the only way he
can get the same kind of money.

It's going to be excruciating waiting to see what happens. Will we end
up with Arenas? With both Brand and Baron? Is there a 3-way in the
works? I hope this doesn't take forever to shake down. If Mullin
*isn't* shaking in his boots tomorrow, you KNOW something is in the
works.

Ticket prices up $1000 a piece

Baron opts out.

TE expires (though they don't need it now since they are under the
cap)

..... Wait and see.

If the B team is brought in I may sell all my tickets for the first
time in 25 years...

Rizzo

Chris Mullin on the TPE: "It'll probably expire"

By Geoff Lepper
Monday, June 30th, 2008 at 6:15 pm

Talked to Mullin a little while ago, and here's what he said:

""It'll probably expire. If the right player is there, it's an opportunity
we would take. But with a lot of our pending situations coming up . you don't
want to put yourself in jeopardy with those guys."

Translation: In the absence of an Earth-shattering move - think Carlos
Boozer or Shawn Marion - the Warriors are saving their pennies to give to
Andris and Monta.

- Geoff

http://www.ibabuzz.com/warriors/2008/06/30/chris-mullin-on-the-tpe-itll-probably.../

Baron Davis opts out

By Geoff Lepper
Monday, June 30th, 2008 at 6:54 pm in Baron Davis.

UPDATING AT 7:45 p.m. WITH OUR EARLY STORY:

What promised to be a tumultuous offseason for the Warriors was kicked into
overdrive Monday when point guard Baron Davis left $17.8 million on the
table and opted out of the final year of his contract, becoming an
unrestricted free agent and throwing Golden State's immediate plans into
confusion.

Davis has maintained for months that he wants to remain a Warrior, and
according to one team source was telling teammates last week that he would
not opt out, but with mere hours to spare the man most responsible for
breaking Golden State's 12-season playoff drought reversed course
dramatically.

With talks on a contract extension going nowhere, Davis played the last
major piece of leverage he had. Although he is unlikely in the short term to
recoup that $17.8 million - the final piece of a six-year max deal he signed
with the New Orleans Hornets in 2002 - he can now negotiate a long-term deal
with another team to try to set up a sign-and-trade situation.

Baron Davis opts-out: A shocker and a humongous risk, unless he has an
under-the-table deal

Posted by Tim Kawakami on June 30th, 2008 at 7:33 pm

You don't shock most NBA types easily. Seen it all. Figure the biggest
players are the ones most capable of the biggest surprises.

But I just did a quick survey of a few people around the league and they are
stunned, just stunned, that Baron Davis chose to reverse course and opt-out
of the last year and $17.8-million contract.

It was done quietly, too, which surprises me almost as much. I never
imagined Davis would opt-out (I am on LOUD RECORD on that one, so Baron can
laugh at me forever-unless he screwed this up royally, we'll see), but I
also figured that if he did, he'd do it with horns blaring.

Nope. The paperwork apparently got over to the Warriors without fanfare
today after 4 p.m. Nobody there expected it or had any pre-warning,
especially since Baron's agent said last week that he almost certainly
wouldn't be opting out.

Then the news broke when the NBA released a list of free agents, with Baron's
name on it. Ding-ding-ding!

Here's what I know after a couple quick conversations:

Baron Davis opts out

By Geoff Lepper
Monday, June 30th, 2008 at 6:54 pm

Just got confirmation from the Warriors: Baron Davis, the man who led Golden
State to its first playoff berth in 13 seasons, has opted out from the final
year of his deal, passing up $17.8 million in order to gain his freedom
after talks about an extension went pretty much nowhere.

More to come later.

http://www.ibabuzz.com/warriors/2008/06/30/baron-davis-opts-out/

Also Janny Hu is reporting it:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/warriors/detail?blogid=39&entry_id=27732

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3464478

NEW YORK -- Disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy has exaggerated his
cooperation in a gambling investigation in hopes of lessening his prison
term and avoiding paying hefty restitution, prosecutors said in court papers
filed Friday.

He also has minimized his own role in the scheme, according to the filing in
Brooklyn federal court.

Prosecutors rebuffed defense arguments that Donaghy should get a break on
his sentence for voluntarily coming forward and giving prosecutors inside
dirt about alleged game-fixing and other misconduct by other referees and
league officials.

In the court papers, prosecutors said that by the time Donaghy decided to
cooperate last year, "the government had a clear understanding of the
criminal conspiracy, and who was involved." Though he deserves credit for
giving investigators information on his two co-defendants, his claims of
other internal NBA corruption "did not lead to evidence of
federal offenses," the papers added.

Defense attorney John Lauro declined comment Friday.

The Trade Exception: Cohan's Moment of Truth

Posted by Adam Lauridsen on June 30th, 2008

It's Monday June 30th and the Warriors' nearly $10 million trade exception
is set to expire. In anticipation of Chris Cohan not using it to bring in
help for a team that last year desperately needed an extra player or two in
the rotation, I've taken the liberty of preemptively refuting the franchise's
excuses for inaction. And just in case Mullin and Cohan shock me - and
actually put the wonderful accounting quirk to use - I've tucked a response
to that scenario in at the end as well.

In no particular order, the excuses we'll be reading come Tuesday morning:

* Using the trade exception would prevent us from signing our free
agents - Completely false. Ellis, Biedrins, and Azubuike are all restricted
free agents with Bird or early Bird rights. We have the right to match any
deal and can go over the cap to do so. Any limitation placed on our ability
to sign these guys as a result of using the trade exception is purely a
creation of Cohan's financial paranoia.

Warriors' top pick Randolph literally still growing

By Geoff Lepper
Contra Costa Times

Article Launched:06/28/2008

There's an easy explanation for why Anthony Randolph, the Warriors'
18-year-old selection in the first round of Thursday's NBA draft, has had
such a hard time adding heft to his 6-foot-10, 197-pound frame.

It's because he hasn't stopped growing yet.

"They tell me I'm not done," Randolph said of his doctors. "Another inch or
two."

By tabbing Randolph with the 14th overall selection, the Warriors are
betting his game is not finished maturing as well.

"I think there is a time where you have to be a little patient and let that
develop," Warriors executive vice president Chris Mullin said. "A lot of
things have come easy for him. That'll change, but I think he'll make the
right adjustments."

Poole: Warriors should pass on deal for Rasheed Wallace
By Monte Poole
Oakland Tribune columnist
Article Created: 06/25/2008 05:52:33 PM PDT

THE BEST thing about the NBA draft is the chatter during the runup.

Phones work nonstop, e-mails and text messages bounce from franchise
to franchise. Thousands of trades are speculated, some actually
discussed.

A few might even be credible.

With Don Nelson in his lab coat, tinkering with rosters, steam rising
from his forehead and his ability to influence vice president Chris
Mullin, no scenario involving the Warriors is incredible.

Like, say, the one in which the Dubs send Baron Davis and Al
Harrington to Detroit for Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace. The
positions are the same, the salaries close enough.

Wallace is envisioned as a Warrior by someone within the organization,
according to our Geoff Lepper, who covers the team for this
publication.