With speculation abound about the reasons Monta got injured, it got me thinking about whether or not Monta is the right guy to lead this team. I am not questioning the fact that Monta has superb skills as an NBA scorer, and heck, he could develop into a 6+ assist per night guy and average below 3TO/G. 

But, my question is: Are we 100% certain that Monta Ellis is the right person to lead the new-wave Warriors into a new dynasty (hopefully)? Or are we pinning our hopes on our first homegrown potential superstar in a long while?

Argument for:

He's only 22 years old right now. He's still learning as a player and as a person. Reported that his ankle/ligament surgeries will allow him to fully recover.

Argument Against:

Eliis may never get that maturity level-thing. Could this be the first in a series of events that plagues Monta's career? Each year Monta has gotten hurt in freak accidents. Could his body breakdown faster and earlier than normal? Is that worth a 6 year/$66M investment?

My thoughts:

I doubt that Mullin and Co. retract Monta's contract. Especially if this injury is not going to cost him anymore than the 4 months he's already going to be out. BUT, the truth should come out, whether the investigation proves that he did in fact get hurt during a workout session, or Monta comes clean and tells the truth. It will be better for the organization and for Monta himself. I can't imagine either side wanting to pursue this investigation and risk this situation getting any uglier.

Also, if i were Mullin, I'd look to cover my assets and look to acquiring another guard/wing player with the looming departure of Jackson coming up and Ellis' fragility. Watching the summer olympics, you could definitely see the parallels between the Euro style of play and the Nelson's style. Shooters at all 5 positions if possible, wing versatility, 3-4 playmakers on the floor at all times, and favoring the 3pt shot. With expectations being tempered now that Monta's out for at least the first 25 or so games, I wouldn't be surprised with a pick anywhere between 5-10.

A few names to trot out so that we can all keep an eye on: James Harden, Tyreke Evans, Tyler Smith, Demar Derozen, and Jrue Holiday. Harden, Evans and Holiday all have potential as average-above average playmakers from the guard/wing spots. I like Harden's overall game, but his outside shot is questionable. Evans and Holiday are more in the tweener molds than anything else, but they still have intriguing upside. Smith is a decent shooter, and could've gone higher than Courtney Lee at 21 of last year's draft had he not decided to head back to Tennessee. I put Derozen in there  just because he's an athletic wing player (very raw still) that the Warriors now lack. Although, he's still going to need someone to set him up. 

Well, thanks for reading. Got bored in between classes and decided to post a new diary for the first time in months.

Check out Marcus Thompson and Geoff Lepper's blog site here.

Has an interesting few points about:

1. The Warriors ability to go on crazy scoring spurts that, even when down 10, opponents can't let up.
   
2. Can the Warriors play at an intense level consistently or is their MO always going to depend on their "spurtability".
   
3. Baron can bring the intensity every night, but he just doesn't...for some reason. Also notes teams focusing in on Monta more (by bringing help defenders), Jackson and Harrington's outside shooting streakiness.

In the end, Thompson concludes by saying:
The reality is, maybe the Warriors have to live on their spurtability. Maybe their success is determined by who's hot, what the match-up is and the momentum. I was convinced that they are a great team who plays down to the competition and sometimes lacks intensity. Now I'm thinking they might not be great, but really good and great when all things are clicking.
If the latter is true, then this roster needs major changes. You can't win in the West on banking on spurtability.

Interesting read, and from what I can gather/assume is that Nellie and Mullin know this too. The West just got tougher to climb for the next 1-2-3 years with Phoenix and the Spurs having a window of opportunity still, Dallas and Utah as the 2nd tier echelon WCF candidates, and then of course you have the Lakers. Seemingly over night they vaunted themselves into the Phoenix/Spurs tier of talent--but the scary thing is that they are still relatively young and their "window" for a championship run will outlast Phoenix and San Antonio, and are in my opinion, a better team that Dallas and Utah. Then you also have your next tier of teams: New Orleans (Probably should be in the upper tier now), Houston, Denver, Golden State, Portland (still 1-2 years away however, but not a team to scoff at).

