SB Nation User Blog: Atma Brother ONE

Bakersfield Warriors

Atma Brother ONE — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:58:10 -0000

Bakersfield Warriors

Nellie said Warriors are scouring the D-League for another player, their second-hardship exception

-- Marcus Thompson Tweets

It's time to think about some Ridiculous Upside!

Also see part 2 of MT's Q&A with us.

Q&A: Marcus Thompson - Contra Costa Times / InsideBayArea.com (Part 2 of 3)- Don Nelson's media downfall, Chris Mullin as a front office hire, Chris Cohan's closeness to selling the Golden State Warriors

Atma Brother ONE — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:05:25 -0000

In Part 1 Marcus Thompson shared some bright spots on the Golden State Warriors dismal 2009-2010 campaign, players likely to be traded out of Oakland, and Robert Rowell's role in making basketball decisions.

[Inside the Warriors]

In this part MT dissects Nellie's media downfall, whether Mullin is a good front office hire, and how close Cohan is to selling the Warriors.

Golden State of Mind: After a string of 8 coaches during the Warriors 12 year playoff drought, Don Nelson was "the rebirth of cool" for this franchise back in 2006. He was an instant media darling. The Warriors improbable run to qualify for the 2007 NBA Playoffs and their exciting playoff run only cemented his darling status. But a little over two years later it seems like there's a daily piece from either the local Bay Area or national media questioning his every coaching decision and even his character. What specific events do you think caused Nellie's media downfall?

Marcus Thompson: Any instances causing Nellie's "media downfall" are inherently linked to his last stint with the Warriors. So I think all of it is tied to the bad break-up he had with Golden State the first time, especially handling of rookie stud Chris Webber.

With that said, his relationship with Chris Mullin, and the way he handled notoriously good guys in Al Harrington and Jamal Crawford, really made him look like the villain.

The perception was that Mullin and Nellie were linked, tight, best friends. That's how it was played when they brought Nelson back. I'm not going to presume to know what happened behind the scenes. I know what I've heard, and what I believe, but that's all speculation. Members of the organization will say and have said any talk of Nelson pushing Mullin out or getting him fired is nonsense. But what can't be overlooked was the lack of support Nelson showed Mullin publicly.

Considering how close those two were supposed to be, considering Mullin brought Nelson in, where was the outcry for Mullin to stick around from Nellie? Where was his lobbying for Mullin to keep his job and this winning pair to stick together? What's not said is sometimes as powerful as what is said. I think that led to the perception, whether true or false, that Nelson had thrown Mullin under the bus. And considering Mullin had made the moves that led to the turn around, that left Nelson as the easy target as the bad guy.

Then you throw in Nellie's conflicts with Harrington, one of the happy-go-luckiest guys you'll ever meet, and Crawford, another guy who is perhaps to professional and stand-up for his own good. I think those situations made Nelson look meddlesome.You starting putting all these things together, plus the past, plus serious questions about whether Nellie ball even works at a high level, plus public beef with Mark Cuban and agents talking bad about him, and it's easy to see why Nellie's reputation has taken a hit.

Golden State of Mind: Much was made about Chris Mullin's dismissal from the Warriors front office. Months have elapsed since the Warriors let him go and he still does not have another front office job. How much interest is there around the league in bringing him on as a front office executive? You covered his entire tenure as a VP of the Warriors from draft picks to trades to contract negotiations. Is he a good front office hire?

Marcus Thompson: I still think he will end up in New York with Donny Walsh. And I do think he is a good front office hire. He has relationships around the league. He has a pretty good eye for talent. And players love him because of his style of management. Say what you want about Mullin and his bad contracts, but he has his understanding of how to build a franchise. It has its holes, but it makes some sense. You make the franchise a place where players want to play, and they will come. You get players and you will win.

Of course, Mullin did that by overpaying guys to lend some kind of credibility to the franchise. Plus he gets enamored with players and he is loyal to them even when they are proving unworthy of the loyalty. But only one player ever left the Warriors unhappy because of Mullin, and that was Jason Richardson. And the reason he was unhappy was because he didn't want to leave.

Mullin, just like anyone else in the franchise, hasn't done anything yet. But I think over time he had a chance to be a pretty good GM. He has a much better chance under an owner who doesn't mind spending money, because his philosophy can be expensive. Plus some in the organization said he lets the players get away with murder, and there is probably some validity to that.

But since neither philosophy has won anything in Golden State, its hard to choose whose idea of how to run a franchise is better. You might have to lean towards Mullin's because they had their most success in recent years under him.

Golden State of Mind: How close is Chris Cohan to selling the Warriors? Are there any updates about that topic? Give us a prediction- when will he finally sell and to who?

