Posts tagged ‘Don Nelson’

Some news of note before opening night vs. Hornets…

* Al Harrington wants out. According to a report by Tim Kawakami, Al doesn’t feel he’s being used properly by Nellie and is seeking a trade. In fact, he’s wanted out since the end of last year. It’s a shame because Al is one of the real good guys in the locker room.

But will the Warriors bite?

Well, if there’s a way to fill a need by trading Al, I’m certain Mullie would do it. But Kirk Henrich of the Bulls (whose name has been associated w/ Al during the summer) probably isn’t the answer. My guess is Nellie and Al will work things out and Harrington will be a key 6th man once Monta is back.

* Nellie will be back — and for a few more years! I make no bones about being a Nellie supporter. He’s the best thing that’s happened to this franchise, and that spans two decades.

The two year extension he signed today is worth about $12 million, with some of that money deferred.

Nelson has the second most coaching wins in NBA history and will now be assured to break Lenny Wilkens record sometime over the next two years — barring anything unforeseen.

We all want to see what Nellie himself wants - “an ass-kicking veteran team that would have a chance to win a title.” And we now may get to see that during the course of this contract.

* Who said Nellie hates rookies? DeMarcus Nelson will get the opening-night start at point guard. That’s big news since the Duke rookie was a undrafted free agent, who was not even likely to make the squad. But C.J. Watson’s injury opened the door and little Nelson walked right through it. It’s his time to shine before Mr. Ellis comes back.

* Speaking of C.J. Watson, he is on the opening night roster, in spite of having a torn elbow ligament. He received permission from the NBA to wear a brace and is available for action. Unfortunately, I have a distinct feeling he’ll be a shell of the scorer he is until the ligament fully heals. It’s a shame because he’s a real success story. Here’s hoping C.J. gets healthy in a real hurry.

* Last but not least, Monta filed a grievance with the league with regard to his contract status — and for good reason. The W’s suspended Ellis for 30 games, which will cost the young guard roughly $3 million in salary, but they also want to reserve the right to terminate his contract should Monta not fully recover.

That’s double jeopardy by most measures. Hopefully, a NBA arbitrator can solve this mess before we have another Chris Webber mess on our hands. Warriors President Robert Rowell seems to be the point man on this decision. And if there’s not more than meets the eye, he certainly deserves the flack he’s been receiving. Terminate him or suspend him, but there’s no need to do both.

Here’s a statement from Monta, via his agent:

“To My Community, Friends and Fans:

I want to thank you very much for your continued support and encouragement. While management and I do not agree on their actions, I want to be clear that my injury is based on my mistake in judgment. And I always accept responsibility for my actions.

The Bay area has become home to me and I love everything about this community. I see the kids wearing Number 8 in the arena and around the Bay area and it always brings a big smile to my face and a sense of pride and responsibility. I accept that role because there were people in my life that made a difference during my childhood and into my adult life.

It means a lot to me to be an NBA player, and something that I have worked hard my entire to life to achieve. I also take seriously the impact that some of my actions have on others, and particularly our youth. I am working very hard to get back on the court and help my teammates and coaches win many games and recreate the playoff atmosphere of 2007. We were as excited on the court as the fans in the stands, and I will continue to work hard to make you proud of the Warriors.

Thank you for becoming such a special part of my life.

Warmly, Monta”

Will the Dubs get off to a fast start this season? You tell us…

And look for our season-opening podcast with Adam to come this weekend!

Baron Davis started his Warriors career with bang, leading the squad to a winning record in the aftermath of his trade from the New Orleans Hornets in 2005, while setting up big expectations for the future.

It appears now though B.D. will depart GSW with similar fanfare. Davis opted out of his contract Monday night, scheduled to pay him $17.8 million this upcoming season, for the greener pastures of unrestricted free agency.

The only question is whether this move will enable Davis to get the greenbacks he feels he so richly deserves.

In a sense, you could see this coming. Last summer, Baron had a much publicized encounter with former Lakers star/G.M./NBA Logo Jerry West.

West told Baron to stop sniping about a contract extension, play the string out and see where it all lands.

Davis did that, responding with 21.8 points, 7.6 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game, leading the Dubs to a 48 win season. In spite of having a record better than four Eastern Conference squads, the Warriors failed to make the playoffs in the uber-competitive Western Conference and ended up in the lottery for the 15th time in team history.

Warriors G.M. Chris Mullin has kept a hardline of late when it comes to signing long-term extensions, after the terrible deals issued to Troy Murphy, Adonal Foyle and Mike Dunleavy.

So the hardball play by Warriors management was expected. Davis’ response, though, has everyone thrown off-guard.

