steve blake trade (Photo: Danny Moloshok/AP)
When the Golden State Warriors announced on Wednesday that they had acquired Steve Blake from the Los Angeles Lakers yesterday in exchange for Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks, it was a bittersweet moment for the players in the Warriors’ locker room.
Bazemore was the heart and soul of this Warriors team. However, Bazemore struggled to recapture the magic that he displayed in the NBA Summer League prior to this season.
Even though it’s hard to see such a spirited, passionate player like Bazemore go, this was the right move for the Warriors.
There are many benefits to this trade. First of all, this was a smart trade from a financial standpoint. With this trade, the Warriors were able to stay under the luxury tax, and they were able to preserve their $9.8 million trade exception.
Blake is set to become a free agent at the end of this season. His $4 million contract this season was absorbed by the Warriors’ trade exception that was created in the Andre Iguodala trade.
Also, by trading two players for one, the Warriors now have one open roster spot. The flexibility of an open roster spot has underrated value. If the Warriors want to add one more player later on in the season, they won’t have to cut anyone. They can simply add a player to their active roster.
Second, Blake’s style of play will fit in well with the Warriors. He’s a tough, gritty player who can handle the ball, play off the ball, initiate the offense, find open teammates, and shoot threes.
The Warriors could use another three-point shooter off the bench. They will benefit from Blake’s 39.7 percent three-point shooting.
This season, Blake is averaging 9.5 points, 7.6 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game. Blake is a solid point guard who has a high basketball IQ, and his ability to play off the ball will come in handy for the Warriors.
His work ethic might be his most impressive quality though, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
It’s hard to match Blake’s hard work, though, a staple that has ensured a journeyman role player to last 10 NBA seasons thus far. He’s done so by changing personalities once he steps on the floor.
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“I’ve stuck around because I have to play that way,” Blake said. “I’m not overly athletic compared to other guys on the floor. So I have to compete as hard or harder than anybody to try to be out there. That’s just the way I play.”
This trade should also directly benefit Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Jordan Crawford. As the backup point guard, Blake will obviously relieve Curry of some minutes and give him some much-needed rest.
In addition, with Blake assuming the backup point guard duties, Crawford can be the primarily backup to Thompson and not both Curry and Thompson allowing Thompson some more rest.
With Blake handling the ball the majority of the time with the reserves, Crawford can slide over to his more natural position at shooting guard, giving Crawford more opportunities to score off the bench, his biggest strength and one of the Warriors’ weaknesses.
A bench unit of Blake, Crawford, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, and Jermaine O’Neal should produce and give the starters more time to rest. Marreese Speights can still contribute in ways he’s comfortable with and, once Festus Ezeli returns from injury, the second-string defense should be improved.
We’ll discuss how Blake will contribute to the Warriors in the intangible ways in a follow-up post tomorrow.
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