Anthony Morrow = The Next Ray Allen????

[rondohondo]

I have been looking for cheap options coming off the bench as a backup to Ray Allen and to my surprise I stumbled onto this kid Anthony Morrow and from what I see and hear, I think this kid could develop into an explosive scorer off the C's bench.



2008-2009 Season Highlights

1) First Career Start + Play as A Starter

- Anthony Morrow Scored 37 Points and had 11 Rebs on 15-20 FG'S. 80% 3P FG'S in his first career start

- He followed that up the next night in his 2nd career start with 25 Points on 8-12 shooting, 80% 3P FG'S


Anthony Morrow 2008 -09 Total Stats
67         G
22.6      MPG
10         PPG
 3         RPG
 1         APG
48%      FG'S
46.7%    3P FG'S
87 %      FT'S



Anthony Morrow 2008-09 Stats as a Starter

17       GS
34       MPG
16.6    PPG
 4.6    RPG
 2      APG
48%    FG'S
45%    3P FG'S
87%    FT'S

Those are some mighty fine offensive stats and the shooting % from 3 and the FT line are tremendous. Even when his minutes  went up as a starter , his  FG% ( 48%) , 3P FG% ( 45-46%) , and FT % ( 87%) all stayed the same as when he was coming off the bench in fewer minute with fewer attempts.


2) Offensive Rebounding

He ranked 5th in Offensive Rebound per game for the SG position. This tells me that he is not affraid to get in there in mix it up, which I like very much.


3)  Ranked 1st in the NBA in 3P FG%

He ranked 1st in the NBA in 3P FG% shooting 46.7% from beyond the Arc. Ray Allen has never shot above 43% from beyond the Arc in a single season before, so that should give you an indication of how deadly of a shooter this kid can be.



Comparisons have even been made between Morrow's shooting stoke with greats like Ray Allen and Reggie Miller

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/11/SPNP1716B2.DTL

Morrow left Georgia Tech as the best free-throw shooter in school history and the ACC's best three-point shooter in 2007-08.

It's a stroke that's carried right over into the NBA.

Morrow has gone 2-for-10 from long distance over the last two games. And he still leads the league in three-point shooting. By a wide margin.

He would be the first Warrior to ever finish a season first in the category, and his accuracy invites comparison to the league's sweet-shooting elite.

"I'm not saying he's with these guys - he has to do it consistently every night - but just going by how they shoot, he's right up there with the Reggie Millers, Chris Mullins and Ray Allens," Warriors assistant coach Keith Smart said.

"He can shoot with those guys."

I think this is a guy Ray could teach so much too. He is a deadly shooter from 3 and has a mid range game too. If Ray could get a hold of him and teach him how to move without the ball he could be an explosive scorer and young wing the Celtics are looking for that can contribute right away and also has potential to be really good in the future.

He was and undrafted Rookie last year so in only making about 500K. If we can somehow get him in a package of:

Walker or Giddens
BBD
Pruitt
Scal
TA

I would do it without hesitation. Even throw in a future pick.

From this video it looks like he has the potential to be much more than just a 3 point shooter. He is scoring from all over the court.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcMEoGoTMWo



Does anyone else know anything about this kid and his potential?

[PosImpos]

So you tell me:

The Warriors clearly know he's good.

He's not making a lot of money, so he's not a salary cap issue.

Why the heck would the Warriors trade him away, even for expiring contracts?  It makes no sense.

We're not going to get Anthony Morrow unless he happened to be part of a trade package with the Warriors, in which case we'd be losing Allen anyway.

If we got Morrow in that kind of a scenario, then maybe he could be a future option for the SG position and a great backup in the meantime.  But I don't see how we'd get him, realistically.

[rondohondo]

So you tell me:

The Warriors clearly know he's good.

He's not making a lot of money, so he's not a salary cap issue.

Why the heck would the Warriors trade him away, even for expiring contracts?  It makes no sense.

We're not going to get Anthony Morrow unless he happened to be part of a trade package with the Warriors, in which case we'd be losing Allen anyway.

If we got Morrow in that kind of a scenario, then maybe he could be a future option for the SG position and a great backup in the meantime.  But I don't see how we'd get him, realistically.

Yea you're right Ray would have to be dealt away.

Bos sends: Ray and Walker , BBD (S+T 4YR 20MIL)

GSW sends: Crawford , Magette , Morrow


Why for GSW

Don Nelson already told Crawford to opt out of his deal or he will be traded.

"I don't mind a story getting out as long as it's a true story, and that's a true one," Nelson said. "We did meet. ... I've always been very open and honest with my players, and I did tell him he probably would either opt out, or we would move him next year. That's a fact, and I just don't see that that's going to work.

And you know that they would like to move Maggette ( 10 MIL Per Year) because they have a log jam at the SF.

- Ray would give them 20 mil in cap space and saves the Warriors 40 MIL over the next 4 years.

