So with most NBA news on hold til the lockout essentially ends, i gots to thinking. As fans craving news, with no news available, lets make some up! All you have to do is find a photo of any NBA player and try to create a fake news headline based on the photo. This is all for fun so please don't take any of this seriously, this is just to kill time til actual news does pop up.

Rules:

• Anyone with an imagination can play
• Headlines do not have to have anything to do with basketball
• "Keep it classy, San Diago" ...for the kids

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As most of you know, Maggs is available for trade today.  He does have quite a large contract for us to move which is $50 mil til 2012-2013.  This will mos def make it tough to get another team to get him off our hands. 

But, with recent interviews, Nelson has been calling for more ball movement.  Maggs has responded:

"If I've got to sacrifice not driving, or not shooting too much, that's fine with me. That's the type of player I am."

Cap'n Jack has even expressed a bit of confidence too:

"That's going to be interesting to see how it works," Stephen Jackson added. "I think Corey's been around long enough to know how to make adjustments. It's something definitely new to him, but he'll be all right."

Right now we are 3-13 with Maggs, 4-4 without.

So if, and this is a biiiiiiiiggggg IF, Maggs does turn a new leaf and goes from a black hole to a sharing is caring type player you think we'll see more success? or should we not take the chance and trade him anyway?

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/14/SPDL14O2VP.DTL

With all front office BS aside, we are in rebuilding mode, as much as a lot of you would like to not admit.  I know most fans are mad at the off season moves and all but really theres nothing we can do about whats already been done...yet at least.   All I've seen so far is bitterness about this season but no one has really touched on what has been good/could be good for the future, the crazy possibilities this team can have if we make the right moves.

Overall the team hasn't gelled as fast as we all hoped but hey, its only year one of a virtually new team.  Losses are expected, especially with the acquisition of new players so fans just have to be patient.  We've waited 12 years for a playoff appearance, I'm pretty sure longtime fans can wait out a bit to see what beast we can create with the pieces we have.

In terms of our 3 vets

Jamal Crawford - Seriously i don't get why people don't like this move.  He shoots, he passes, and he broke ray allen pretty bad on a super dope crossover (even though ray isn't known for his D, but still it was a pretty sick move). Even though he was somewhat of a black hole in NYC, he came to the warriors saying he was wanting to be THE distributor for the team...his first game was what? 7-8 assists and 1 turnover? against miami, he had 40pts still with 7 assists and 1 turnover!  its starting to seem hes settling into the system and being more comfortable with his all around play here.  Plus, the JC/Ellis backcourt looks like its going to hurt people.  Personally, i'd like to seem him stay for a while.

Cap'n Jack - he seems to be the only one on the roster that can keep a hint of emotion. he doesn't come close to BD in terms of the swagger and getting in teammates faces when they make stupid mistakes but its the closest thing we have to it.  Now with JC here, i'm kinda stoked for the upcoming games because of the practice and games they play together, JC will be even more comfortable running point for this team, relieving cap'n jack of ball handling duties as much.  you can already see that developing.

Maggs - is this guy a robot or what? he has almost no emotion on this team.  i feel like he's been with the clippers too long that losing has desensitized him.  when we picked him up, i was hoping he would change his ways.  i knew he was a ball hog but knew how to score and get to the line, but i was really hoping he wouldn't be that black hole when he put on a warriors uni.  everytime i watch a game i cringe a little when he drives,  always hope he'll dish it out to an open man when multiple defenders collapse on him and create for other teammates, but nope...still the same old stat man maggette. *sigh*

The Rest, the Youngs, The Future

'Dre - Sure he isn't super massive like traditional dominating centers.  But dang, 2nd in league at the moment in rebounds per game (was in 1st til just recently).  The only reason he dropped to 2nd is because he is a big threat to other teams right now and everyone is starting to scout/focus on him more.  That is saying alot.  Yeah he gets pushed around by bigger bodies but 'Dre has speed, soft hands and good timing to make up for that.  Definately the best offseason re-signing hands down.  Rowell, Cohan, Mullin...whoever pulled the trigger on that, i don't care who did, good job.

Kaz - this was another good resign so far. Great hustle every time he's on the floor. only bad thing i have to say is his 3 pt shooting has gone down which is a downer.  I think he's gotta stop going to the gym with Maggs...i think missing open 3's is contagious, caused by massive biceps.

Rice a Ronny - More blocks than a lego set...what can i say?  On or off the court he's a blast to watch.  Not an offensive weapon in our arsenal but we have others for that. His defense and hustle is a relief to what were used to seeing from our other guys that tend to slack on those.  I wish everyone else on the team would use him as an inspiration to turn things up a bit on energy.  Another good move by the front office picking him up.