Can we really be satisfied, as currently constructed, to settle for being a 7-8th seed for the immediate future? It's true that it is better than NOT making the playoffs, but still seems a bit shortsighted in the long term perspective.

It may be too soon to talk about offseason re-tooling/restructuring/rebuilding (taboo word around here), but if that's what it takes then I for one wouldn't be surprised by a plethora of roster turnover. I can't see anyone as untouchable with Nellie here outside of Monta.

I guess i'll just end it here and see what you think.

Poll

The Warriors Are...

17%

A great team that plays down to the competition

13 votes

58%

A good team that is great when they turn on the intensity

44 votes

24%

A good team that shows flashes of greatness, but in fact is a mirage.

18 votes

75 votes | Poll has closed

Nelson and Co. recently said to come back and evaluate this team after 20 games. Well if the first 20 are anything like the first 6 then we're in for a long season. Here is a schedule for the first 20 games:

October
Oct 30 vs UTA L 96 - 117

November
Nov 2 @ LAC L 114 - 120
Nov 3 @ UTA L 110 - 133
Nov 6 vs CLE L 104 - 108
Nov 8 vs DAL L 115 - 120
Nov 14 vs DET L 111 - 104
Nov 16 vs LAC 7:30pm
Nov 18 @ TOR 10:00am
Nov 20 @ NYK 4:30pm
Nov 21 @ BOS 4:30pm
Nov 23 @ WAS 4:00pm
Nov 24 @ PHI 4:00pm
Nov 26 vs PHX 7:30pm
Nov 28 @ SAC 7:00pm
Nov 29 vs HOU 7:30pm

December
Dec 2 @ SEA 6:00pm
Dec 3 vs ORL 7:30pm
Dec 5 vs MIL 7:30pm
Dec 7 vs MIA 7:30pm
Dec 9 @ LAL 6:30pm

My prediction? 3-12 by the end of November with our wins coming against the Clips (at home), Philadelphia (Road), and the Kings (road). After 20 games, 4-16 with our only win coming against Seattle.

I got this from Marcus Thompson's blog:

November 15, 2007

0-for-November?

I still can't believe they lost that game. Since they are in the business of giving away games, you can't help but wonder if they are going to win a game this month. Check out their remaining games -- much tougher opponents than Detroit down two starters:

Clippers - they are a bad match-up, big, physical and they make free throws
@Raptors - they will need this game to salvage their homestand
@Knicks - also big and physical downlow
@Celtics - don't even think about it
@Wizards - bad defense is the cure for the Wiz struggling offense
@76ers - the Warriors will be 0-11 at this point and reeling
Suns - they usually play well at home against Phoenix, but do they have enough to keep up
@Kings - Sacramento is terrible, so they'll be looking forward to beating a rival
Rockets - Maybe McGrady will still be out

So, which one do they win? Maybe they get the Knicks game. Maybe. They could get Washington. But can you really bank on the Warriors winning a road game under pressure? They won 12 road games last year. They aren't exactly Road Warriors.
But then, the home foes are tough, too.
Will they go 0-for-November? That's not possible, right? I'm not too sure anymore.

http://www.cctextra.com/blogs/hoopjunkie/

Looks like he's not so optimistic either. As our current record stands, we'd have to go 42-36 just to get to .500. A .500 win % will NOT get you into the playoffs. We'd have to go more like 45-37. That's better than last year's club which was arguably better. We'd have to go 45-31 the rest of the way, 14 games over .500. To all the people saying "It's only 6 games, there's 76 games left", well history and reality shows us it is already too late.

How can this team win more games when the starters are logging 40+ minutes a game? When we have a 7 man rotation? When we have 4 Small Forwards on the court? When we allow our opponents to have career nights against us each game?

"We Believe"

Ha.

Start thinking of possible destinations for Baron now guys, it'll make for a more interesting debate on this site. When's the draft again?

Got this juicy little Tid-bit from TK's Blog:

Had to notice that Brandan Wright was running with the Blue (first) team at the end of practice today (subbing in and out for Al Harrington, it looked like).

Wright looked pretty spritely-tossing up runners, racing ahead of Blue teammate Baron Davis on the fastbreak, going up to block shots at the rim.