Rumors abound about Davis heading to the Clippers to join Elton Brand, who also opted out of his contract, to set up a version of Celtics-west.

Speculation aside, Davis’ apparent departure will certainly stifle the Warriors’ chances of getting back into the playoff hunt next season.

After their incredible showing in the 2007 postseason, all signs posted towards a Warriors run for a conference title. But this news only rams home the point that windows of opportunity are fleeting and the Warriors chances for a title may still be years away.

Your Warriors bolstered Kevin Durant’s case for rookie of the year.

Box Score

Man I’m glad I didn’t end up grabbing tickets at the last minute for this one.

Fan appreciation night you say? We can all appreciate seeing the rise of Kevin Durant (Kid Delicious), but I certainly would appreciate it more if it hadn’t been at the Warriors’ expense. What a baffling loss to end a baffling month.

Due to the TV blackout I split my time between listening to the radio while making dinner and watching the box score updating on my laptop. I noticed what seemed like a fairly inspired comeback attempt in the fourth, and a whole lotta uncontested buckets from the Supersonics.

First quarter collapse, stifled by the zone, no D, no big runs from BD. That’s as much as I can really speak to. Kevin Durant obviously went off hard, finishing the game with career highs in scoring, 42, and rebounds, 13, that’s superb. Monta was the leading scorer for the Dubs with 24 (11-17!), Andris was a stud with 20 points and 17 boards, Marco Belinelli was a sharpshooter, nailing 5-6 threes, wish I could have seen that. 

After benching Baron for the entire second half against the Suns, Nellie went ahead and played him 39 minutes last night. Adam reports in his recap that it wasn’t a pretty sight:

But the veterans that were supposed to lead this team to playoff glory — Davis, Jackson, Harrington — looked defeated and disinterested. They shot a combined 12-40 from the field and managed 7 rebounds between them (6 from Davis). As bad as the stats look, the body language was even more offensive.

Baron’s numbers back up that visual. Our leader’s final outing of the season netted him 36% fg rate on 8-22 shooting. He hit 5-12 threes, that’s chucking.

I have no personal insight into the swamp of motivations that drive Don Nelson and Baron Davis. They are both larger-than-life figures with a history of bridge burning, chip-on-the-shoulder cultivating, and dogged stubbornness. As a dedicated follower of the team for equal personality, and play reasons I can only hope that this end will be a catalyst for reevaluation and rebuilding, rather than mistrust and disintegration.     

The postseason is upon us, let the speculation run wild and free.  

Your Warriors are out.

Box Score

What the heck was that?

Baron Davis played 17 minutes, Kosta Perovic played 13. The nuttiest thing about that information is that it seems like the correct move. Baron was dismal in his limited play. He ended up 2-13 and looked more like he was messing around one-on-one with his buddy Steve Nash than trying to help his team win their very last chance to stay in playoff contention. Nellie benched him the entire second half, one of many strange occurrences last night.

The Dubs came out all thumbs, just missing layups and bricking jumpers. The Suns took the lead after three minutes behind fat Shaq post points, and a deadly Nash/Amare pick and roll connection.

The Warriors’ game in the first half was an oddity of freak show proportions. We got to see line ups including Kosta P, Andris, and Uncle Austin at the same time. The strangest thing about the geek squad getting time was that they looked a lot more active and driven than the much touted heart and soul of the team. Kosta was a bit clumsy, but not inept. He didn’t back down from Shaq contact, fought hard for offensive rebounds, and ran the best he could. It was obvious he was sucking wind after a few minutes of real time game, but didn’t quit.

It’s tempting to get very gloomy about the fact that Nellie sat Baron for the entire half. There were no damage control quotes post game to put any kind of speculation speed bumps up either. Nellie merely said that he gave Baron some much needed rest, and BD left without speaking to reporters. If you want to delve into far reaching, pot stirring speculation head over to Tim Kawakami’s blog for his take on Boomgate.

The second half featured a new Dubs squad, and a new spark. Jack finally came alive, pouring in 16 points in the third - including 3 threes. The off brand Dubs managed to not only get out of the first half pit, they actually got up by as much as 8 behind solid play from Kaz, Austin, and their default point guard, Monta Ellis. Two things went right, Jack started bombing with accuracy, and they actually played some gosh dern defense.

Monta and the B-Team managed to push the lead up to 11 in the first few minutes of the fourth before the Suns got down to business and began waxing their playoff mustaches. Amare started getting to the line with a vengeance, while Bell and Barbosa hit some key three pointers. 

