Nellie said (sorry, forgot which article), that he'd prefer to go with the veteran early on, and this is just him carrying out that plan now that he can.

As for the larger question of managing talent...hard to say since injuries/absences always wreck ur plans, but it's gonna be more of the same.

Baron, Azubuike, Jack, Al, and Biedrins will start.

Ellis will be the first guard off the bench; Cro will be the first big off the bench; if we ever get Barnes/Pietrus back together I expect one of them to get burn.

What I am afraid of is Nellie using Pietrus as a backup PF and Cro as the backup C, squeezing POB/Wright out of the equation entirely....but that seems like something Nellie's' gonna do.

It will be an interesting situation: we will rejoice at this problem when we have a situation as we did early one with Barnes/Pietrus/Jack out for various reasons; but when we're winning it will be difficult to keep everyone happy without stifling the growth and potential rewards of our youth.

If Cro plays like this I don't really have any problem with him being used.

Overall, all the players we have could provide all the parts we need (for example, Ellis might unexpectedly turn in good PG performances),...but they might not.

24 > 23

AIM: Jetforze

it's kinda small ball but it was kinda not... it was like.. MidBall?

Thanks for your support GSOM!

For the Knicks, I don't think the Ws go twin towers, instead I think Nellie will just double down and dare the Knicks to make the extra pass and hit jumpers.  No way with Jamal (chucker) Crawford and Nate Robinson out there.  The Knicks are tailor made for the Ws to run them out of the house so long as the Warriors play good help defense and hustle for the boards.

Nothing better than "The City".

More of a lost art, quite a rarity among big men in the NBA today. I was dead wrong about this kid. I was so happy to see him at the game against the Clippers all fired up. That was really the first time I've EVER seen Patrick get excited about ANYTHING while he was on the floor. He had Barnes jumpin on em and he was swinging his fist in the air, such a relief to see that we didn't waste a pick after all.

I hate to build an outlook just from the result of one game, but just the thought of Pat, Andris, and Wright on our team...all of em 21 or younger...They've got the potential to be one of the most formidable assemblements of big men in the league for years to come. I'm also relieved to see that Patrick is not regressing from summer league and training camp, he just seems to get better and better, and you can actually see the confidence filling him up like water to a glass with each solid minute he spends on that floor.

One question for you all though....

Do you think that the Warriors may have a different plan with their roster now, in regards of who may be on the trading block come mid-season with the emergence of a player like O'Bryant? Will they have the resources to re-sign him after this off-season if he goes on to emerge as one of the most promising big men out there? How will they re-sign him, Azubuike(must), Biedrins, and Ellis without a trade involving Harrington?  Any thoughts?

Amir Johnson got $10.8M/3 years from the Pistons. He was beloved by local fans but had done nothing in the NBA. Like POB, he had a good showing in the D-League, but that's it.

Andray Blatche got an extension for $15M/5 years from the Wizards. He had been a restricted free agent. Blatche had significantly more time than Johnson in the L, but averaged only 12 minutes per game in 56 contests.

Given that POB is unlikely to eclipse 12 MPG, it is unlikely he gets more than the roughly $3M/year that either of those guys got. That figure is something we can match without delving into the MLE.

24 > 23

AIM: Jetforze

It lights a fire with POB and his agent to actually show up in games.

If he turns out to be productive, then his value is raised and everyone wins.

The only risk is if he starts dumping 12-15 a night.  Nelson can bench him in that case and pray no one noticed.

A risk worth taking, I doubt he'll hit double figures in scoring very often this year, probably under ten times total for all season.

while you've got some nice comparisons there with amir johnson etc. as evidence that patty o won't be swiped, there are obviously other cases where opposing GMs gamble and overpay on unproven talent.  
so, sure, we might lose him.  

I haven't ever been as down on the guy as a lot of folks here, but let's not get carried away in the other direction based on the little we've seen.  Hopefully he'll be able to develop in the scraps he gets thrown by Nellie, and earn the guy's trust.  Then, let the market do its thing, and let's hope Mullin keeps up his new-found frugality.

If he'd been thrust into heavy minutes last year, he might have been mentally destroyed.

No one expects anything of him, and he's out to prove them wrong!

Maybe with his personality type, that's the only way he could develope?  Er, I mean the best way, to make him fight for it.  To bring out his fire at the coach instead of himself for struggling in games.  Protect his ego at the start, kind of thing.

Ha! I can't believe I just wrote Nelson was protecting his ego...but in a strange way...