Second, the Warriors put the “Barron” on waivers. Earl, would have had his contract guaranteed for the rest of the season if they had kept him past today.

GO WARRIORS!!!!

January 14, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Chris Wright (33) calls to teammate during the game against the Charlotte Bobcats at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-US PRESSWIRE

But back to rumor central. An “exclusive” article on Yahoo has now stated that the Warriors are emerging as an aggressive neighbor in knocking at Orlando’s door. For a trade to go down, the Warriors will have to swap somebodies for Dwight Howard and absorb Hedo Turkoglu’s massive $34 million contract that is still left (by far one of the most horrible contract extensions ever!). The Warriors will no doubt have to say bye-bye to either Monta Ellis or Stephen Curry. And they will probably also have to give up a draft pick.

It is clear that new Warriors’ owners are finally doing what they were preaching before the lockout. But is it smart to basically destroy your entire team for one player and take a massive contract as well? And, while the article states that both Peter Guber and Joe Lacob are convinced that the Bay Area is an untapped market for Howard to “own”, there is no guarantee that Howard will enjoy his stay here and there is not a great Plan B if Howard leaves after this year. Howard has already mentioned three teams he would be willing to sign an extension and none of them include the Warriors (for interest sake: Lakers, Mavs and Nets).

So a rental player for one shorten season for one of your best young players. This shouldn’t come as a surprise for Warrior fans. The Warriors were aggressive in pursuing Chris Paul only to have trade talks come to a halt because they were unwilling to part with Stephen Curry, whom many believe will be the face of the franchise, either this season or next or whenever they trade Monta Ellis. Paul would have also been a rental player, but for feeling’s sake, I thought that it would have been easier to convince Paul to stay and attract other big name players. But for someone who is as dominate as Howard has been and will continue to be in the future, that may be a risk the worth taking.