the other team finished with a modest edge. The Warriors acquired Zarko Cabarkapa from Phoenix Suns for second round pick (protected top 40 in 2005, top 38 in 2006, unprotected in 2007) (2007 #49-Aaron Gray); 2009 second round pick (#37-DeJuan Blair).
Golden State acquired Žarko Čabarkapa from Phoenix on January 3, 2005 for two future second-round picks. Čabarkapa played 98 regular-season games for the Warriors across the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons. His best stretch came immediately after the trade, when he averaged 6.2 points in 37 games for Golden State. The Warriors received a real rotation player, but the return never grew into a larger long-term branch.
The first pick was protected until 2007 and eventually became the No. 49 selection. Phoenix did not keep it through draft night. On February 8, 2005, the Suns sent that future second to Boston for Walter McCarty and cash. McCarty was only a short-term Phoenix piece, so this branch added modest value rather than the future career of Aaron Gray, who was eventually selected after the pick changed hands several more times.
The second incoming pick lasted much longer in the Suns asset tree. In the 2008 draft, Phoenix sent the future Golden State second, the rights to Malik Hairston and cash to San Antonio for the draft rights to Goran Dragić. San Antonio later used the pick at No. 37 on DeJuan Blair. Phoenix does not receive Blair’s career in this grade, but the pick was a real component in the trade that brought Dragić to the Suns, giving the original Čabarkapa deal a much stronger downstream outcome.
Suns Win — Phoenix A-, Golden State C-. Čabarkapa gave the Warriors 98 games, so Golden State received genuine rotation value. Phoenix converted one second into Walter McCarty and cash, then used the other as part of the package that acquired Goran Dragić’s draft rights. The Suns do not get credit for Aaron Gray or DeJuan Blair simply because those picks eventually selected them; the win comes from what Phoenix actually did with the assets before they left its control.