Mr.Bottomtooth
08-03-2007, 11:26 AM
Warriors getting busy filling out roster
By Geoff Lepper
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Article Launched: 08/03/2007 03:02:16 AM PDT
OAKLAND -- After weeks of inactivity this offseason, the Warriors roster is rapidly filling up.
Ten-year veteran forward Austin Croshere is expected to sign a one-year deal with Golden State this morning, team sources said. And the Warriors have inked 2006 draft pick Kosta Perovic to a multiyear deal, according to Perovic's agent, Bill Duffy.
The moves mean Golden State -- which had no official comment on either signing but is expected to announce both deals today -- has 14 of its 15 roster slots filled. That includes restricted free-agent forward Mickael Pietrus, who is on the Warriors' books at the team's qualifying offer of $3.47 million, and doesn't leave much room for rookie forward Stephan Lasme, a second-round selection, unrestricted free-agent forward Matt Barnes or any other new acquisition they might be targeting.
Croshere, 6-foot-9 and 235 pounds, averaged 3.7 points and 3.0 rebounds last season in limited action for the Dallas Mavericks (11.9 minutes per game). His best season came in 1999-2000, when he averaged 10.3 points and 6.4 boards per game for an Indiana Pacers team that went to the NBA Finals.
At his peak with the Pacers, Croshere shot nearly 40 percent from the 3-point line, but he hit only 28.6 percent from distance last season.
Croshere, 32, is well-known by several Warriors. As the No. 12 overall selection in 1997, Croshere spent his rookie season with the Pacers as a teammate of Warriors executive vice president Chris Mullin.
In addition to Mullin, Croshere played in Indiana with current Warriors Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson and Sarunas Jasikevicius. Croshere also has ties with star guard Baron Davis -- the two were teammates as prep stars at Crossroads School in Santa Monica.
Perovic, 7-2 and 240 pounds, is much more of an unknown. The 38th overall selection two summers ago signed off Wednesday on his deal, which Duffy said "shows a commitment to (Perovic)."
It's believed Perovic will receive approximately $5 million over three years, although $1 million of that will go toward Perovic's buyout from his European club, Partizan Belgrade. The total buyout was $1.5 million; the Warriors, per league regulations, are allowed to pick up only $500,000 of that tab.
Croshere is believed to be receiving the league-mandated minimum of $1.22 million, but since he's on a one-year deal, the team will be responsible for only $771,000. The league will pick up the rest of Croshere's salary, thanks to rules meant to keep veteran free agents from becoming prohibitively expensive when rounding out a roster.
If Pietrus returns to play out the one-year qualifying offer, the Warriors will have $60.2 million committed to their 14 players in 2007-08, leaving them $7.8 million under the luxury-tax threshold.
"There's intentions to continue to make this team better and to put the resources in position and to manage the resources properly to be able to accomplish our objective, and that is to put a better basketball team out on the floor than we had last year," team president Robert Rowell said on KNBR radio. "I think we're putting those things in motion, and we're not finished doing what we need to do."
http://www.contracostatimes.com/warriors/ci_6534483?nclick_check=1
By Geoff Lepper
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Article Launched: 08/03/2007 03:02:16 AM PDT
OAKLAND -- After weeks of inactivity this offseason, the Warriors roster is rapidly filling up.
Ten-year veteran forward Austin Croshere is expected to sign a one-year deal with Golden State this morning, team sources said. And the Warriors have inked 2006 draft pick Kosta Perovic to a multiyear deal, according to Perovic's agent, Bill Duffy.
The moves mean Golden State -- which had no official comment on either signing but is expected to announce both deals today -- has 14 of its 15 roster slots filled. That includes restricted free-agent forward Mickael Pietrus, who is on the Warriors' books at the team's qualifying offer of $3.47 million, and doesn't leave much room for rookie forward Stephan Lasme, a second-round selection, unrestricted free-agent forward Matt Barnes or any other new acquisition they might be targeting.
Croshere, 6-foot-9 and 235 pounds, averaged 3.7 points and 3.0 rebounds last season in limited action for the Dallas Mavericks (11.9 minutes per game). His best season came in 1999-2000, when he averaged 10.3 points and 6.4 boards per game for an Indiana Pacers team that went to the NBA Finals.
At his peak with the Pacers, Croshere shot nearly 40 percent from the 3-point line, but he hit only 28.6 percent from distance last season.
Croshere, 32, is well-known by several Warriors. As the No. 12 overall selection in 1997, Croshere spent his rookie season with the Pacers as a teammate of Warriors executive vice president Chris Mullin.
In addition to Mullin, Croshere played in Indiana with current Warriors Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson and Sarunas Jasikevicius. Croshere also has ties with star guard Baron Davis -- the two were teammates as prep stars at Crossroads School in Santa Monica.
Perovic, 7-2 and 240 pounds, is much more of an unknown. The 38th overall selection two summers ago signed off Wednesday on his deal, which Duffy said "shows a commitment to (Perovic)."
It's believed Perovic will receive approximately $5 million over three years, although $1 million of that will go toward Perovic's buyout from his European club, Partizan Belgrade. The total buyout was $1.5 million; the Warriors, per league regulations, are allowed to pick up only $500,000 of that tab.
Croshere is believed to be receiving the league-mandated minimum of $1.22 million, but since he's on a one-year deal, the team will be responsible for only $771,000. The league will pick up the rest of Croshere's salary, thanks to rules meant to keep veteran free agents from becoming prohibitively expensive when rounding out a roster.
If Pietrus returns to play out the one-year qualifying offer, the Warriors will have $60.2 million committed to their 14 players in 2007-08, leaving them $7.8 million under the luxury-tax threshold.
"There's intentions to continue to make this team better and to put the resources in position and to manage the resources properly to be able to accomplish our objective, and that is to put a better basketball team out on the floor than we had last year," team president Robert Rowell said on KNBR radio. "I think we're putting those things in motion, and we're not finished doing what we need to do."
http://www.contracostatimes.com/warriors/ci_6534483?nclick_check=1