Wright hasn't seen a second of NBA action yet, thanks to Don Nelson's non-love of rookie big men and Wright's recent back soreness, so it was interesting to see the No. 8 overall pick running with Baron, Kelenna Azubuike, Stephen Jackson and Andris Biedrins.

Of course, I also asked Nelson about Wright (and Stephane Lasme), and Nelson said he would've played Wright at some point in the first three games, all losses, if Wright had been healthy enough to practice.

Well, Wright's healthy enough to practice now. I saw it with my own bleary eyes.

So.... Though Nellie was in a very non-revealing mood today, he seemed to suggest that Wright was moving towards game action.

"He definitely has something," Nelson said. "You can tell he's going to be a really good player. But probably won't be productive until he gets a little bit older. He's definitely got something."

I hope, i hope, i hope he gets some burn. I will be anxiously seeing him get his first action of the season tomorrow night.


http://www.mercextra.com/blogs/kawakami/2007/11/05/looks-like-nelsons-ready-to-start-playing-brandan -wright-maybe/

This is not Warrior news at all, but i just wanted to share that my Favorite Player ever in the NBA is headed to the Phoenix Suns. I can't wait to be able to see him play against the Warriors 4 times a year. I remember when he was at his superstar peak i saw him dominate a game against the warriors at the Arena in Oakland. However when he headed east to the Magic i tried in vain to see him for 3 years, each time he had a DNP or played less than 20 minutes. Needless to say i was disappointed. Hopefully i 'll see him at least once this year. Anyway here's the story:

Free agent forward Grant Hill has agreed to sign with the Phoenix Suns for a one-year, $1.2 million dollar contract.

Hill spent the past seven years with the Orlando Magic . He endured numerous injuries during his tenure with the Magic and never re-gained the all-NBA status he possessed earlier in his career with the Detroit Pistons .

This past season, he averaged 14.4 points per game and helped lead the young Magic to their first playoff berth in four years.

http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/46921/20070705/grant_hill_heads_to_phoenix/

i really hope this guy develops, he sounds like everything the warriors need. He's a guy that doesn't need the ball on offense, and brings the energy and toughness inside. here's some information i could find on him.

from draftexpress:

Lasme may be quick enough to guard NBA small forwards and eventually strong enough to guard power forwards, somewhat like a mix between Udonis Haslem and Shawn Marion in terms of size and activity defensively. Stellar defense is always a good way to get yourself noticed by pro scouts and he is one of the nation's best defenders inside the paint. NBA coaches are usually looking for something very specific to bring off their bench in terms of skills, and Lasme has that with his hustle, defense and rebounding ability, as well as his attitude. Lasme certainly has the drive and the aggressiveness to wind up as a second round pick this summer, Defensively is where Lasme made his presence known, blocking shots in man-to-man and weakside situations around the basket, using his length and explosiveness the best way he could. He came from behind drivers going down the lane, blocked his man straight up in the post, and rotated over from the weakside to swat shots as well One of the more intriguing players seen at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, it's pretty clear that Stephane Lasme has been working pretty hard on his game since then. His shooting mechanics are the first thing that jumped out at us, showing a nice high release point, good footwork and a solid follow through. It didn't fall for him all that consistently (he seems to be thinking about his shot an awful lot), but he's obviously gone from a guy with no game at all outside of 5 feet of the basket to someone who is able to knock down a jumper for the most part if he's left open.

Lasme has some excellent physical attributes, including long arms, nice quickness, and plenty of explosiveness getting off his feet. He can dunk the ball with ease from some very tough angles, and is excellent at coming from the weak-side to challenge shots with his length. His lower body needs plenty of work (his legs are extremely skinny), as he might have trouble holding his spot on the block defensively and boxing out for rebounds until he can find a way to put more mass on

sounds good to me. He might go down to the D-league, but i hope not. Overall i think it was a good haul this year. Keep it up Mully.

http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=1079

Suppose Nellie did not come back for the 07-08 season. And Suppose the consensus was to shop our most attractive players for draft picks, young, cheap players and expiring contracts. This is just for fun since it has been a slow summer thus far. See if you can top this!...:

I tried using the most plausible trade scenarios and team needs.