CJ Watson - He is seriously getting better and better.  Playing with a torn ligament in his elbow, he still manages to make plays for himself or others.  He's really stepped his game up and probably can be considered the more NBA-ready out of the newer guys right now from how good he's been playing recently.

AR - He is fun to watch.  He's a hustle player thats already growing.  Always trying to grab boards, which is one of the dubs biggest weak spots.  His athleticism is above and beyond at the moment and when he makes rookie mistakes, he'll surprise you with a great play that makes you jump out of your seat shortly after. I'm so glad nelly is giving him a chance to see some minutes on the floor.  Sure he could use more but he is still a bit rough around the edges.    I don't know why people throw him into trade talks.  I bet if he were traded, you AR naysayers are going to kick yourselves in the back of the face when he comes back and stomps his foot in our backsides.

Bwright - Another fun guy to watch on both ends of the floor.  His length is super human.  Its crazy to see him go Mr. Fantastic on shooters that think they have an easy jumper, only to have it blocked by Bwright 20 ft away.   And that hook he's developing is unblockable.   Only downside..he can never...evverrrr...eevvvvveeerrr replace j-rich's heart. just thought id put that out there.  oh yeah, his free throw shooting looks funny.

Anthony Morrow - Saying he is just a shooter is giving him less credit than he deserves.  He's already shown hints of being able to handle the ball well, rebound and create his own shots.  He's also moved the ball when he knew he didn't have a good look.  With more development he could be one of the top scorers on a more consistent basis.  Nelly should mos def make more plays for this guy to help him reach that potential.  Random thought: isn't it funny that shortly after Cap'n Jack said hes taken Morrow under his wing, he's missing more shots?

Bellinelli - He's shown some skill at passing lately. I remember this nice assist he dropped to 'Dre, forgot what game though.  I was hoping to see more of that but he barely gets any burn.  It takes him a bit longer to get into rhythm for shooting which is a bummer and most the time he looks unsure of what he's doing.  I just think its a confidence thing with him.  If he can play with his head up all the time, i honestly think he could be better.  Sad thing is, he's probably not going to be with the dubs in the long run but will be fun to watch when/if he develops.

Rob Kurz - i don't know what it is but somehow i always miss when he gets on the floor. Its like fate that I'm not supposed to see him off the bench.  I hear he is a pretty good shooter so I'm looking forward ot see him play. What i did like was that he got juiced during the Celts game when JC broke ray.  We need that type of energy from the team all the time.

Marcus Williams - from what he's shown so far, it makes you wonder if we kept the receipt on him to get that 1st round pick back.

So, right now the only way to have this team get better aside from the development is putting Maggs on the trading block along with MW(don't think he could be traded yet though).  Rumors have it that Bellinelli could get shopped around too so I'm pretty sure we can package those 2 to bring in a good Vet PF  to mentor Bwright as well.  hopefully, it's someone vocal as well to help keep everyone in line to minimize mental/dumb mistakes that the dub's have been making lately a la the miami game.

Overall, with the exception of Maggs and marcus williams, this team is full of potential. What the players have shown individually makes it look like it could mesh very well together once things start rolling and they start playing as a team. People need to realize team chemistry doesn't happen overnight.  So, be patient, were getting there.

From what I've seen these past 2 games (against good teams, I may add) our dubs can still ball with the best. 

The goods i noticed, and probably everyone else has too, is defense and crashing the boards has improved greatly with the addition of Ronny (5 blocks tonight!) and AB together in the front court, shot selection has improved a bit, Kaz is a monster in the making, DeMarcus Nelson is surprisingly good for an undrafted rookie and Nellie going tall ball tonight actually was effective since our "bigs" are still quite mobile. 

There is a bunch of stuff that still needs improvement of course but one of the things thats bugging me the most is the ability to close out games.

Both nights our dubs have blown leads in the final minutes of the game.  I know that BD used to be the go-to guy and Monta should be "the man" but his absence for the time being makes him not an option.

Before the last shot against Toronto in regulation, I pretty much kept thinking give the ball to Magette over and over in my head.  Once he had it, the outcome was unbelievable how he tried to flop.

So the question is: who should handle these clutch situations for the time being? Magette? (maybe it was just a bad turn of events?) Or maybe try running a play for Kaz to hit the big shot? What if the Italian Stallion Bellinelli (following statement highly unlikely) pulled through and sunk a game winner? Post up your ideas and what ifs on who you think should be the man.