THE SPORT COUNT

After running a fine-toothed comb through the champion Celtic roster, The Sport Count team heads way out west to apply its famed analytical skills to the Bay Area’s best.

B-Diddy turns his back on Golden State, just as he would in the off-season.

Golden State Warriors | Total Salary: $56,133,870

Straight off the bat, $56M doesn’t seem like much to pay for a team who knocked the Western Conference champions out of the playoffs two years ago, and only just missed the post-season last year.

These past two seasons have been characterised by the excitement prompted by Golden State’s hyper-offensive plays, and their colourful team: Baron Davis’ unbelievable consistency, Monta Ellis’ breakout season, and Stephen Jackson’s fixation with handguns.

But then the off-season happened. Baron packed up bags for a town a few clicks south, Monta did something and now won’t start the season, and the Warriors’ cap space was gambled on a European (always a mistake) and a talented-but-egocentric swingman. So for now, Golden State are an unknown quantity. Can Monta fulfill his role at the point? Will Maggette fit into a team where he isn’t the first option on offence? Will Biedrins justify his obscene contract?

If so, we might see another season of upsets in the West. If not, Golden State will be the new Clippers.

Adonal Foyle | $9,750,000 | 1 year

It’s impossible not to like Adonal Foyle. He has a history degree, founded a grassroots organisation called Democracy Matters, and reviews his favourite books on his official site. He’s a genuinely fantastic human being.

Regardless, Adonal could cure cancer in the off-season and his bloated salary would still be ridiculous. Especially considering he’s not even on the Warriors roster.

Al Harrington | $9,226,250 | 2 years

Harrington has a great contract. Having a young guy who can score and play a bit of defense inside is a great commodity — particularly one who can stick with the ridiculously high-octane offense Nelly is runs.

The issue with this contract is that Harrington is being stupidly used — because the Warriors don’t do half-court sets, Harrington is constantly forced to the perimeter. So while we’ve got $9M in contract just oozing potential, who knows if we’ll ever get the chance to see if it’s worth it. Oh well, that’s Don Nelson.

Andris Biedrins | $9,000,000 | 5 years

When you’re looking at the $9M over two which Harrington is getting as a bargain, you can then look at this contract and start to think a little closer about Golden State management. They let Baron Davis go – who was only looking for a couple of million more than Biedrins – and instead signed their undersized, soft-as-tissue-paper big man for nearly $50M over five years. Well, that’s just silly.

Every time I see the pundits on ESPN or wherever talk about how ‘this is a solid signing for the Warriors,’ I laugh and cry simultaneously because, as a Knicks fan I know that, somehow, Biedrins will end up in the blue and orange before too long. In fact, this contract makes me want to instigate a new salary cap rule: Europeans are only allowed to be paid $5M or less a season. The league will thank me.

Corey Maggette | $8,600,000 | 5 years

Anyone who has owned Maggette in a fantasy team, or watched one of the two Clippers games ESPN has ever shown, would be aware of his consistently respectable offensive numbers. He is more than competent at the two position; a quality second-tier shooting guard. At Golden State, Maggette looks to benefit from having Monta (unless something drastic happens), Al Harrington and Captain Jack around, as he’s unlikely to be guarded by the opposition’s best defensive player.

At the same time, you get the feeling that no longer being the stand-out shooting option on the team could be something Corey finds it hard to adjust to. The contract this year is worth the gamble. In five years’ time though, he just might be the next Larry Hughes.

(Side note: Interestingly, when you look up the word Maggette in a French dictionary, the literal translation is ‘knee-jerk’).

Stephen Jackson: a talented forward, an even more talented set thrower.

Stephen Jackson | $7,140,000 | 2 years

A wonderful contract, because it adheres to ‘The Artest Principle,’ whereby a hugely talented guy with ‘character issues’ will always be available cheaply.

Unless Captain Jack starts spraying bullets down by North Beach, he’ll deserve every cent he gets.

Ronny Turiaf | $4,000,000 | 4 years

When it comes to guys you want on your bench, Turiaf is in a league of his own, the French energy man constantly swiping and swishing two or three large white towels through the air. If you were paying Ronny only to psyche his teammates up — like a hulking, bearded, Sarkozy-ruled cheerleader — his contract would be worth every cent.

The fact he’s a rabid rebounder with a surprisingly soft mid-range touch who is paid less than the league average? Well, that’s a nice bonus.

Brandan Wright | $2,081,100 | 1 year

Wright will turn into a decent player, injuries notwithstanding. Tough to judge rookie contracts though, as we all know he’ll probably bolt for some silly team looking to pay him $40M over five years after he averages eight and six down the stretch in limited minutes. That’s the NBA.

Kosta Perovic | $1,944,000 | 2 years

Let’s be honest, I’ve never seen Kosta Perovic play. But I can tell you one thing… with that name, he’s certain to be absolutely worthless unless he’s unguarded from three-point range.

Anthony Randolph | $1,424,400 | 2 years

Are rookie contracts – with the exception of those offered to white guys – ever that bad? An athletic left-hander who seems to have a bunch of upside to support GSW’s sharp-shooting forwards is worth the money. The only question is whether Don Nelly will elect to ignore his inside game as he has done with Al Harrington, and keep him on the perimeter.

Marco Belinelli | $1,205,600 | 1 year

Belinelli came out firing in the 2007 summer league, putting up 37 points in his first game. Don Nelson gushed. ‘I think he’s been sensational,’ said Nellie. ‘He’s very unpredictable offensively, and that’s what I like about him.’

Then Nelson played ‘Bench The Eurobust’, playing him in just 33 games. Say it with me: ‘thank god for rookie contracts.’

Marcus Williams | $1,262,520 | 1 year

Williams posted halfway reasonable numbers in his rookie and sophomore seasons at the Nets, given his bench-heavy minutes. With Monta out, Williams will have the opportunity to demonstrate whether he can find a place at the point. Meanwhile, every player at Golden State will be leaving their laptops at home.

Monta Ellis | Apparently $66m | 6 years

If this contract was the $66M Monta was originally offered, and this was a few weeks ago, when he was healthy, the verdict would’ve been simple: you’ve just paid a good player with a load of upside the money that he’s worth.

Now, however, we have a situation where you might pay a good player what he’s worth. And you’re now in a position to justifiably say ‘Monta, you’re getting less money, because you were a douche. You went and did something we explicitly told you not to. You could do anything you wanted bar about three activities, and you chose one of them.’

Going on his form from last year though, you’d have to say any contract from $66M down is a pretty good contract for Monta.

Posted by: Alex, Anton & James

Previous Rosters Rated: New York Knicks, Boston Celtics.

Note: when expressing the years remaining on a contract, we’ve taken the team’s potential liability into account, meaning we assume a player will accept their player option. A team option is not considered a liability.