Marcus Thompson: I don't think he's close. To be sure, the process to sell a team takes two or three years anyway. So even if he had an offer right now that he was willing to accept, the sale probably wouldn't go through for two years. I think he's got a number in mind that no one is going to reach. Not in this economy. Not on this team. Now, if the IRS knocks on his door demanding $200 million in taxes owed, that might change things. But Cohan's best business move might be to hold on until the team turns it around, thereby raising the offers if he believes things will turnaround.

**********

Keep it locked for the third episode!

GAME THREAD #25: Golden State Warriors vs San Antonio Spurs- I Love GSoM + Dysfunction Junction

Atma Brother ONE — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:00:55 -0000

Originally posted: Dec 16, 2009 3:45 AM PST

UPDATE (3:50pm): Warrior center Mikki Moore will be undergoing surgery. Thank you Mikki for stepping it up with Andris Biedrins and Ronny Turiaf out. Good luck with the surgery.

======================

This means only one thing...

the San Antonio Snores are in town... zzz... zzzzzz...

[via sleepzine.com]

Warriors: 7-17

Spurs: 12-10

Tip-Off: 7:30 pm

TV: CSN Bay Area

Radio: KNBR 680

Blog Buddy: Pounding the Rock

Around the Association: An Apple a Day...

First thing's first. I love GSoM. Since last Saturday on the front page we've had:

a diagnosis and some cures for The Suck
Chris Mullin's favorite free agent point guard signing on the wrong side of a Slam insert
Links, links, and links about the Warriors back to back disappointments
Deja Vu in Detroit
Q&A with our man MT about Warriors bright spots, the next Warrior to be traded, and the super popular Robert Rowell (just kidding about the popularity)
The Warriors ranking as an "entertaining mess"
Feltbot joining team GSoM
The Sixers not exactly showing the Warriors some brotherly love
The great distraction the 49ers gave us on Monday Night
Flat tire on road trip finale
The Answer (for the Sixers)
So many deck chairs, so little time
Anthony Randolph and every single Golden State Warrior on the trading block
The beginning of The Jeremy Lin Movement

Imagine what this place would be like if this team was actually good.

Imagine hard.

Real hard.

Because chances are that's not going to happen for a long, long, long time.

Jump for some links about the dysfunction and some continued preview madness.

Dysfunction Junction

Let's see if anything actually comes of this. The Warriors deserve all the blame they can get, but I'm hesistant to pin this on Larry Riley and Don Nelson as front office men. Officially (or unofficially for Nellie) they've only been in charge since early summer. Give them some time to clean up this mess. The Warriors last front office lead basketball personnel Chris Mullin got ridiculous support from the local/ national media and fanbase while he made one screw up after another during his 5 year tenure here. I'd like to see the Riley/ Nellie duo get another year or two before they take so much public bashing for their front office decisions.

Chris Cohan and Robert Rowell are a completely different story of course. We've been calling them out for years and they deserve all the public bashing possible. It's somewhat hilarious to see so many folks just now calling them out for complete ineptitude. Where were these critics when we were trying to put together a Sell the Warriors campaign back in 2006?

Nowhere to be found.

Is there such thing as a "bandwagon Cohan/ Rowell hater"? To tell you the truth that's what I feel like most folks are doing these days.

We've been doing this for years son.

(Did I seriously just brag about hating the Cohan/ Rowell incompetence longer you good folks reading at home? What's wrong with me?)

The links:

Nobody on Warriors Untouchable [Inside the Warriors]- No one on the Warriors should be untouchable. Blow up Mullin/ Rowell's mess. Blow it up. Blow it up!
Warriors' new slogan: Buy tickets or else Randolph gets it! [Talking Points]- I'm not sure I buy that Anthony Randolph right now really sells tickets to tell you the truth. Only Warrior/ NBA junkies know much about him. Anthony Randolph is not in your casual NBA fan's vocabulary- for good reason of course. The folks who go to Dubs games right now are the type that would go regardless of AR. Winning, now that will increase ticket sales. Sorry but Randolph is not a big reason an NBA team will win right now.
Randolph update, Nelly misconceptions [CSN Bay Area]- Two things you don't want to miss:

Anthony Randolph + Corey Maggette

However, getting to the nuts and bolts of it, Randolph isn't likely to go anywhere unless Corey Maggette goes along with him. I find it hard to believe the Warriors would move Randolph unless they can send Maggette and his contract -- three-plus years -- along with him.

Larry Riley calling the shots in the front office, not Don Nelson

From what I'm told, general manager Larry Riley certainly doesn't clue in Nelson on the day-to-day of what's going on. In fact, Riley makes a point not to include Nelson on everything because he knows how itchy Nelson can get when it comes to this kind of stuff.