Trade A: Baron Davis to the Atlanta Hawks for:
1.    Tyronne Lue (1)
2.    Lorenzen Wright (1)
3.    Anthony Johnson (1)
4.    Josh Childress
5.    07' First Round Pick #3

Nets us the #3 overall pick and Josh Childress. The other 3 Hawks have a year left on their contracts and could be bought out to make room on the roster for other players.

Trade B: Jason Richardson, Patrick O'Bryant, and 07' Second Round Pick #36, #46 to the Charlott Bobcats for:
1.    Brevin Knight (1)
2.    Sean May
3.    07' First Round Pick #8, #22

Nets us two first rounders and a decent rent-a-player for a year in Knight. S. May might not be a bad backup pick. Although he may be injured for half the season. Though he won't cost us much.

Trade C: Sarunas Jasckicavisius to the Miami Heat for:

1.    07' Second Round Pick #39.

Nets us an extra young player for nothing basically. With Jason Williams getting older, Miami needs a servicable PG. He's an expiring too so he won't hurt them long term.

Warrior Picks in the 07' NBA Amateur Draft: #'s 3, 8, 18, 22, 39

Using RealGM and DraftExpress mock drafts:

1.    Portland - Greg Oden
2.    Seattle - Kevin Durant
3.    Warriors - Mike Conley
4.    Memphis - Al Horford
5.    Boston _ Jeff Green
6.    Milwaukee - Brandan Wright
7.    Minnesota - Spencer Hawes
8.    Warriors - Yi Jian Lian
9.    Chicago - Joakim Noah
10.    Sacramento - Corey Brewer
11.    Atlanta - Javaris Crittenton
12.    Philadelphia - Al Thornton
13.    New Orleans - Nick Young
14.    Los Angelas Clips - Acie Law
15.    Detroit - Rodney Stuckey
16.    Washington - Julian Wright
17.    New Jersey - Jason Smith
18.    Warriors - Thaddeus Young
19.     Los Angelas Lak - Josh McRoberts
20.    Miami - Rudy Fernandez
21.    Philadelphia - Tiago Splitter
22.    Warriors - Sean Williams
23.    New York - Morris Almond
24.    Phoenix - Marco Belinelli
25.    Utah - Daequan Cook
26.    Houston - Nick Fazekas
27.    Detroit - Derrick Byars
28.    San Antonio - Jared Dudley
29.    Phoenix - Petteri Koponen
30.    Philadelphia - Taureen

2nd Round:

39. Warriors - Dominic Mcguire

Justification:

3. I could go either way with Conley or Horford. I picked Conley because he's the best pg in the draft, while you could net an offensive minded pf (Yi) later with the #8 pick. I wasn't sure Monta could handle the point, so i kept the pressure off him and left him at the 2 spot.
8. Yi Jian Lian - If i were to pick Horford with the third selection, PG would be the next natural choice for the warriors. However the drop off from Conley to Law and Crittenton, was much bigger than Horford to Yi or even Noah. I couldn't justify picking Noah and playing him alongside Biedrins. An offensive minded PF is needed here in this spot.
18. Thaddeus Young - Talented and sweet shooting sf/pf combo. A decent replacement for Jason Richardson, Mikael Pietrus, and Matt Barnes. Would benefit from wide open looks from dish off passes from conley. Would not be relied upon to score with Monta, Yi, and Conley taking the pressure off Young's shoulders. Would not have to start right away.
22. Sean Williams - Drafting Yi would not give you the kind of defense or rebounding you may want. Drafting Williams covers these areas as he could come off the bench and give you intensity and tenacity as well as 6 extra fouls to work with.
39. Dominic McGuire - Projected to go a few spots higher, but hopefully lady luck drops this sleeper into the Warriors' hands. Long, Athletic combo forward (stands 6'8''), much like Young, however plays decent man-to-man defense and good leaping ability for offensive boards. McGuire and Young could become Pietrus and Barnes 2.0

I was going to go into salary cap situations for the 08-09 season but i'm too tired. Let's just say we save a freakin boat load of money. Money to sign Beans and Monta with as well as extensions for Childress if he deserves it.

