by Brent Bazenomore
The Golden State Warriors served Dub Nation a shocker last night by sending fan favorite Kent Bazemore along with recently acquired MarShon Brooks to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Steve Blake. Mr. Celebration came into the season with higher expectations after a spectacular summer league showcase. He could never crack the ten man rotation. His erratic play landed him a spot and the end of the bench with the likes of Ognjen Kuzmic and Nemanja Nedovic. Say those names three times fast. Upon hearing the news, I cried myself to sleep last night watching Kent Bazemore highlights on my iPad.
I can't help but feel bad for Kent. He'll be leaving Spade and Marilyn home in Emeryville for the remainder of the season. No more Kent and Spade selfies?! Maybe it's best that he leaves his precious Audi S5 in the Bay. No body wants to sit hours in LA traffic and come into Staples and spend another couple hours warming the Lakers bench.The Warriors are losing a solid defender, Stephen Curry's best butt buddy, celebration extraordinaire, and a huge locker room presence. His passion for the game is just so infectious.
This trade clearly demonstrated two things to me: the management (Joe Lacob, Bob Myers, and company) means business AND the management is admitting that the Jordan Crawford trade crashed and burned. This Warriors management team has no problem trading away a fan favorite and locker room presence to bring the Warriors a little closer to the promised land. Kent Bazemore showed signs of promise over summer league where he led the Warriors to a perfect 7-0 and first-ever NBA Summer League Championship, but this tremendous play could not translate into consistent bench production during the 2013-2014 regular season. Maybe it was asking too much out of the former undrafted star from Old Dominion. Mark Jackson never really defined a role for Bazemore, but Bazemore also never established himself as a role player on the Warriors squad.
In acquiring Steve Blake, the Warriors pick up a quality veteran point guard with savvy ball handling and three point shooting skills. Blake will fill the gaping hole left from Jarrett Jack's absence this season, allowing Curry to play off the ball. Blake is averaging a cool 39.7% beyond the 3PT line. Say hello to another shooter and he isn't afraid to take a shot when the game is on the line. Check out this buzzer beater from earlier this season!
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| No Kobe. No Problem. |
RT @kobebryant: Not cool with @SteveBlake5 being gone AT ALL. One of my closest teammates and psycho competitor GS picked up gem #smartmove
— Marcus Thompson (@ThompsonScribe) February 20, 2014
Bazemore will face some serious competition against fellow teammate and celebration connoisseur, Robert Sacre. Who will be crowned the king of celebrations in LA? On a more serious note, who knows... Kent Bazemore may actually see some run the next month or so with Kobe and Swaggy P injured.
Welcome to the Dub Nation, Mamba #5! Farewell Kent Bazemore... you and your crazy celebration antics will be missed in the Bay. Best of luck in La La Land!
Does this mean I'm a Lakers fan now? HELL NO.
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