If the Warriors do make a trade, Nelson isn't going to be the one doing it. The Stephen Jackson trade was all Riley and the next trade will be all Riley, too.

Oh yeah- Dubs vs Spurs Tonight at the Boracle

There's really not all that much to say about the Snores and the Dubs. They're polar opposites.

Snores = Winners; Dubs = Not quite winners

Snores = 3 NBA Rings this decade; Dubs = Sports Illustrated's Worst NBA Franchise of the Decade

Snores = BORING for all the wrong reasons; Dubs = Entertaining for all the wrong reasons

To quote the classic Roots album... Do You Want More?!!!??!

Well I know you do. So head on over to the Pounding the Rock Game Thread for some sharp and entertaining analysis on tonight's matchups and keys to the game. You know if we didn't have so much drama to cover around these parts, maybe we'd have time to actually talk hoops like the good people at PtR do regularly.

Predictions

A finally healthy Nellie shows these haters whassup. Actually I'm not so sure what that means- this roster is terrible. What do you really want this coaching legend to do?
Tim Duncan goes for 20 and 15 at a minimum.
Anthony Morrow finds his shooting stroke again. Chocolate rain ya'll.
Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess turn back the clock-- not a good thing Dubs nation.
Tony Parker vs. Monta Ellis is a sight to see. I'm calling the matchup dead even.
Win or lose the Warriors look super fly in these retros.
Warriors by... 1
Who are we kidding... the Warriors look super fly in these retros while losing.

Spurring More Discussion

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Tim Duncan	20	32.2	8.0	14.3	55.8	0.0	0.2	0.0	3.9	5.1	76.2	3.0	7.4	10.4	3.3	2.0	0.5	2.0	2.0	19.8
Tony Parker	18	30.6	6.1	12.3	49.8	0.1	0.4	28.6	4.3	5.4	79.4	0.1	2.4	2.6	6.1	3.4	0.6	0.2	1.9	16.6
Manu Ginobili	17	23.6	3.8	9.6	39.6	1.9	4.4	42.7	4.1	4.6	87.3	0.8	1.9	2.7	3.6	1.9	1.2	0.5	1.8	13.6
Richard Jefferson	22	32.2	4.7	10.4	45.6	1.0	2.6	36.2	2.9	4.3	67.0	0.7	3.6	4.3	2.6	1.8	0.8	0.3	2.2	13.3
George Hill	22	24.8	3.6	8.3	43.7	0.8	2.1	39.1	2.5	3.1	78.3	0.5	1.3	1.8	2.0	1.1	1.1	0.4	3.1	10.5
Matt Bonner	22	21.1	3.1	6.4	48.6	1.8	4.0	46.0	0.6	0.8	77.8	1.3	3.4	4.7	1.5	0.7	0.2	0.3	2.1	8.6
Roger Mason Jr.	21	17.8	2.5	6.0	42.4	1.1	3.1	36.9	0.3	0.4	77.8	0.1	1.6	1.7	2.0	1.0	0.3	0.1	1.3	6.5
DeJuan Blair	22	14.4	2.9	4.7	60.6	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7	1.4	50.0	1.8	3.5	5.4	0.6	1.1	0.3	0.6	2.5	6.4
Antonio McDyess	21	21.2	2.4	5.0	47.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.9	1.3	64.3	1.9	3.9	5.8	0.6	0.9	0.6	0.4	2.4	5.6
Michael Finley	17	18.2	2.1	4.6	44.3	0.7	1.7	41.4	0.4	0.5	66.7	0.2	1.5	1.7	0.9	0.6	0.3	0.2	0.5	5.2
Keith Bogans	21	18.8	1.5	3.5	43.2	0.7	2.1	33.3	0.6	0.8	76.5	0.2	2.5	2.7	1.1	0.7	0.7	0.1	1.9	4.4
Marcus Haislip	1	3.0	1.0	1.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	2.0
Theo Ratliff	11	8.7	0.7	1.6	44.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.4	50.0	0.5	1.4	1.9	0.3	0.7	0.2	1.2	1.5	1.6
Malik Hairston	13	3.5	0.2	0.4	60.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.6	0.6	0.4	0.2	0.0	0.1	0.2	0.5

