The Warriors have acquired 27-year old power forward David Lee in a sign and trade deal with the Knicks. Lee will make $80 million bucks over the next six years for the Warriors. The Warriors have dealt 20-year old power forward Anthony Randolph, 27-year old PF/C Ronny Turiaf, 26-year old SG/SF Kelenna Azubuike and a 2nd round pick to the Knicks for Lee. Lee played in 81 games (all starts) for the Knicks last season and he averaged 37.3 minutes, 20.2 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He has now played in 368 games (210 starts) in his five years in the NBA and he is averaging 30.1 minutes, 13.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 0.8 steals per game on 55.7% shooting from the floor. Lee will probably really excel playing in the Warriors’ system as he will give the Warriors toughness, rebounding and offense close to the basket.

Anthony Randolph has unlimited talent but he was very immature which caused the Warriors to deal him. Randolph played in 33 games (8 starts) for the Warriors last season and he averaged 22.7 minutes, 11.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. In his two years with the Warriors, Randolph played in 96 games (30 starts) in which he averaged 19.6 minutes, 9.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game. Ronny Turiaf is a solid backup player and little more. He played in 42 games (20 starts) for the Warriors last season and he averaged 20.8 minutes, 4.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game. Turiaf played in 121 games (46 starts) in his two years for the Warriors and he averaged 21.2 minutes, 5.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game. SG/SF Kelenna Azubuike had his season cut short last year due to injury. He only played in 9 games (7 starts) for the Warriors last season and he averaged 25.7 minutes, 13.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Azubuike played in 205 games (84 starts) in his four years with the Warriors and he averaged 24.4 minutes, 10.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

This was a good trade for both teams but I really like Lee who should be a perfect fit for the Warriors.

When the Warriors picked Ekpe Udoh in the NBA Draft last week it signaled a change that will likely go on in Oakland this summer. The Warriors know that running and gunning doesn’t work if you don’t have defense and rebounding inside. Don’t be surprised to see the Warriors try to pry either Kevin Love or Al Jefferson from the T-Wolves. Anthony Randolph, Andris Biedrins, Brandan Wright, Vladimir Radmanovic and Ronny Turiaf could all be on the trading block this summer. The Warriors would also like to re-sign restricted free agents Anthony Morrow and C.J. Watson this summer. Drew Gooden, Udonis Haslem, Matt Bonner, Craig Smith, Amir Johnson and Brendan Haywood could all be targets for the Warriors in free agency.

29-year old forward Vladimir Radmanovic has picked up his player option for the 2010-11 season valued at $6.88 million bucks. He played in 33 games (20 starts) for the Warriors after coming over from the Bobcats in the Stephen Jackson trade and he averaged 23.0 minutes, 6.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Radmanovic played in 41 games (20 starts) overall last season with the Bobcats & Warriors and he averaged 21.7 minutes, 6.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. The Warriors were dreaming if they actually thought Radmanovic was going to opt out of his contract.

The Warriors have made qualifying offers to 24-year old shooting guard Anthony Morrow and 26-year old point guard C.J. Watson giving the them a chance to match any offer either player gets in free agency. Morrow has played in 136 games (54 starts) in his two years with the Warriors and he has averaged 26.0 minutes, 11.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. He has also shot an amazing 46% from three point range in his NBA career. Look for someone to make Morrow a very generous offer as early as this weekend. C.J. Watson has played in 174 games (33 starts) in his three years with the Warriors and he has averaged 23.2 minutes, 8.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game. If another team views Watson as a starter at the point he could get a nice offer. The Warriors should definitely try to keep both of these guys.

The Warriors have decided against offering qualifying offers to restricted free agents Anthony Tolliver or Chris Hunter making them both unrestricted free agents. Tolliver played in 44 games (29 starts) for the Warriors last season and he averaged 32.3 minutes, 12.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He was solid for the Warriors and he will be missed as some team will gobble him up in free agency. Chris Hunter played in 60 games (9 starts) for the Warriors last season and he averaged 13.1 minutes, 4.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Tolliver and Hunter are being let go because of a numbers crunch on the roster.