- BBD gives them a young PF to grow alongside Biedrins. You can peg him in for 14 ppg and 6RPG as a starter.

- Walker is a young prospect with potential who can fight for minutes behind Ray and Stephen Jackson.


GSW 2009-10 Roster

PG: Ellis      /  # 7 Pick
SG: Ray        / Belinelli
SF: Jackson    / Azabuke
PF: BBD        / Wright
 C: Biedrins   / Turiaf

Thats a pretty good young team that can cut payroll and still be competitive and put pieces in place to build something.


Why for Boston

This may be the last chance the celtics can make a move until 2012 that will help us contend now, but also be able to contend in the future.

1) Maggette

I know he is not a complete player and is getting paid 10 MIL a year, but he can really help our team. He is better suited coming off the bench and could easily become 6th man of the year .

He also does a HUGE thing for the C's. HE gives PP some rest!!
Paul will be able to play less minutes and be fresh for the playoffs.

We know Danny liked him last year as he tried to sign him to the full MLE, but he was just out of the C's price range. Still only 29 years old and can drop 20 PPG any night.

2) Crawford

He also has flaws in his game but he also can drop 20 Points on ny given night while shooting a decent % from 3. He is capable of being a solid team defender, especially in the C's D. He is capable of at least playing up to Ray Allen level of D.

3) Morrow

See Above

Celtics 2009-10 Roster

PG: Rondo      /   Marbury
SG: Crawford   /   Morrow
SF: PP         /   Maggette
PF: KG         /   Mcdyess
 C: Perk       /   ZAZA or Gortat

[PosImpos]

While still unlikely I think your idea sounds somewhat plausible and I don't think I'd be unhappy (necessarily) if that's what happened.

My question, though, is why is Crawford getting pushed out of Golden State, so to speak?  Is he a malcontent?  Did he not play well?  Or do they just want to free up space at his position?  I guess part of making this trade work would be to take on a guy the Warriors want to get rid of.

[rondohondo]

While still unlikely I think your idea sounds somewhat plausible and I don't think I'd be unhappy (necessarily) if that's what happened.

My question, though, is why is Anthony Morrow getting pushed out of Golden State, so to speak?  Is he a malcontent?  Did he not play well?  Or do they just want to free up space at his position?  I guess part of making this trade work would be to take on a guy the Warriors want to get rid of.

Yea its pretty much a salary dump of guys they don't want and have publicly stated they don't want , for an All Star who still plays at a high level with a 20 MIL expiring contract.

They also get a young PF with some upside who can help them out right away.

and a young wing with some upside.


crawford is getting pushed out because they have so many young Wing players they are trying to get playing time

[PosImpos]

Alright that makes sense.

I think the BBD part of your trade might not work though...I don't really understand these complicated salary trade machinations but Roy seems to post in every thread that brings up a BBD sign-and-trade that there are significant impediments.

Also:

Both Morrow and Crawford would have to get a lot better defensively to not be significant liabilities.  From what I have read, Morrow is a very talented shooter and perhaps a good rebounder for his position but does not have a widely developed skill-set. As he played for the Warriors, I assume this applies to his defense as well.  As for Crawford, it seems part of the reason GS wants to get rid of him is because a Monta Ellis / Crawford back-court is explosively bad on the defensive end.

[rondohondo]

ehh I probably wouldn't do the trade unless we were getting the #7 pick back too and that's probably not likely

[KungPoweChicken]

His stroke looks ridiculous from those highlights. But can someone explain this: I saw several Warrior's games where Morrow didn't play or hardly played. If he is as good as he looks, why didn't Nelson try and find more time for him?

[rondohondo]

His stroke looks ridiculous from those highlights. But can someone explain this: I saw several Warrior's games where Morrow didn't play or hardly played. If he is as good as he looks, why didn't Nelson try and find more time for him?

I think it's just the fact that they have so many high paid players ahead of him

Jackson
Crawford
Ellis

are all getting paid 10MIL+ a year

[rondohondo]

Maybe Leon Powe , Giddens and a future pick could get it done for Morrow straight up

I know Leon is hurt but he would be a cheap pickup, who if returns to his former self will be a very nice pickup for them. Plus he is from the area .

[KungPoweChicken]

If you put Jackson in the place of Maggette, I'd do it. But Golden State seems to value Jackson, so I don't know if they would be interested.

[Drucci]

It seems unlikely that the C's can get Morrow on their roster but thanks for posting this tread, I heard about Morrow once or twice in the regular season but I didn't know he shot so well during the season. He seems to be a great shooter and he has some potential. Still, I don't know if I would trade the whole bench (except House) to acquire him because we need some effective bench players at every position.

[amenhotep04]

I had Morrow on my fantasy team for awhile.  While his overall numbers were good, he was largely inconsistent.  Not that his shooting was bad, he just disappeared during games.  Potential?  Yeah, but he's not worth giving much up for.

Remember also, his offensive numbers are based on playing with the Warriors.  It's the equivalent of playing 82 pick-up games.