San Francisco Chronicle

July 15, 2004
by Jorge Ortiz

Warriors Keep Foyle, Look to Sign-and-Trade Dampier

Erick Dampier made close to $8 million last season, when he averaged career highs of 12.3 points and 12 rebounds a game.

Now that Adonal Foyle has signed for roughly that same amount -- a reported five-year, $41.6 million contract -- to replace Dampier as the Warriors' starting center, can similar productivity be expected of him?

Foyle had an interesting and typically erudite response when pondering that question Wednesday, when a moratorium on NBA player transactions was lifted.

"If the team wins and I set 20 picks, I'll consider that very much a job well done," said Foyle, an accomplished shot-blocker with career averages of 4.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 18.8 minutes in seven seasons as a backup with Golden State.

"I really don't conform to any of the standards by which people judge success. I think that's a fallacy. There's a lot of intangibles in the sport, and the question would be whether the team has results at the end of the day."

Before the end of Wednesday, the Warriors had kept Foyle, lost forward Brian Cardinal -- a clutch contributor last season who signed with Memphis - - and were still looking for a sign-and-trade involving Dampier.

They've had conversations with the Pacers, who are hoping to unload the contracts of big men Scot Pollard and Austin Croshere. It probably would take adding promising youngster Jonathan Bender to the package to tempt the Warriors.

Golden State is said to be eyeing Grizzlies restricted free agent Stromile Swift, a talented though erratic forward, with a Dampier sign-and- trade as bait. Memphis would prefer to include Shane Battier in the deal.

Another team reportedly interested in Dampier is Atlanta, which has enough cap room to offer the 6-foot-11 center a deal to his liking -- probably averaging at least $10 million a year.

Foyle said a recent conversation with Dampier left him the impression his close friend would settle his situation by the end of the week.

As for his own free-agent experience, Foyle said he fielded serious inquiries from five teams, including Boston, Milwaukee and Orlando, but said the expectation of better days ahead convinced him to return to the Warriors.

Foyle's large contract, which stunned some observers in a league used to huge salaries, obviously played a major role in the decision as well.

"I can never, ever get used to the kind of money in this league, but I've taken my dad's class (at Colgate), and I know what he would say -- supply and demand," Foyle said. "It's as simple as that. If you look at this summer, there were probably only about five big men on the market."

Briefly: A Warriors spokesman said second-year guard Mickael Pietrus would undergo an MRI exam on his strained left shoulder and the results should be available today. Pietrus was hurt taking a charge Monday in the first game of summer-league action.

Copyright © 2004, San Francisco Chronicle

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