Step One for the Warriors: Acknowledging That You Have a Problem

Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News weighs in a long discussion of the Warriors, including steps they can take from here. First and foremost though, the first step is acknowledging that in Jackson, they’ve got themselves a problem:

To the surprise of precisely nobody in the universe except Warriors management–that’d be bumbling Robert Rowell, Don Nelson and Larry Riley (and their shills)–Stephen Jackson is acting up.

Holy Toledo, who could’ve predicted that! (Except everybody in the NBA, for about a year now.) Gotta love the Warriors, always about 4 steps behind everybody else.

For weeks, the Warriors pretended it didn’t matter that Jackson very publicly and very strongly wants to be traded. For weeks, the Warriors tried to persuade the outside world that Capt. Jack would be no problem, no problem at all in the locker room or on the court, despite his words. […]

After all the silly, flattering lies they’ve told themselves and half-truths and ridiculous fables of franchise reconstruction, the Warriors might have to start facing a series of hard truths, and maybe this is a big Step One:

Admit you have a problem.

Meanwhile, Yahoo! Sports’ Marc Spears sheds some more light on the suspension:

The Golden State Warriors suspended disgruntled forward Stephen Jackson(notes) on Saturday for two games after he cursed at coach Don Nelson during a preseason game the previous night, two NBA sources said. […]

Jackson’s confrontation with Nelson came after he committed five fouls and a technical in less than 10 minutes of the Warriors’ victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. In addition to yelling at an official, Jackson also became agitated after exchanging words with Lakers guard Kobe Bryant(notes), a source said. […]

The Warriors gave Jackson a three-year extension worth $28 million last season. Including this season, he has four years and about $35 million left on his contract, making him difficult, but not impossible, to trade.

And that’s true; his $35 million dollar extension doesn’t make him impossible to trade. But, of the trade demand, he said this at the Warriors’ media day:

“I don’t have a single regret about anything I’ve ever done. I don’t have a regret about going into the stands with Ron Artest, because that was the way it was supposed to be handled.”

And that, my friends is why he’s impossible to trade.