Mickael Pietrus leaves Warriors with less fanfare than B.D. ... or Adonal Foyle, for that matter

July 15, 12:10 PMGolden State Warriors ExaminerMatt Steinmetz

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Pietrus: Not quite enough

Of all the offseason stuff that’s already happened with the Warriors, one getting virtually no play is Mickael Pietrus signing with the Orlando Magic.

Pietrus was one of the most popular Warriors, and he was the franchise’s longest-tenured player before his departure. He could be as exciting and breathtaking as any of his teammates and he loved to play the role of showman.

Nobody ever said a bad word about Pietrus’ attitude, and he was never in any off-the-court trouble. It just goes to show you that even if you’re a fan favorite you won’t be missed if you didn’t meet expectations.

It was harder to say good-bye to Adonal Foyle than it was Pietrus, even though Foyle was a far less productive player. But Warriors fans came to respect Foyle because in the end they knew, unfortunately, he had reached his potential as a player.

The same can’t be said of Pietrus and that’s why he’s out the door with no fanfare.

To call Pietrus an “underachiever” would be too strong. When he was good, he helped the Warriors win. But he was never consistent in his five seasons with Golden State and for that reason I don’t believe he’ll make any more of an impact for the Magic than he did the Warriors. (Conjecture?)

Pietrus could be maddeningly frustrating, whether it was his shooting from the line, the “for-no-apparent-reason” fouls out on the perimeter or his trademark stepping on the sidelines before a drive. He might even consider a patent on that one.

Over the past few seasons, I remember several Warriors making big shots. Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson and Monta Ellis obviously come to mind, but there were others. Al Harrington hit a spinning layup with a second left to give the Warriors a win in Philly in 2006-07.

Kelenna Azubuike made a monster 3-pointer in that game, too, and he’d been on the team about six weeks up to that point. Matt Barnes hit more than one big shot in the Warriors’ playoff upset of Dallas.

But I can’t remember Pietrus ever hitting a big shot. I remember him hitting shots that kept momentum going or perhaps stopped another team’s momentum late in games. But I can’t remember a shot he made that was the difference between a Warriors win and loss.

Help me out if you remember one.

Pietrus was usually upbeat and charismatic, a little too soft overall, special at times, ordinary a lot and ineffective a little too much. He will definitely benefit from a change of scenery. Pietrus will amuse, impress and confound the city of Orlando. Just like he did here.

But at the end of the day, Pietrus isn’t an NBA starter. Or to put it more gently, he has yet to prove he's an NBA starter. He can't be a starter on a contender anyway. But coming off the bench is not going to sit well with him, not at this point of his career.

Pietrus is like countless NBA players; he thinks he’s better than he is. If he comes off the bench, he’s not going to be content, and if he starts you’re not going to be that good.

Pietrus was one of the most friendly and positive players who ever came down the pike for the Warriors ... among the nicest and most outgoing I've dealt with in 15 years or so doing this. Fans should be collectively bumming out about his departure.

But Pietrus needed to be a better player for that to be happening.