Golden State Paid for a Wing Who Could Shoot and Defend
Golden State acquired Brandon Rush in December 2011, sending Indiana forward Lou Amundson and a future second-round draft selection. Rush was a former first-round guard-forward who had played regular minutes for the Pacers but was not essential to their plans. The Warriors valued his shooting and defensive versatility as they adjusted their backcourt rotation. Indiana received a physical rebounding forward and a future asset rather than another scoring wing. Unlike a straight player exchange, the 2015 second-round selection formed a separate component of the Pacers return.
Rush Gave the Warriors an Efficient and Busy First Season
During the shortened 2011-12 season Rush played sixty-five Warriors regular-season games and logged 1,717 minutes. He scored 634 points and made ninety-nine of 219 three-point attempts, a 45.2 percent shooting rate. He was a useful reserve who could defend multiple perimeter positions and offer outside spacing without a large number of possessions. Those totals belong to the Warriors after this specific trade, not to his prior years in Indiana. It was a genuine season-long contribution from an acquired player.
A Knee Injury Sharply Reduced the Following Year
Rush returned in 2012-13 but suffered a serious knee injury after only two regular-season appearances. That limited his initial Warriors spell to sixty-seven games across two seasons. He later played for Utah before returning to Golden State through a separate roster transaction, so it would be inaccurate to attribute his eventual later Warriors work directly to the December 2011 purchase. The significant return from this trade was his accurate perimeter shooting in the first season. The injury reduced his future value without wiping out those already-earned minutes.
Indiana Obtained an Actual Veteran and a Future Pick
Amundson supplied Indiana with physical backup frontcourt play during the same shortened season. The accompanying second-round asset later reached the 2015 draft as a very late selection associated with Luka Mitrović, rather than a proven Pacers NBA contributor. Indiana did receive something useful, so the exchange should not be evaluated as if Rush departed for nothing. Still, Golden State acquired considerably more offensive production from the 2011-12 wing than the Pacers acquired from the separate pick option and a brief reserve forward stint. The original Pacers-favored verdict was too strong.
Final Verdict
Warriors Win. Golden State earns B+ for Rush’s 65-game, 634-point first Warriors season and efficient 45.2 percent three-point shooting. Indiana gets C+ for Amundson’s backup minutes and a 2015 second-round asset. Rush’s later return after a separate Utah season does not count toward the 2011 trade return, which already favors Golden State.