San Antonio Spurs News

Recap: Phoenix vs. San Antonio
(Sports Network) about 2 hours ago.
San Antonio Spurs (12-9) at Phoenix Suns (16-8), 9 p.m.
(Sports Network) about 16 hours ago.
Recap: LA Clippers vs. San Antonio
(Sports Network) 2 days ago.
San Antonio Spurs (11-9) at Los Angeles Clippers (9-12), 9:30 p.m.
(Sports Network) 2 days ago.
Recap: San Antonio vs. Charlotte
(Sports Network) 4 days ago.
Charlotte Bobcats (9-11) at San Antonio Spurs (10-9), 8:30 p.m.
(Sports Network) 4 days ago.
Recap: San Antonio vs. Sacramento
(Sports Network) 6 days ago.
Sacramento Kings (9-11) at San Antonio Spurs (9-9), 8:30 p.m.
(Sports Network) 6 days ago.
Recap: Utah vs. San Antonio
(Sports Network) 8 days ago.
San Antonio Spurs (9-8) at Utah Jazz (11-8), 9 p.m.
(Sports Network) 8 days ago.

Poll

Who will win tonight's game?

Golden State Warriors

36 votes

San Antonio Spurs

110 votes

San Francisco Warriors

184 votes

330 votes | Poll has closed

RUMOR: Anthony Randolph like every Golden State Warrior on the trading block

Atma Brother ONE — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:13:27 -0000

Before we move forward flip back to my colleague JAE's insights on Anthony Randolph before the season began: Anthony Randolph- Hope Beyond the Hype :: 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors Player Recaps and Previews

Regardless of who you want to blame, I don't think it's a stretch to say that we were all expecting more than 11.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, and 1.2 blocks from the second year big man. At the end of last season we polled folks on whether Randolph or the Kings forward Jason Thompson would have a better sophomore campaign. I don't think there's any question right now that JT is having the better campaign.

Were we hoping for too much?

JUMP for the rumor and more!

Anthony Randolph

#4 / Forward / Golden State Warriors

Height: 6-10

Weight: 205

Born: Jul 15, 1989

College: L-S-U

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
2009 - Anthony Randolph	22	22.0	3.9	9.0	42.7	0.0	0.2	20.0	3.5	4.3	81.1	2.1	4.4	6.5	1.0	1.3	0.8	1.2	2.9	11.3

From Adrian Wojnarowski over at the super purple Y!:

Warriors' Randolph on block again

For two seasons, the Warriors have had an odd time with Anthony Randolph(notes). Sometimes, they're in love with his sheer athletic ability in that 7-foot frame and considered him untouchable. As a rookie, they dangled him in deals, too. Well, it's happening again. Several NBA teams say Golden State officials have offered Randolph in trade discussions, but as one Eastern Conference executive said: "I think all of their roster could be had."

Says one Western official: "The Warriors are willing to do anything and everything."

Randolph is 20 years old and blessed with terrific talent, but his staying power and maturity have frustrated Golden State officials. It appears they're willing to cash his potential for more mature assets. After destroying the summer league in Vegas, Randolph has averaged 11.1 points in 21.8 minutes per night for the Warriors.

Even with his patriarch, Keith Smart, substituting for an ill Don Nelson, Randolph's productivity hasn't improved. Still, he's so young, so gifted, it's a move that would come with a great deal of long-term risk.

I'm pretty enamored with Anthony Randolph's potential, though I think he has a long, long, long way to go. However, with the Warriors currently holding the 2nd worst record in the mighty Western Conference and only 2 Eastern Conference teams (the New Jersey Nets and Philadelphia 76ers who the Warriors just lost to last night- see my man Feltbot's RECAP: Warriors 101, Sixers 117 -- The Answer) having worse records, I'm ecstatic to read these words:

as one Eastern Conference executive said: "I think all of their roster could be had."

Says one Western official: "The Warriors are willing to do anything and everything."

There simply are no untouchables on a team this bad whether it's the quite possibly overhyped Anthony Randolph to turnover machine Monta Ellis (see Polling GSoM: Will the Golden State Warriors lead the league in turnovers this season?).

Let's play this game in Warriors land.

For more on Randolph's season thus far let me pass the mic to JAE who eloquently summed up the Dubs first 24 games earlier this morning in So many deck chairs, so little time:

Randolph's rookie season was rather bipolar. He opened up as a wildly out of control talent who failed miserably in attempts to be an NBA SF, but started to shine as a big man, a rebounding machine with an ever climbing FG% once inserted into that role. The quite-possibly-overstated news stories said that he was putting in the hours over the summer, getting bigger and stronger and working on being the player we need him to be. When Brandan Wright went down, it looked like Randolph would see more time. When Ronny and Andris stopped playing in favor of some quality time with Tom Abdenour, it seemed like Anthony was due major minutes.

