Spreading The Blame Around In Golden State

There are so many things wrong with the Warriors, it's not even worth counting. First, in the immortal words of the title of a recent Jack Nicholson film, something's got to give. And, as S-Jax himself predicted, his very public griping has been targeted as the ur-point for change in the Warriors organization.

Hence, at Yahoo! Sports, Marc J. Spears gets the following quotes from anonymous Warriors on the subject of a Jackson trade:

“The Jax situation is a constant distraction,” one Warrior said.

“Once they trade him,” another player said, “it will clear up a lot of things.”

“I’m aware the team needs a change,” Golden State general manager Larry Riley said. “I’m working hard toward that.”

Here's the glory of the Warriors: Jackson is a good soldier left to go mad on a desert island, or a Jekyll/Hyde figure whose medicine got spilled by an inept postal service. There's no question that, of all the folks involved in this slop of a team, S-Jax has done the most to distinguish himself in the NBA.

He's traveled the globe with humility, worked his way up, stuck in the NBA through sheer tenacity and played a key role in a Spurs championship. Yes, there was The Brawl, but Jackson also matured into a real triple-threat and an essential part of the BELIEVE Warriors.

So he wants a trade to a team that's not in advanced decay. And we all fault him for signing a long-term deal in Oakland without thinking. However bone-headed that may have been, though, it has to be put in perspective. Jackson's folly is not the same as Golden State's abyss-like organization yawning to wish the world imminent death and destruction.

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