Brief banter on Kwame Brown to Warriors

Ah, who would’ve thunk it? An NBA trade deal that isn’t sensationally smeared all over SportsCenter? Oh me oh my.

Warriors camp has dodged the scandal bullet—well, at least where trades are concerned—and capitalized on its goal to pump up its existing team by adding center Kwame Brown to their roster Tuesday. Brown—best known for being the first No. 1 overall NBA draft pick straight out of high school—inked a one-year, $7 million deal with the Warriors.

But just because this deal isn’t endlessly dancing its way across the ESPN marquee every five seconds doesn’t mean it isn’t worth dissecting.

First and foremost: Is this addition good for Golden State?

Sure, why not. The 29-year-old Brown started 50 games and averaged 7.9 points per game and 6.8 rebounds last season with the Bobcats. And after an unsuccessful weekend of not locking down DeAndre Jordan and Tyson Chandler, it’s nice to see a deal go the Warriors’ way. Is Brown as impressive as Chandler, who chose to go to New York? Sadly, no. But he could certainly be a defensive asset.

If anything, this deal is more troublesome for Charlotte, who is already scrambling to fill its center position.

But wait, don’t the Warriors already have a center?

Bringing in Brown ups speculation that the Warriors are dissatisfied with Andris Biedrins, whose performance on the court was lacking in the 2011 season. Not to mention Biedrins’ hefty paycheck, which could be standing in the way of the Warriors picking up more big guns from the free agent pool.

Still, Golden State has not made any definitive indication that they are looking to give Biedrins the boot. And Rusty Simmons of the SF Chronicle reported that he “looked super active in the Warriors’ first scrimmage.” As far as the sports world can see, Biedrins will be sharing center duties with Brown when the NBA resumes Christmas Day.

Additional source:

• SFGate