But the 21 minutes a night Randolph's averaged seems insignificantly greater than those 18 a night we've seen from Mikki Moore. Moore's previously mediocre to poor rebounding significantly over-predicted what he'd do this year. Apparently no one told him that as the only "big" in the lineup, his rebounding totals would be "padded" in the same manner some allege has happened for Biedrins (but not Turiaf) over the last few years. [We don't know much about Chris Hunter, but for what it's worth, he's been a poorer rebounder than Moore. Either he too didn't get the memo that his totals are supposed to be padded as well. Stop the hollering for Hunter, people. That's the wrong tree to bark up.]

More Randolph and less Moore would be a start. Yes, the foul rate limits how much time Randolph can be out there, but it does not explain why we're seeing Randolph on the bench more often than not. Has he 'regressed' some from the end of last season? Perhaps. But overall the trend still seems up. It's just perplexing why he's not playing far more often. At least we'd have something to hang our hopes on.

Definitely make sure to read the rest of JAE's piece.

The good news Dubs Nation: There's only one way to go up from here and that's up. It really can't get any worse.

Thanks to kenntoe for the FanShot.

Poll

Should the Warriors make Anthony Randolph untouchable in trade discussions?

San Francisco 49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals Open Thread [Niners Nation]

Atma Brother ONE — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:28:16 -0000

San Francisco 49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals Open Thread [Niners Nation]

Warriors snapping the Sixers 12 game losing streak got you down?

Flip the switch to ESPN Monday Night Football and click and roll on over to Niners Nation.

LET'S GO NINERS!

Introducing... Feltbot!

Atma Brother ONE — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:37:07 -0000

Just like the rest of the GSoM Crew, you're probably well aware of the masterful craftiness of Feltbot. You've witnessed his guest recaps on GSoM and Feltbot's Warriors blog. So naturally we asked the good man to join our growing and unstoppable band of hoops junkies. Here's how it went when Fantasy Junkie and I tried to get Feltbot to join our writing staff...

AB1: "Feltbot! Felbot-tronics! Felt-botanical gardens! Join our golden crew and as we say over here in Dubs land, you'll have a great time out!"

FJ: "Plus we've got fly threads! I mean you saw our retro GSoM Night 7 jerseys. Just wait till you see what we've got in store for GSoM Night 8!"

Feltbot: "This is all very true and sounds exactly like the kind of exciting, labor intensive, low paying gig I've been searching for all my life! I'm in. BUT...

AB1: "But what?

Feltbot: "I'll only join the crew if you two jokers beat me in a game of poker."

FJ: "Ummm, this shouldn't be too hard. I mean AB1 and I are the masters of fantasy sports. Poker? Psshhh... we got this!"

AB1: <whispers to FJ: "Are you nuts?!">

ALL IN.

via kkenkk.files.wordpress.com

Jump to see how the poker game transpired.

Feltbot's Hand

via www.svenstightpokertips.com

Fantasy Junkie + Atma Brother #1's Hand

via psp.88000.org

FJ: "WHEW. You know I was just joking about us being good at poker."

AB1: "They don't call us unstoppable baby for nuthin'!"

Please put your fingers to your keyboard and give Feltbot a golden welcome to the GSoM Crew!

Poll

What has a higher probability of occurring?

NBA 'Watchability' Scale: Ranking every team based on entertainment, not talent

Atma Brother ONE — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:10:35 -0000

NBA 'Watchability' Scale: Ranking every team based on entertainment, not talent

Just when you thought the .304 Golden State Warriors were "Unwatchable Baby!", they placed in the top half of the league in terms of 'watchability'.

An entertaining mess... just like GSoM?

Q&A: Marcus Thompson - Contra Costa Times / InsideBayArea.com (Part 1 of 3)- Warriors bright spots, the next to be traded, Robert Rowell and basketball decisions

Atma Brother ONE — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:46:03 -0000

We recently mic'ed up Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times/ InsideBayArea.com to get his thoughts on the Golden State Warriors.

Click and roll to MT's Dubs blog

Jump for some positives about the Warriors season, who will be the next players the team ships out, and Robert Rowell's future in making Warriors hoops decisions.

Golden State of Mind: We're in the midst of some seemingly endless "Dubs Drama" (again). Let's hit the pause button on the dysfunction for a second though. You cover the Warriors extremely closely, so you're the best person to ask this. What are some of the bright spots for this organization either on or off the court that aren't getting enough ink across the hoops world?

Marcus Thompson: The bright spots are obvious: Monta Ellis, Anthony Morrow, Anthony Randolph, Stephen Curry and I will even throw Kelenna Azubuike in there.

The brightest is no doubt Monta Ellis. Say what you want about him, the kid is showing he is special. He hasn't done anything yet. But the prospects look good. He will benefit the Warriors extremely down the road, whether as a player or as trade bait.

