steve blake trade: intangibles (Photo: LetsGoWarriors.com Instagram account)
In Part One of this article, we discussed how the Golden State Warriors‘ trade for Steve Blake will help the Warriors on the court.
Blake will strengthen the bench with his three-point shooting, his ability to run an offense, and his ability to play off the ball. His presence will also help Jordan Crawford‘s production and will allow more rest for Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Today, we will look at Blake’s personality and some intangible benefits he will bring to the Warriors.
In addition to his contributions on the court, Blake brings toughness and a solid work ethic.
The Warriors and their fans will miss Kent Bazemore‘s energy and passion, but #DubNation has already shown some love for the newest Warrior. In his Warriors debut on Thursday, Blake entered the game to lots of cheers and applause:
His first basket as a Warrior beat the first quarter buzzer. Blake finished the game with three points and one assist in 17 minutes.
Bazemore was a large part of the Warriors’ strong team chemistry, but Blake should mesh well with this Warriors team and their team chemistry in a different way.
Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News wrote about how Blake has always been known as a great teammate:
But for a team that’s ailing so much with an injury-depleted backcourt, Blake’s departure provided one huge dent.
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“He’s definitely a great guy and definitely a mentor and a great player and fun to talk to,” Lakers forward Jordan Hill said. “You can talk to him about anything and he’ll listen. He seems pretty quiet, but he’s a guy who will definitely make you laugh and put a smile on your face.”
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When he stepped on the court, however, his personality changed.
Both Mark Jackson and David Lee think Blake will be a good fit on this Warriors team. After Wednesday’s game against the Kings, Jackson spoke about how Blake will <a href="help the Warriors.
“We’re getting a heck of a basketball player,” Jackson said, “Big-time competitor, a guy that can play the one and the two, an experienced guy who’s not afraid of the moment, a true professional and a guy that can make big shots. We’re very fortunate to be able to add him to this basketball team, excited to have him.”
Lee also spoke after the game on Wednesday about Blake and how he can contribute to the Warriors.
“Steve Blake I think is going to help our team a whole lot,” Lee said, “He’s a guy that can defend. He can do some of the things that Jarrett Jack did last year. We can allow Steph (Curry) play off the ball and not have to handle the ball for 48 minutes as well as boost our second unit.”
According to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com, Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni agreed that the Warriors are getting a great teammate on and off the court.
…But Blake had his moments with the Lakers — most memorably scoring 19 points in Game 7 of the Lakers’ first-round playoff series win over the Denver Nuggets in 2012 and making a game-winning 3-pointer in Houston to beat the Rockets in L.A.’s first game against Dwight Howard after he left the team.
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“He was a joy to coach,” D’Antoni said. “I think every coach should have an opportunity to coach somebody like that. He was one of the toughest guys that I’ve ever coached, and he’s good. Any team that wants to win, he’ll be a nice piece. … Steve’s a good player. He’s going to a team where he’ll play a lot and they’ll love him. … It’s disappointing to everybody [in L.A.], but that’s the business of the game.”
Sam Amick of USA Today reported that the pursuit of Blake had gone on for weeks:
The Warriors had yet to recover from the loss of Jarrett Jack via free agency last summer, and their Jan. 15 trade with the Boston Celtics for Jordan Crawford hadn’t panned out like they’d hoped.
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But the 33-year-old Blake is a pro’s pro, and that’s not one of those backhanded compliments that serves as code for “nice guy but his talent is toast.” His career average of seven assists per game is evidence enough that he can play the part of playmaker (7.6 this season), and his long-range proficiency (39% from beyond the arc for his career; 39.7% this season) should give the Warriors yet another way to stretch the floor and help point guard Stephen Curry find his many hot spots on the floor with that much more ease.
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The chemistry question is not to be overlooked, either, as this Warriors group is at its best when they get along like a well-run fraternity and Blake is widely known as a guy who has no trouble getting along with others. Just ask Kobe Bryant, whose inability to click with some teammates is no secret but who showed his deep disappointment in losing Blake via Twitter not long after the deal was done.
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“Not cool with @SteveBlake5 being gone AT ALL One of my closest teammates and psycho competitor GS picked up gem #smartmove”
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Bryant’s endorsement is more than enough to get a sense of Blake’s reputation, but there’s this interesting insight too: before landing Miller in a three-team trade with the Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers, the Wizards pursued Blake at great lengths and envisioned him as a more-than-capable backup for Wall.
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The Warriors had interest in Miller as well, but stopped pursuing him after landing Crawford and after they also realized that another one of their targets, the Chicago Bulls’ Kirk Hinrich, was not likely to be given up by the team’s general manager, Gar Forman.
[NOTE: Poor Man’s Commish contributed to this report.]
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