Depth Chart:

1. Knight/Conley/Ellis
   
2. Ellis/Childress/Jackson
   
3. Harrington/Young/McGuire
   
4. Yi/May/Williams/Young
   
5. Biedrins/Yi/Williams/Foyle

I understand this is a 13 man rotation so i would send down a player to the D-Leagues such as McGuire.

I'm too tired after doing all this research. Blast or praise it at your own will.

1. Portland
   
2. Seattle
   
3. Atlanta (keeps pick)
   
4. Memphis
   
5. Boston

OH MY GOD.

Portland will be a beast in the coming years. I cringe at the thought of playing against Oden, Aldridge and Roy 4 times a year. Seattle basically replaces Lewis with Durant. Atlanta can finally get the big man they're looking for AND a solid PG since they own the 11th pick.

Post your thoughts on this CRAZY draft.

I think that the warriors inactivity may be a blessing right now.

In the offseason the value of our players will be significantly higher seeing as how Baron and Jrich will have played some games. Draft positions will be set and we will see who is coming out and declaring for the draft.

It seems more likely that the warriors could not lose enough to get a meaningful draft pick (in the 3-6 range). Great job. I'm betting we will be picking between 10-14. I don't think this team will hang on to this 8th seed. We needed another big man and we didn't get one. Good bye rebounds and hello second chance points for opponents.

In the offseason we have to get in on the draft action! Bring in the BEAST...no not Ike, I'm talking about Al Horford. This guy looks amazing. Charlotte recently came out and said they will be willing to spend more money in the offseason. How about a trade of Jrich and our first and second round picks for charlotte's lottery selection? Hopefully it will be low enough to pick up Horford. Charlotte does not need more youth, they have a glut of it and especially at pf. They are set at the 1,3,4 positions. They need a veteran scorer as their number one option and compliment to Okafor and receiver to felton. I'd suggest Baron, but he'd only impeed Felton's growth, and i believe they'd want Jrich more.

Even though it'd be tough, i think this would be a fair return if it lands us an athletic, young, NBA ready power forward to tag team with AB. We would then have a young core of Monta, AB, POB and hopefully Horford. Baron would still be the general and Harrington would shoulder some of the scoring load and play back at his natural 3 position. We will probably be undersized at the 2 with Monta there, but i'd rather be undersized at the 2 than at the 4 and 5 positions.

Dubz, make it happen!

write this down:

1. baron
   
2. Jrich
   
3. Al
   
4. AB
   
5. POB

This would be the starting 5 i'd most like to see.
First guard off the bench: Monta
First forward: Jackson
First AB or POB early foul trouble replacement: Powell, then Adonal depending on the matchup.

I'd stick to an 8-9 man rotation to see if this team can build up some chemistry. If this doesn't pick up our record...you know it...TANK. I'd try this out for 5 games, then make my decision.

In the offseason:

1. Keep developing Monta's play making skills. It will make Baron's departure that much quicker.
2. Trade Sarunas. He is in the last year of his contract at $4 mil. Trade for a pass first, veteran back up pg, unless Monta is ready.
3. Draft an NBA ready power forward or NBA ready small forward (hopefully someone long)--It all depends on POB's readiness by the end of this season. Hopefully he can make the kind of impact Andrew Bynum is having right now in LA.
   

If our draft position doesn't improve, i'd love to pick up Corey Brewer out of UF or hopefully Thaddeus Young of GT if he drops out of the mid-late lottery. There are a lot of good sf's in this draft that gets over shadowed by all the big men. Get these guys on the low and don't waste your money by signing Pietrus or Barnes. To Boneheads don't make a right.

4. Put AB, POB, and Monta on a weight training program. I'd love to see Monta (177) hit 190, AB (240) 250, and POB (250) 260. I think they could hit their target weights and add extra muscle while maintaining mobility. Come on Mark Grabow!

Hopefully we can develop POB this year so next year won't be a waste as well. AB will come back better, as well as Monta. Jrich will be healthy and Baron as well. Hopefully Mullin has some cards up his sleeves in the offseason either in the draft or through the market. We need to get longer and more physical. They need an identity on D. We can't let role players have career nights off us. Good defensive teams don't do that! Shore up the rebounding and defense, and the offense will be there, especially with a trio of AL, Jrich and Baron. I believe We are a decent pf away from the playoffs. We can do that either with the development of POB, through the draft (though this would be hard if we pick outside the top 4 (Tank mode: ON!!!) or through another miraculous trade).

