Showdown on the 29th. Only 4 days away (and counting)!!!!

I can hear it now.

"BRING BACK MULLY! " 1-2 1-2-3
                                             (Claps)

I hope they keep Mullin, not so much for his performance — he’s been a mixed bag, though much better lately — as for image purposes.

We’re a fringe franchise. As nice as the Bay Area is, as big a market as it is, it’s simply not much of a draw for free agents. When you’re a team like that (as most teams are), you need to put forward a good image, so guys will think, “Well, it’s not LA/New York/Miami, but it seems like a good situation over there.”

To put it mildly, it has often not been a good situation in Oakland over the last fifteen years. The franchise was a joke for a long, long time, characterized by incompetent ownership and constant re-shuffling of the GM and coach positions.

Lately, things have changed. We’ve had two straight winning seasons, and almost as importantly, there’s a good story to this team. You’ve got a legendary coach coming back, working under a GM who used to play for him, as a legend in his own right. You’ve got Stephen Jackson rehabilitating himself, Baron getting his groove back, and We Believe. Lots of good vibes in these last couple years.

This offseason was a bit of a crossroads. Lots of good (good re-signings of Monta, Biedrins and ’Buike, underrated signings of Maggette and Turiaf), but some high-profile bad (the loss of Baron, Mopedgate). The team probably took a temporary step back this summer, and we very well might miss the playoffs this year.

If we do, the reputation of the team could go one of two ways. It could be “young, talented team just taking a year to put it together”, or it could be “same old dysfunctional Warriors”. If Cohan and Rowell axe Mullin, a local legend, it’s much more likely that people will go with the latter story, and the franchise will start to look like a loser again.

Image isn’t everything, but it matters. It matters to free agents, it matters to fans… hell, it matters to me. I’m also a Giants and Niners fan, so I’m doing enough rooting for losers — I want there to be a feeling of excitement about the Warriors. Chris Mullin and Don Nelson running the show helps create that feeling of excitement. Another reset will just get the fan base worried and grumbling again.

So yeah, I hope they keep Mullin around. He’s been a decent GM the last couple years, to the point where they’re not likely to find someone who’s clearly better. If we could land Jerry West, sure. If it’s going to be a more or less lateral move, what’s the point? Keep the good story, if all else is equal.

The “basketball theory” has about as much credibility as the “drafting winners theory.”

Kawakami also had the “shooters theory” which said shooters did worse in the playoffs. That was a BS theory based on on cherrypicking players too (his main point, Ray Allen, went off soon after he wrote it).

in a pretty organized unbiased fashion, what exactly each candidate has done? and what there policies are. What moves were Rowel’s decisions and what were mullin’s?