Morrow is right behind Ellis. He may not have the superstar power Ellis has, but Morrow at the very least could be just a solid starter for years to come. That is nothing to sneeze at.

Randolph, though he is up and down, I think is still promising. His fate may be more in the hands of his coaches, who have to figure out a way to help him progress. But that is what organizations have to do sometimes. Sure, the onus is on the player. But he didn't invest in himself, the Warriors invested in him. It is on them to do everything they can to maximize that investment. Because if Randolph turns out to be a bust, it's the franchise's fault for drafting him.

The cap flexibility is also pretty good. As it is now, they have the flexibility to add a big contract for a player they really want. The chance is there to really get someone good. If they don't take advantage, that is on them.

Golden State of Mind: Within his first few months on the job as the GM of the Warriors Larry Riley has already given the roster a shake-up. Jamal Crawford, Marco Belinelli, and recently Stephen Jackson have all been shipped out. This still isn't a contender to say the least, so more moves seem likely. Considering the big money deals still on the books, expiring contracts, young and raw talent, and lingering in-house drama, who do you think will be the next player(s) headed out? Does Monta Ellis "got next"?

Marcus Thompson: Ideally, it would be Corey Maggette. They aren't getting the bang for his buck, and he certainly would like to play more. But everyone knows it's tough to trade his contract. With that said, I think it has to be either Monta Ellis or Andris Biedrins. I don't see how they can land a difference maker without giving up one of those two. Those are the two big money guys, so if the Warriors want to give someone $15 a year, they will probably need to move one of those two (unless they can get rid of Maggette's contract). But mainly, those two guys I think are the only commodities the Warriors have that will make another team give up a stud.

If you're Phoenix, who would you want in return for Stoudemire? If you're Toronto, who would you want in exchange for Bosh? Sure, they want young talent, but for the money the Warriors will have to shell out, young talent won't be enough. Maybe if they decided to package Curry and Randolph with Maggette, they might get another team to bite. But I really don't think they'd do that.

Curry and Randolph are among the untouchables currently, but I wouldn't be surprise if their status changed between February and August. Especially in the case of Randolph, the Warriors may be more willing to include him in a deal down the line than they are right now.

Golden State of Mind: Golden State Warriors president Robert Rowell has had his fair share of critics for personally inking Stephen Jackson to that questionable early 3 year extension, among other recent front office decisions. With Larry Riley and Don Nelson firmly entrenched as the Warriors GM head coach is this the last we'll see Rowell making basketball decisions such as negotiating player deals and extensions? How safe is his job with the Warriors?

Marcus Thompson: I think it's the last he'll be taking or given credit publicly. There was a time when the Warriors wanted his name mentioned for the good things the Warriors did. Of course, with that comes your name being mentioned when bad things happen.

I think everyone in the organization, even Rowell, realizes that he needs to either become the GM or let the GM run the show. I don't think that means he is out of the loop on decision making, though. In the end, he's still got to approve all financial moves, and sell them to owner Chris Cohan. So he's in the room, and at the very least in the loop. But Riley will get all the credit and the blame when it comes to basketball decisions.

**********

Stay tuned for the rest of our Q&A with Marcus! In the mean time make sure to check out Inside the Warriors

GAME THREAD #23: Warriors @ Pistons - Diagnosing and Curing The Suck

Atma Brother ONE — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:30:19 -0000

Thank the hoops gods the O.G. Bay Boys aren't around to destroy the Warriors tonight.

via need4sheed.com

Warriors: 7-15

Pistons: 7-13

Tip-Off: 4:30pm

TV: CSN Bay Area

Radio: KNBR 680

Blog Buddy: Motown String Music

Around the Association: The Return of the Bay Boys

The Pistons are coming off a nice, impressive win. see Injuries, What Injuries? Pistons 101, Nuggets 99 [Motown String Music]

The Warriors are not. see RECAP: Warriors 91, Bulls 96 - Brick!

JUMP for a preview of tonight's matchup!

.318 = 4th Worst Team in the League

Warriors homers, apologists, and mismanagement like to paint us as being negative for saying this, but the truth is this basketball team straight up sucks. The Chicago Bulls had lost 9 out of 10 coming into last night's matchup and a perfect throwback to the Leastern Conference of this decade. That was not a good team the Warriors just lost to.

Not at all.

Newsflash: The 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors are not a good team.

Thank goodness we got jokes.

Diagnosis + Cures

The Warriors are a flat out mess. Here's a few of the major issues and a few solutions. Please add yours in the comments.

Diagnosis: Horrible assist to turnover, turnover, turnover ratio. see Polling GSoM: Will the Golden State Warriors lead the league in turnovers this season?

