There's been a few big name acquisitions recently in the NBA. The two biggest trades involve Pau Gasol and Shaquille O'Neal. Pau Gasol joins the LA Lakers while Shaq will play with the Phoenix Suns. Both of these trades have an impact on the Golden State Warriors.
Pau Gasol instantly makes a good Lakers team great. With Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Andrew Bynum, the Lakers instantly becomes a top 3 team in the West. This will hurt the Warriors chances of making the playoffs.
Before the season began, many predicted the 8th seed in the Western conference will be a fight between the Golden State Warriors, LA Lakers, and the Hornets. The Hornets have been playing so well, they look to be grab a top 6 playoff spot. With Gasol, the Lakers could also grab a top 6 seed. That leaves very little room for the Warriors in the post-season.
The Phoenix Suns were already top of the conference before the trade. There doesn't look to be any signs that the Suns will be lost without Marion, so the Suns are still expected to win their conference. But the Warriors could be affected by the second team in the trade: the Miami Heat.
Miami had been interested in acquiring Golden State player Mickael "Dumb Turnover" Pietrus. The Heat wanted a SG/SF swingman who can shoot the three and play defense. With the addition of Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, the Heat looks to have lost interest in Pietrus.
During the offseason, not many teams were sending offers for Pietrus. The only team that made news were the Heat. Now, it looks like Golden State will not be able to trade Pietrus. Golden State fans will just have to get used to Pietrus' foot-out-of-bounds turnovers each game.
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