Well well... we are in the midst of a complete overhaul of talent.  The only players remaining from our famed playoff team are Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins, Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington... and that was only 14 months ago.  To say things are different is an understatement.  Fortunately, we have a plethora of young talent to take us into the new decade.

First things first is our core, which consists of Monta, Wright, Randolph, Maggette & Andris.  Think about it for a second... these players (along with Williams, Belinelli, Azubuike & Turiaf) are guaranteed to be here after next season.  That will be at least three seasons of growing together and becoming accustomed to each other’s game.  We have a great young group of players on this team.  Coaching will be the main variable, as Nellie is seemingly undecided about whether he will return after this season.

Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington are fairly good veterans who are knowledgeable enough to hold things down and keep things together, but unfortunately, they are people who I don't really expect to be here after next season.  I would love to see Jackson stay, but outside of a complete explosion where we become title contenders within the next two seasons, he really doesn't have any incentive to stay.  Harrington is probably going to be leaving for greener grass, which may happen sooner as his trade value is expected to increase next season, as he is someone who can score from the 3 or 4 position with an expiring contract.  By then, some of our youngins should be veterans themselves while the W’s sign others vets to fill in the roster.

Putting together a depth chart for next couple of seasons is pretty easy (as Nellie already named his starters):
PG:  Ellis, Williams, Watson
SG:  Jackson, Belinelli, Azubuike
SF:  Maggette, Randolph
PF: Harrington, Wright, Hendrix
C:   Biedrins, Turiaf, Perovic
So far that's a 14-man team, leaving one roster spot open.  Penciling in Perovic to be part of the rotational injured list and Hendrix to join him or go to the D-League, we have a solid 12-player rotation to suit up barring any injuries.

Now the first unit should be solid, with the exception of the power forward spot.  Nelson has stated that Harrington should be the starter, but with Wright adding a mid-range jumper to his game, it would be interesting to see Wright in the starting line-up.  Unfortunately, with Ellis & Maggette out on the floor at the same time (both of whom are slashers who tend to drive and draw fouls), the Warriors need another player with Jackson to stretch the floor, which is what Harrington can currently do with his three-point range.  This of course makes our rebounding a little suspect, but what’s a Warrior team w/o weak rebounding right?  (That was a joke…).  Should Wright be able to build up a reliable mid-range jumper, I would be all for placing him into the starting line, which would strengthen the rebounding of our first unit while leaving Harrington to come off the bench as the offensive minded scoring option in the second unit.

The bright side to this is our 2nd unit, which has a fairly good rebounding and weak side blocking base in Wright & Turiaf.  Hopefully, Randolph will grow into the type of player he was hyped up to be before the draft (a talented Lamar Odom-type player) a lot sooner than he was slated to get there.  We already know that Azubuike is a pretty good scoring option off the bench, and if Belinelli can find his jumper, it only makes the second unit that much more valuable.  Obviously, its not going to be like this forever, as the second unit is basically a stepping stone for the new youngsters to step up, build their game through experience and hard work and get to the starting line-up. 

Of course, this is all leading to the future, so we can project our starting line-up & depth chart post Jax & TMNH:
PG:  Ellis, Williams
SG:  Maggette, Belinelli,
SF:  Randolph, Azubuike
PF:  Wright, Hendrix,
C:   Biedrins, Turiaf
Baring any trades or the declining of the team-options on Williams, Belinelli, Randolph, Wright & Hendrix (the first four of which looks like they will be mainstays anyways), this is a fair assessment of our base team for the 2010-2011 season.  Sprinkle in a couple of rookies and a couple of veteran FA signings, and I have faith that this team could grow to be a nice fixture in the playoff picture. 

Now I know, I know… how can this team be a playoff type of team?  First off, that starting line-up wouldn’t have any gunslingers from the three pt line, meaning we wont have any quick threes running down the court.  Secondly, that starting unit already as two 20+ PPG scorers in Maggette & Ellis who rebound very well from the guard spots, a big 2nd ball handler in Randolph (should he continue to improve) and two excellent rebounders and adequate shot blockers in Wright & Biedrins.  Off the bench would be Belinelli and another 3 pt shooter (TBA via FA) to switch the tempo of the game with Williams serving as primary ball-handler and Turiaf in the same role as the high-energy defender.  This team would also have the ability to go small by taking out either Beans or Wright and placing Williams at the point, moving everyone down one spot.

I, for one, am extremely excited for the future of this team.  This is the youngest team we’ve had since the Arenas, Richardson, Jamison, Murphy & Foyle w/ Dunleavy days with one main difference; this team actually has the chance to grow together and build chemistry.  The Arenas/Richardson/Jamison combo only had 2 years together… one year where Arenas finally got the starting nod toward the end of the season over Larry Hughes and one year where they were able to all play together.  We all remember the potential, and we all remember the heartbreak afterwards when Arenas said Cohen didn’t look him in the eye and Mullin pulled the trigger to move Jamison and start all over with J-Rich/Dunleavy & Murphy as the core.  Our current core has at least three years to play together before contracts are up for Wright & Belinelli.  Assuming that they’ll be resigned, this team could potentially play together a few years beyond that.  It’s a hell of a lot better and more fun to watch than putting our playoff hopes in the hands of Coles, Jackson, Marshall, Weatherspoon & Dampier.