Cure: Last night's game notwithstanding the biggest culprit has been the Warriors wannabe All-Star Monta Ellis (more on his empty meaningless numbers on a garbage team later). The limited, low hoops IQ guard Chris Mullin/ Robert Rowell foolishly decided to blow up WE BELIEVE for and build around is currently leading the league in turnovers by a wide margin at 4.5. It's not like he's a high volume assister either at 5.3.

Is it all his fault?

Of course not.

Part of it is his teammates just aren't playing very good basketball right now and simply aren't creme de la crem of the NBA talent-wise (apologize if you thought they were with their mythical, untapped upside).

Another part of it is coaching and management. Why this team continues to force him into a point guard role and primary ball handler makes no sense to me.

He's simply not that (point guard) guy.

So many sharp Warriors fans have known this for years. It's not that difficult of a concept to grasp.

The cure is simple. Move Monta off the ball more... a lot more. Make Stephen Curry the primary ball handler and distributor. Sure there's going to be a lot of rookie mistakes early on, but let's see what he can do. We already know what Monta can do.

Make Curry the distributor and Monta the scorer.

Diagnosis: The Warriors can't buy a bucket at the end of quarters.

Cure: See above. Get the ball out of Ellis' hands. I can't say that enough. If he was coming off the ball I bet he'd have a much more impressive scoring rate on those last possessions.

Diagnosis: The Warriors are getting beat on the glass every single night.

Cure: I don't think he'll make the biggest impact on this team's win total, but when Andris Biedrins comes back this shouldn't be as big of a discrepancy. I'll have to dig deeper a little though.

In the mean time I'd like to see Chris Hunter and Anthony Randolph playing more over Mikki Moore. Not that I don't appreciate MIKEY!'s professional attitude. Not that I don't think MIKEY! is a decent 3rd or 4th string center for this team. Not that I don't think MIKEY! isn't trying. Not that I don't think MIKEY! hasn't had some good moments for this team this year.

It's just that giving him all this playing time is somewhat pointless.

I know Coach Keith Smart isn't that big of a fan of Hunter, but hey- it's not like playing MIKEY! so many minutes is producing all that much. Hunter has been pretty solid and has earned some PT in my book.

I know Randolph can be a complete disaster most of the time and he seems like exactly the wrong young guy to gift wrap playing time too, but hey- it's not like MIKEY! has really earned all that PT this season. I do understand the decision to start MIKEY! over AR to position Randolph against backup players and prevent him from picking up early frustrating fouls though.

Diagnosis: I'm fairly certain that unless there's a major shakeup this team is not making the playoffs... again. That means that between 1994 and 2010 the Warriors have only made the playoffs ONCE. Pitiful.

Cure: Sell the team Chris Cohan. (Sorry if it seems like I'm repeating this ad naseum. I guess I am.) From what I've gathered the past 2 years from various folks Cohan is looking to sell, it's just a matter of time and for what price.

Well hurry up already!

This franchise needs an owner that will give Don Nelson a talented veteran team for a last grand finale. I'm confident Larry Riley can steer the ship in the right way given the resources. Unfortunately we might never know.

Predictions

Monta Ellis scores 25+ points but has 5+ turnovers
Aside from the Ellis turnovers, Ben Gordon's statline looks eerily like Monta's.
Anthony Morrow aka Mr. GSoM Night 8 snaps out of yesterday's shooting funk. Chocolate rain ya'll!
Tonight's Warrior Killer: I give you none other that Swedish product Jonas Jerebko
Warriors by 1

"Whatcha Gonna Do?"

Hopefully not lose to another bad team... again.

Post any pre-game thoughts and ongoing game discussion in the comments.

Detroit Pistons News

Golden State Warriors (7-15) at Detroit Pistons (10-12), 7:30 p.m.
(Sports Network) about 1 hour ago.
Recap: Detroit vs. Denver
(Sports Network) 1 day ago.
Denver Nuggets (16-6) at Detroit Pistons (9-12), 7:30 p.m.
(Sports Network) 2 days ago.
Recap: Philadelphia vs. Detroit
(Sports Network) 2 days ago.
Detroit Pistons (8-12) at Philadelphia 76ers (5-16), 7 p.m.
(Sports Network) 3 days ago.
Recap: Detroit vs. Washington
(Sports Network) 5 days ago.
Washington Wizards (7-11) at Detroit Pistons (7-12), 6 p.m.
(Sports Network) 6 days ago.
Recap: Detroit vs. Milwaukee
(Sports Network) 7 days ago.
Milwaukee Bucks (9-8) at Detroit Pistons (6-12), 8 p.m.
(Sports Network) 7 days ago.
Recap: Chicago vs. Detroit
(Sports Network) 9 days ago.

