Last week, Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News reported Warriors owner Chris Cohan is considering selling his 80% stake in the franchise. Today, Kawakami has some good insight on how this development could change the dynamics of a trade centered around Amare Stoudemire:
If Stoudemire does not sign long-term, he could leave as a free agent next summer, but that might not be a disaster in Cohan’s eyes as he readies for sale.
(Though it would be a fiasco for Warriors supporters, since it would mean trading Andris Biedrins, Brandan Wright and Marco Belinelli, possibly and more, for nothing in 2010-2011).
Stoudemire walking away as a free agent would erase enormous money from the payroll–basically, subtracting Biedrins’ long-term deal for free, and getting one year of Stoudemire as a bonus.
It would be a major talent loss, but, for Cohan and a potential buyer, it would more importantly clean the books for 2010-’11, when the Warriors would only have a handful of signed players and less than $40M committed.
