UPDATED 6:29 p.m.
Steve Blake has been officially traded according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:
Steve Blake has been traded to Golden State, league source tells Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 20, 2014
Lakers to receive Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks from the Warriors:
Golden State expected to send Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks to the Lakers for Blake, league source tells Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 20, 2014
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Heading into and during the 2013-2014 season, the Los Angeles Lakers have made roster moves while simultaneously keeping a watchful eye on their luxury tax bill. The payroll slashing continued as Steve Blake has been traded to the Golden State Warriors.
According to Mike Bresnahan of the L.A. Times, the Lakers have traded Blake to the Warriors:
Lakers closing in a deal to send Steve Blake to Golden State, according to Times sources.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) February 20, 2014
Blake is in the final season of the four-year deal he signed with the Lakers as a free agent in 2010. At the time of Blake’s signing, the Lakers were looking to retool for their run at a three-peat and it appeared as though they suddenly had a viable option to backup the aging Derek Fisher.
Instead, Blake never quite found his footing in Phil Jackson’s triangle offense and then suffered from injury under Mike Brown for two seasons. Blake appeared to be a good fit in Mike D’Antoni’s offense but again, his season became unraveled due to injury. The 33-year-old point guard missed 26 games with a right elbow injury that would have required surgery if he were a baseball pitcher.
Despite the elbow injury, Blake is averaging 9.5 points per game and 7.6 assists per game this season, both highs since his arrival in Los Angeles. With Steve Nash sidelined, Blake had nine games where he reached double-digits in assists. His season-high in assists is 16, which Blake had in a 114-99 win over the Detroit Pistons. Prior to injuring his elbow, Blake had emerged as a reliable three-point threat, but has seen his percentage drop significantly to 28 percent since suffering the injury back in November.
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