Please Dubs, make my wishes come true.

moderators please edit.

I caught this while scrolling down hoopshype.com:

"Don't be getting your hopes for Pau Gasol up just yet. Sources close to the situation poured cold water on a report that the Celtics have the best chance to land the Memphis star because they can offer Al Jefferson and a high draft pick. Boston Herald

Considering how Jefferson began going for double-doubles when he was mentioned in published rumors (with other assets) for Allen Iverson, might it be expected that he improves his numbers now. "Yeah, but I know this one's not true," Jefferson said, before pausing to add, "At least I hope it's not true." Boston Herald

The Celts definitely would like to get their hands on Gasol, but as was written here earlier in the season, the Grizzlies are not big on what the C's may have to offer. Expect more Gasol talk around the league, as the big man quietly asked owner Michael Heisley to deal him to a team with a chance to win. That discussion was supposed to stay private, but word leaked out. Boston Herald"

sorry the quote directions didn't show up.

It's interesting that Memphis would turn this down when Pau stated to his team that he wants to play for a winner, and you get the SECOND pick in the draft. Plus Al Jefferson is a solid 4 to plug in for the time being.

I would seriously consider Al and their unprotected 1st rounder plus filler or expiring contract for Gasol. But maybe that's just me.

But if they could get Oden and Durant. That would be very interesting to see how they would do. I would really watch a Memphis game and be interested if that ever happened.

Pg: Stoudamire
sg: Gay
sf: Warrick
pf: Durant
C:  Oden

Since Memphis is going to be under the cap i figure they could go after a veteran PG to replace Damon as the starting pg.

OSU: 105 Tex: 103
Did anyone else watch the thrilling triple overtime game between Oklahoma State and Texas tonight on ESPN2? It was an amazing game between two evenly matched teams with OSU's Mario Boggans capping it with a game winning 3 (actually was a 2 pointer with his foot on the line). He ended with like 37 points and like 18 rebounds. Texas' own star Kevin Durant had a career high tying 37 points to go along with 12 rebounds to almost mount an upset.

Durant wowed the nation with his clutch shooting on the night. He almost won Texas the game on his 3 point play with just over 10 seconds left. But Mario Boggans wouldn't have any of that, sinking the game winner on the next possesion.

Great game, one of the best i've seen all year. Wouldn't Durant look good in Navy and Orange? sigh...Who ever drafts him will have a future star in Durant.

This is a pretty accurate analysis of the Warriors and where they'll probably end up. this was on Tim Kawakami's blog site:

They don't have a forward who can create shots or reliably defend the post. They put way too much on Baron Davis, especially when Monta Ellis is hurt. I have no idea why they keep playing Troy Murphy.

They're terrible on the road. They're a lousy free-throw shooting team.

I don't want to hear this any more: "We won't know how good they really are until we see their whole line-up healthy."

Uh, guys? This is the NBA. Players get hurt. You deal with it. Or you don't.

The Warriors are better than last season, but not enough to make the playoffs unless something major happens. Win one, lose one, win two, lose three... Hey, that's what 40-42 is.

This analysis is pretty fair. The Warriors are way too inconsistent to be talking playoffs. And even if by chance they make it they will only be a one and done team against the powerhouses. Management has dug this team a steep grave with the mix of bad contracts and our inability to rectify the situation. Our team is talented, but very, very unbalanced, and in the NBA you need talent at every position. Otherwise you're playing a 3-4 against 5 on every posession.

http://www.mercextra.com/blogs/kawakami/

I have a problem with the Warriors of the past few years. They are undersized and overmatched in most games in the past 2 years. Whether it is bad management or poor luck, the Warriors have fallen in to the trap of drafting flashy wing players who at least fill the stands with people. But as a basketball team you know that substance, not flash wins ball games.
The 2006-07 Warriors are 15-16 right now. But they don't have many quality wins. In many of their victories, they have overrelied on their 3-pointers. When they're hot, they win, when they're cold, they lose. They cannot manufacture points in a half court set. They move the ball on the outside until they get it to the corner for a Pietrus or Barnes 3. With the quality of players i see on this warriors team, I would expect another mid-season melt down. Warriors management need to bite the bullet and rebuild once again.
I read this article at NBADraft.net by Bijan C. Bayne:

When teamed together, superstars' skills must be complementary. John Stockton's vision, anticipation and endurance made him the perfect complement for a strong giant like Karl Malone. When Malone developed a dangerous jumpshot, Stockton not only fed him on the break, but in half-court sets. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were both long, quick wing defenders who could shut down prime scorers in playoff games. Though Jordan could beat many double-teams off the dribble, he often passed out of them to perimeter marksmen. Tim Duncan and David Robinson were all-around talents given more to shot blocking and rebounding than boasting and whining.You know how it is said an NBA player must do two things well to survive? The secondary skills of scorers such as Marbury, Carter, and Iverson are not those that seal championships. No matter what one thinks of Shaquille O'Neal's defense at this stage of his career, the defending champion Heat are 11-14 without him. As numbers-minded as Wilt Chamberlain's detractors say he was, his 1967 Sixers finished 68-13, his '72-'73 Lakers won 33 straight. Defense and boards played a huge role in that. His talents fit the mix.


I would say that Baron is definitely our smaller version of John Stockton, however we definitely have no Malone type player, not even a Pippen. With Jason Richardson on the shelf, the quality around Baron is seriously sub-par. Biedrins and Ellis are still too young to take over a game (although i am hopeful for their future). But on the uglier side, Troy Murphy, Adonal Foyle, Mike Dunleavy, Matt Barnes, and even Mikael Pietrus have all shown that they are not Warrior Saviors. They are role players who disguise themselves in Nellie Ball's system of over-glorifying stats for what they really are. Some are paid like superstars, but they are far from it.
And dare i say, even Jason Richardson at full strength will not be enough to make this team decent. Jason is a great scorer, but he barely has any secondary skills. Rebounding is small potatoes when compared to what a complete player has to do on the court.


Today's g.m. is living in a unique era. Bigs interested in playing big are back. Raised on a t.v. and video game diet of Shaq and not Ralph, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Joakim Noah and Greg Oden like it inside. Yao Ming (yes, he has a soft touch- he's also rebounding and changing shots) is having an MVP campaign. Why build a team from the outside in, when the new face of the game is that of the post player. How can Allen Iverson be "The Answer" in the West, where Amare Stoudamire is a force returning to near 100% capability? His scorer's mentality does not suit him to find J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony where they like to score, and when his bruised body is not suited to chasing Baron Davis, Tony Parker and the aforementioned Nash every night


The name of the game is not perimeter any more. With more teams wanting to go big, the Warriors will be overmatched each night with their current perimeter oriented team. Look at other teams in the NBA with perimeter oriented teams. Do any of them have plus .500 records? Maybe only Phoenix, but no other team is like the Suns, and they have a two time MVP and Amare.
I know this is a little long, but it was something i needed to write for a while now. My beer goggles have come off and finally see the Warriors for the deeply flawed team that they are. Talented? Yes. Playoff bound? No, folks.


http://nbadraft.net/bayne001.asp

After watching Gilbert Arenas' recent explosion (well we all knew he could score at will), the meloncholy never ceases to set in when i see number zero drop 30, 40, 50, even 60 points on opponents! I may be biased because I always was a Gilbert fan over fellow 01'ers Jason Richardson and Troy Murphy, but it has been the worst mistake, in a whole cadre of epic mistakes for the Warriors not to resign him (Damn Bird Rights loophole!).
I found this off an old Mock Draft web site written by Steve Besselman:

The #11 pick could actually have great value to the team as trade bait. Adding another young player may not help this team as much as adding a veteran.

St. Jean has done a good job with the last two drafts, but he seems to be gun-shy about trades. The team hasn't tipped it's hand on any of it's options, but it has 3 expiring contracts to work with this season. With over 15 million in expiring contracts and a stable of young players, the team would appear to be in a position of strength in trade talks. But then again, they failed to do anything at the trade deadline, and that's led to the current Arenas crisis.