The Suns got back on top with 4 minutes left to play as the Dubs went cold. Jack was able to nail a very clutch three to tie it up once more, but the game was over when Monta missed his next jumper and the Suns put up 5 unanswered points.

Andris deserves more of a mention. He put up yet another double double, and had his old stickum grip back, catching Jack’s spitball passes on pick and rolls. Watching him and Kosta on the court together was entertaining, not in the look at the bizarre foreign giants way, more in the hey, those dudes can kinda get after it way.

The final game against Seattle is at home on Wednesday. I’ll be watching with a little tear in my eye. It won’t be a tear of shame, I’m just going to miss the guys, ya digg? 

Peace out 2007-2008 season, I’m not mad at ya. 48 or 49 wins is nothing to be ashamed of and there is plenty of hope for the future.

Your Warriors can still fly, and stumble….and fly.

Box Score

With a gratifyingly optimistic crowd at their back, the Dubs shook off a mental hangover from Thursday’s loss, and stormed the court in the first - tying their highest scoring quarter of the season at 42. Jack put up 10 - including 2 threes, and Al put up 13 - shooting well from the outside as well as driving strong. The Warriors’ lead blossomed to 20 points with a minute left in the quarter, and the Clippers appeared to be comfortable in their role as the evening’s tomato can .

Nellie was relaxed enough to leave Baron on the bench to start the second quarter - and was promptly reminded via 3 straight Clipper three pointers, and some sketchy Dubs’ possesions that nothing in life is certain, and that BD is the only man who can make this hoopty run.

The news that Denver had lost to the the Jazz was announced half way through the game, injecting the crowd with yet more hope juice. On the court the Warriors were running and flying, with Baron and Jack finding Monta, and even Patrick O’Bryant for alley-oops. Nellie got into a light hearted mood and faked a drive past Monta after finding the ball in his lap.

Meanwhile, the Clippers’ Cuttino Mobley was decimating the Warriors’ lead with quick turnaround jumpers. Al Thorton (aka the rookie Al Thorton) was ball hawking his way towards a double-double, and Corey Maggette the male model was perpetually getting to the line via throwing his body into whatever Dub was defending him.

The happy-go-lucky feel in the building was suddenly reversed when everyone noticed that the lead had shrunk to 5 points with just under 2 minutes left to play. Monta converted a drive, Jack hit a jumper and hit 5 free throws to keep the Dubs on top for the ugly win.

The final hope lies in the Nuggets dropping one of their two remaining games against Houston or Memphis, as well as the Warriors running the table against the Suns and Seattle.

Word from practice today is that Brandan Wright strained his groin against the Kings last night and may not be available in tomorrow’s pivotal matchup against Denver. Wright has come on strong in recent weeks and was expected to play a role in defending the Nuggets’ Marcus Camby, one of the NBA’s top rebounders and defenders.

The W’s were otherwise very loose and in great spirits. Their practice was more like a shootaround, with players getting treatment in preparation for tomorrow’s clash.

Listen to Don Nelson breaking the news to us below, as well as thoughts from Baron Davis and Monta Ellis.

exclusive audio

Don Nelson

Baron Davis

Monta Ellis

Your Warriors ain’t dead yet.

Box Score

With some smart early play by Jack and Baron, and not a little bit of help from a dismal looking Griz squad, the Dubs’ youth movement got its most extended run of the season.

It’s all about perspective. If you were as down as I was on the team after the turrable Texas trouncings, this game should help. If we end up just outside of the playoffs this season at least we’ll have Monta, Brandan, Andris, and some combination of Marco, CJ, and Kaz to look forward to in the future. Grizzlies fans will have Rudy Gay, Mike Miller, draft picks and…..fantasizing about getting Darko off of their team. Pecking order you see, it’s all about finding someone worse off than you and making yourself feel better about your lot at their expense.

All Warriors all game.

Andris had 14 points and 12 rebounds by the end of the second quarter and BoomJack had already combined for 11 assists. The greybeards were obviously focused on moving the ball and Beans was the focal point on offense early on, running tight pick-and-rolls and boarding like mad. Andris finished the game with 21 points & 17 rebounds.

Kaz got another start, and his 40 minutes was the longest stretch on the team. He quietly went about his business, grabbing 10 boards and draining 3-5 threes. With Matt Barnes’ game on life support, Kelenna has really done well to fill the dirty work gap.

Marco Belinelli unexpectedly entered the game for Monta with a minute and a half left in the first, and stayed in for another 21 exciting minutes. In his post game interview he mentioned that Nellie told him to be ready to guard Juan Carlos Navarro, meaning that coach planned this whole circus out. It’s a bit frustrating to see Nelson start gambling with young player development this late in the season, but the results were hard to second guess. After floundering into two turnovers on his first two possessions, Marco shook off the jitters and got his summer league on. He was darting to open spots on the floor off of screens and blasting away with off balance jumpers from all over the court. 13 points on 6-11 shooting with 1 three.