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Richard Hamilton	1	36.0	10.0	19.0	52.6	1.0	5.0	20.0	4.0	5.0	80.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	4.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	2.0	25.0
Rodney Stuckey	22	37.8	6.8	16.6	41.1	0.3	1.3	21.4	4.9	5.8	84.3	1.0	3.8	4.7	4.4	2.6	1.3	0.1	3.1	18.8
Ben Gordon	18	33.6	6.4	14.3	44.7	1.5	4.3	35.1	4.4	5.4	81.4	0.4	1.8	2.3	3.0	1.8	0.8	0.1	2.6	18.7
Charlie Villanueva	21	28.6	6.3	13.3	47.3	1.2	4.0	30.1	1.8	2.3	77.6	0.9	4.5	5.4	0.8	1.2	0.6	0.9	3.4	15.6
Will Bynum	21	28.0	4.5	10.5	43.0	0.3	1.4	24.1	3.9	4.8	80.2	0.5	2.5	3.0	4.2	2.2	0.8	0.1	2.6	13.2
Tayshaun Prince	3	38.7	5.0	10.3	48.4	0.3	1.3	25.0	2.0	3.3	60.0	1.0	4.0	5.0	2.3	1.7	0.3	0.0	3.0	12.3
Jonas Jerebko	20	27.3	3.1	6.4	47.7	0.5	1.6	31.3	1.4	2.1	64.3	2.1	3.4	5.5	0.6	1.5	0.5	0.4	3.4	8.0
Jason Maxiell	21	17.9	2.1	4.1	51.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.8	56.8	1.7	2.1	3.8	0.4	1.0	0.6	0.5	2.5	5.2
Austin Daye	20	13.3	2.0	4.1	48.8	0.5	1.3	36.0	0.3	0.5	66.7	0.5	1.9	2.4	0.3	0.8	0.3	0.5	1.4	4.8
Chucky Atkins	10	15.7	1.6	5.1	31.4	0.5	2.2	22.7	0.8	0.9	88.9	0.1	0.4	0.5	1.7	0.4	0.5	0.0	0.9	4.5
Kwame Brown	20	15.5	1.7	3.4	49.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.1	2.5	44.0	1.6	2.7	4.3	0.8	1.0	0.3	0.2	1.9	4.4
Ben Wallace	22	31.0	1.6	3.7	43.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.9	53.7	4.3	5.8	10.1	1.8	0.9	1.5	1.2	2.0	4.2
Chris Wilcox	10	9.6	0.9	2.5	36.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	1.0	30.0	0.6	1.7	2.3	0.2	0.9	0.1	0.1	1.2	2.1
DaJuan Summers	13	7.2	0.7	2.1	33.3	0.4	0.7	55.6	0.3	0.3	100.0	0.2	0.4	0.6	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	1.2	2.1

Poll

Will the Warriors get this W tonight in front of the barbaric Detroit Pistons fans?

Polling GSoM: Do Warriors fans need to stop booing Corey Maggette?

Atma Brother ONE — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:03:11 -0000

GSoM friend Marcus Thompson has a great piece on Golden State Warriors forward Corey Maggette over at Inside Bay Area: Golden State Warriors' Corey Maggette battles perceptions that he believes are unfair

The picture MT paints of Maggette is a great locker room guy who hasn't had the easiest trajectory to the association, but has prevailed.

Don't look at me- I ain't booing the man.

My thoughts after the jump...

Corey Maggette

#50 / Forward / Golden State Warriors

Height: 6-6

Weight: 225

Born: Nov 12, 1979

College: Duke

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
2009 - Corey Maggette	20	25.1	5.0	10.4	47.8	0.3	1.2	21.7	5.2	6.7	78.2	1.3	4.1	5.3	1.9	2.1	0.8	0.2	3.2	15.4

Sure his game isn't perfect, but the man comes out every night to play hard and he's been a great teammate. That's a lot more than you can say about some of the recent and current "captains" of this squad.

This ain't Al Harrington faking a back injury or Stephen Jackson being a jack... or even Mike Dunleavy being well Mike Dunleavy (see Why Does Mike Dunleavy Get Booed So Much?).

I'll pass the mic:

Hurt. Confused. A bit angry. That's how Warriors forward Corey Maggette said he feels about his home fans booing him, which has been the case of late at Oracle Arena.

"It's not pleasant at all," Maggette said. "I remember the time when Al Harrington was here, and he was getting booed and he was asking to be traded. And I saw it when (Stephen Jackson) was here, and he was asking to be traded. And now, I'm getting booed for wanting to be part of this team through all this nonsense."

Seriously, quit booing the man.

Warriors fans are better than that.

Poll