The following summer we got rid of Jamison's max contract along with the expiring of Danny Fortsons. Unfortunately this wasn't in time or didn't clear enough cap space and Gil left for DC. (I don't remember, I didn't have cable so i couldn't follow the Warriors as much).

Fantasy vs. Reality: Gil vs. Baron. I argue that Gilbert would be a better fit for this team than Baron is right now if he had stayed.

Scoring: Advantage: Gilbert, dynamic scorer that forces the defenses to collapse and can finish in traffic. BD does this very well too. However Gilbert shoots the ball at a higher percentage and the 3 point field goal at a much, much higher percentage than that. Gilbert gets to the freethrow line much more because he does not settle for the outside shot. He is a slasher and a driver which allows him to get his points if and when his shot isn't falling.
Passing/Turnovers: Advantage: Baron, has much more court vision and is more careful with the rock in his hands than Mr. Hibachi!. Baron gets his teammates involved when he wants to, however he puts too much responsibility to take every shot in crunch time. Combine that with his low fg% and you have many disappointing 4th quarters.
Defense: Advantage: Tie, While Baron is currently among the tops in steals per game, Gil isn't slacking in this stat either. Simply put, both do not change the state of the game by their defensive tenacity. They are both more effective on the offensive side and that is exactly where it shows.
Intangibles: Advantage: Gilbert, Can dominate a game and crush the spirit of a team when he applies himself. He would not let his team lose to the Suns and to Mike D'Antoni and Bryan Colangelo.  Gilbert makes up for his average assist ratio and high turnover rate by scoring, scoring and scoring some more. Gilbert is also a clutch shooter who generally makes the right decision based on what the defense gives him.

Winner: Gilbert (If only this meant that he could be a Warrior once again). Baron is a solid star, but he hasn't been an All Star in 3 years while Gilbert has now made the All Star team twice and even All NBA 3rd team. Gilbert would have been our superstar to build around ala Allen Iverson. With our mix of players we could have contended for a playoff spot. Unfortunately we set ourselves back for who knows how long and still remain superstar-less.

If i was St. Jean i would have held a fire sale if only to keep Arenas because there is only one Number Zero in this league. And he should have been a Warrior for a long, long time.

http://www.ibiblio.org/craig/draft/2003_draft/Picks/11_golden_state.shtml

In my opinion i think the best way to go is to sell low on murphy and sell hi on JRich. Get those two contracts off of our payroll so we can build through our young guys (sounds redundant, i know). Murph is no longer an asset to this team. His presence actually hurts the Warriors.
Unfortunately we would have to lose JRich as well. It will be tough to depart with his hustle, but in the end, he is no Wade. He is not a guy who will ever make his teammates better. He would be most effective in a Richard Jefferson type role in which he is the third scorer.

Please make arguments saying that if Baron had a healthy JRich, this team would be a contender.

Anything we can do to get our payroll back in order should be a main priority. I know i am throwing in the towel for 06-07, but i no longer have my beer goggles on and see this team as slightly above average as a basketball TEAM. And in the west, you have to be better than that.

Creating chemistry with this team and the new guys is a must for the warriors. We need guys who block out, have a high ft%, make smart decisions, don't need the basketball to be effective, and just commit to win over everything else.

Oh yeah, and get that Kevin Durant from Texas! keep dreaming...

Reply here if you can find anything positive in all things that are Golden state basketball in the last NINE quarters. I say nine because we were outplayed by the bucks in the 4th and well, you know the texas massacre situation...lets not go there again.

1. i will start off by saying that it was nice to see O'bryant on a consistent basis. haha. I thought he played decently in 24 minutes of accumalative work.

Thats about it for me, what can you all come up with?

I believe a change of scenery is in order. How about we go from navy and orange, to blue, gold and black. It would give us a much nastier look, which pretty much the whole team needs to win. haha. I'm not only talking about the players, the jerseys need to change to these!!:

http://img89.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newwarriorys2.jpg

EDIT: Here's the pic. Check the Posting Tips for how to display images.