CJ Watson also got a chance to get some licks in, running the point for the last six and a half minutes of the game. He racked up his 9 points in four minutes, going 4-4 with one three.

Brandan Wright’s go-go-gadget arms got 20 minutes of action and excelled against the unmotivated, soft Grizzlies front court. He looked smooth and silly skinny, getting two blocks.

Al looked like junk. He repeatedly tried to force his own shot in the paint, only to get rejected or brick it off the front of the rim. His thumb is wrapped and it seems to be completely throwing him off of his game.

Barnes once again made his presence felt via pain. He blatently shoved Kyle Lowry off of him during an out-of-bounds play in the fourth, earning yet another flagrant - and a suspension for the NO game on Sunday due to cumulative flagrant foul points. Frustration and pain are ruining Matt’s game, it’s a really sad turn of events for a player most of us want to see stick around and do well with the Warriors.

Oh yeah, Monta. The kid cruised through the game, looking like he was playing in high school again. He was a bit sloppy with the ball, picking up 4 turnovers, but was also opportunistic against the sloppy Grizzlies, picking up 4 steals. Mellow 19 points for All Day.

Conventional wisdom tells us that the extended rest for Baron and Jack is a positive sign for the Dubs’ chances against the Hornets on Sunday. The problem is that the Warriors repeatedly tell conventional wisdom to shove it. It’s an early one, 10 am local time on ABC so turn on, tune in and hold on.

PS: Dallas lost to the Lakers…damn I hate being happy about a Lakers’ win.

The Warriors announced today that they want Don Nelson back on the bench next season. They exercised an option on his contract that would facilitate a third season for Nellie, in his second stint as coach of the Warriors.

The only problem is that Nellie is non-committal about whether he wants to be back for another 82 games plus playoff grind.

“We’ll (Don and his wife Joy) have to reflect on it,” said Nellie. “It’s never a good time to make a decision at this time of year. It’s a very nice gesture on their part.“

You may recall a similar saga that played out before the start of this season, where Nelson held out until the Warriors relented and offered him a bump from $3 million with incentives to $5 million guaranteed per season to coach the squad.

The Warriors, in exchange for the guaranteed money, decided to hold an option for Nellie on next season. Now that they’ve exercised it, the ball is once again back in Nellie’s court.

For the sake of everyone - fans, the boys and the organization at large - let’s hope he’s back after a prolonged run in the playoffs.

The Warriors redeemed themselves in grand fashion to cap off their road trip.

After suffering a brutal loss at the hands of J-Rich and the Bobcats, GSW ended their roadie with back to back wins over flameless Heat and a solid Magic squad. The Warriors have won every road trip longer than three games this season, ending this trip 3-1, while keeping pace in the absurdly competitive Western Conference.

The Dubs’ defense, non-existent for stretches of the road trip, magically appeared in time to stifle Orlando’s stud center Dwight Howard. He torched the Warriors for 19 points in the first half, but Superman was “held” to 26 and 12.

Credit Nellie and the staff for sending double-teams to attack the big man in the second half before he got in too close for easy buckets.

Baron poured in his standard 33 and 9, MP nearly had a double-double again and Jack hit three treys, on the way to 20 points.

After a win like this, against a team that beat them on their home court, it’s hard to find much to complain about.  As you’ll hear in our latest effort, Adam Lauridsen of the San Jose Mercury News and I gush over the successful road trip, the stellar contribution from the bench and whether the Dubs are officially an elite squad.

Some interesting games against the Raptors and the Suns await.

On the heels of an outstanding victory, the Warriors’ thin front-court takes a huge hit. Janny Hu explains why we’ll be without Andris for a bit:

“Golden State’s top center is out indefinitely after having his appendix removed late Thursday. Biedrins was scheduled for an overnight hospital stay and is expected to be sidelined for at least a week.”

Despite my enthusiastic declarations in the Celtics recap, Nellie is actually still the boss. Lowell Cohn was a witness:

“He approached Davis, and Davis immediately stood up, attentive, alert — no more tired stuff. Reporters wonder if Davis, the Warriors’ only legitimate star, runs the team, if maybe Nelson is overly careful with him or afraid of him. Check this out. Nelson said, “One thing still bothers me.”

Finally, Mully talked with the morning guys at KNBR about how the trade deadline wasn’t really that big of a deal for him and the Warriors, and how he sees the team right now. Here’s the audio.