Warriors reportedly talking with division rival about trading Jason Richardson

An article in the SF Gate today reported that the Warriors have been talking with at least one team, and a division rival at that, about trading guard Jason Richardson. Chris Mullin did make a public statement that Golden State had no intention of trading JR, but the rumors just won't stop. Bottom line: trading Jason Richardson would be bad for the Warriors on multiple fronts. Just when they finally got something going with their remarkable playoff run, they're gonna go and piss off their loyal fans by trading who is arguably the team's most popular player? The Chronicle article describes Richardson's first year with Don Nelson as "uneven and injury-filled", but JRich brings so much more to the table than just his usually solid play. You can't replace the kind of leadership that Richardson brings. And even if you got another good leader, he wouldn't have the kind of respect that comes with being the rock of a franchise for six years. I think this blog put it best: "You don't open up cap space by trading away guys like JRich. You open up cap space to sign guys like JRich."