For those of you who have read the HQ since the days of wordpress you know my favorite team before the Raps was the Golden State Warriors. Since the J-Rich deal I have followed them less and less so when the Belinelli deal went down I had to go to the source to get the real scoop...the Golden State of Mind and its readers.
The Warriors HQ and their readers respond.
There seems to be so much debate around what sort of player he is and whether he can actually come to Toronto and contribute. With that in mind I needed to find out more....
We urge you to head over to GSoM to see how the Warriors responded to the following four questions.
Asking #1: There has been a lot of discussion about what sort of player Belinelli is now and what he could be. Your recent poll is suggesting he is fools gold but there are also a lot of Raps fans who recall his performance against the team when he went 5/8FG3, 6/6FT, 6AST, 23PTS, in a 117 point GSW win. Was this a complete anomoly, much like his summer league performance a few years back? Has any other player built a reputation based on one summer league game like Belinelli appears to have done?
Asking #2: Raptors fan are generally pretty excited about the trade. George was not going to contribute a great deal and Belinelli seems to be falling into a best case scenario given the United Nations feel with the Raps and the possibility of more PT. What went wrong in Golden State? Is it simply a numbers game and that Belinelli is less talented than the rest of the current players at his position? Or, is it the circus of a front office (and the politics that came with that)?
Asking #3: The feeling at the HQ is that even if Belinelli doesn't work out the team didn't have to give up much to get someone with upside and who could become a rotation player. It's not like Colangelo gave up a first round pick for Marcus Williams....(ouch!). There seems to be some sentiment that if Belinelli doesn't get minutes however, he could cause a disturbance in the locker room. Is there anything to support this?
Asking #4: One player readers keep comparing him to is former Raptor Jason Kapono. Although Kapono could shoot he was an atrocious defender. Is Belinelli really that bad a defender? Is there another NBA player who might be a better comparison (please say yes!)?
You may or may not like what the answers are, but you'll be more educated about Belinelli by the time you're done reading.
I know I am.