Warrior's future
by supremepuntiff on Jul 5, 2008 2:02 PM PDT
9 comments
Hey all,
I'm originally from Blazer's Edge, but I've been somewhat following the Warriors off and on (I remember Run TMC, though I was actually equally fond of Run TSC. Not to mention one of your backup points from the 90-91 season. Pritchard was the name, I believe).
It goes without saying that I have been following them to an extent in the Baron years as well, and have been wondering about where you guys go from here, and just about team building in general. Some thoughts and questions:
It seems like teams are generally successful one of two ways: (a) draft/obtain your core around the same time, and add-on minor pieces (San Antonio, Portland), (b) add the missing ingredients to a mostly assembled/homegrown team (Detroit adding Sheed). I've seen Portland do both (the former they are doing right now, examples of the latter would be the Buck Williams trade or the Scottie Pippen signing). Anything in-between resulted in competitive teams that were predictably gone by the end of the semifinals, if even that much.
I don't have the same level of knowledge of GS as I do Portland (obviously), so my questions to you guys are these:
Where do you see the Warriors in terms of development now? They have some good/potentially good young pieces right now. I see them as possibly in the Detroit mold, where in a few cohesive years they will be a free agent away from being a strong playoff team (assuming the development of Wright and Randolph).
Where were they before Davis left? 48 games in any year is good, but especially this year (though paradoxically, it also meant it wasn't enough). At the same time, Portland was 7 games back without Oden or defense, and the team that got in ahead of you (Denver) got their usual playoff exit. Though Baron and Jax are in their primes, and Eliis is emerging, was the team really on the cusp of contending? No one was too old, and not many were really too young, but the mix just didn't seem quite right. Put another way, I have a hard time seeing a time with Croshere and Hudson as the most veteran players in the Finals. Is that just the uninformed voyeurism of someone who likes but isn't knowledgeable about the Warriors?
What about Nellie? Regardless of his past comings and goings, is there a sense of how long he will be sticking around? Hubie was coaching at a much older age, but how long do you think Nellie sticks around? I'm not talking about next year or the year after. I'm talking down the line in 4-5 years or beyond. I know that would be rare for any coach in the league (it seems, anyway), but the answer helps me figure out my next question:
Where do you go from here? Reload with free agents? Clear space for 2010? Develop from the ground up + Ellis? Ultimately, is Golden State close enough to make the leap (now or in a couple years) to elite, or is the dreaded reconstruction word going to be passed around? If GS doesn't reconstruct, what do you see them doing to distinguish themselves as a playoff team (i.e., Portland had 21 consecuative playoff appearances, but only five were memorable. they were mostly a predictable first round exit, though no one was excited to play them)?
Sorry if this post was sloppily constructed or rehashing a lot of current discussions, but I am very interested to see what will happen, and am not very good at getting a feel for teams by just reading diaries and posts of the true fans, but rather, through discussions that directly speak to my lack of knowledge. Also, as a kid I loved Mullin, and kind of want some assurance for the 10 year old within that he is still on some level awesome (or at least a competent visionary) and can make things work. Seeing so many heroes have front office trouble has been sometimes hard to take. Excepting Joe Dumars. He has been awesome.
This FanPost is a submission from a member of the mighty Golden State of Mind community. While we're all here to throw up that W, these words do not necessarily reflect the views of the GSoM Crew. Still, chances are the preceding post is Unstoppable Baby!
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A few questions answered
Though unfortunately I cannot speak for the Warriors’ front office myself, I do have strong opinions regarding a few of your questions. I think a few of your questions can be answered by reading a recent post I put up called A letter to the Golden State Nation.
As for where they stood with Baron, it was no more then a border line playoff team, unless they could add a few essential pieces; though Baron’s salary really limited their options. Though Baron will be greatly missed, I am happy they did not offer him the same type of deal the Clippers did.
As for Nelson, I see him gone after this year or next, depending on the team’s success. If they are highly competitive (regardless of a playoff birth) he will be back. If they’re lotter bound by mid-season, it’ll be the last we see of Nellie Ball. His replacement looks to be assistant coach Kieth Smart waiting in the wings; a man who has always seemed very capable and intelligent to me. Also, it seems like the players respect him, and here in Golden State that is the golden rule when hiring a coach.
I see no need for the warriors to go after free agents in the coming off seasons, because granted there will be big name players, most of them will have just hit their 30s (a no-no at this point for a young warriors team). I’d like to see the Warriors go after both Josh Smith, James Jones and Shaun Livingston. Jones and Livingston could be had easily I believe, but though Smith should some day be an all-star, I don’t know if he’ll be worth the max deal the Warriors would likely have to offer him to pry him away. Nevertheless, acquiring these 3 players would be ideal for a young warriors team.
I hope this a long with the help of my other post could answer a few questions as to where Golden State fans stand.
by gregk170 on Jul 5, 2008 3:27 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
none
of those ex Dubz would take this team to a championship.
Put Clifford Ray on that list.
He can teach our young bigs some things.
by misterjennings on Jul 5, 2008 7:17 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Put Clifford Ray on that list.
And Rick Barry! the whole 1975 team infact!!!
Portland fan, Can we trade teams? I wanna jump on the Portland bandwagon.
by Skeptic con Urquell on Jul 5, 2008 8:46 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
All-time warrior team
PG-Baron Davis
SG-Chris Mullins
SF-Rick Barry
C-Nate Therman
C-Wilt Chamberlain
Co-Coaches- Don Nelson and Al Attles
Just felt like saying that and not making a post on it. I sort of embrassed myself with the Greg Oden post, but it bought in some Portland fans and it’s always fun to talk with fans as good as they are in the bay. I see the warriors future looking pretty bright. We have a rising superstar in Monta Ellis, similar to Brandon Roy up in Portland(no offense but Monta’s upside is way higher.) Then we have a core of youngers who wil develope into solid players like Randolph, Wright, Buike, and Belinelli for us, Webster, Aldridge, Outlaw, and Bayless. The real difference between the two teams are the centers. I believe Oden, Howard, and possibly Bynum(we’ll see how is knee turnsout) are going to be the next big centers in the league( Howard already is, but is on the list since at 22, he only get better) while Beans is in a league a right around aldridge. I think the warriors are 1 and i really mean 1 center away from a top dog in 2-3 years. That guy could come from the draft, or possibly Okefor(still think he can become dominate), or possibly someone else, but right now, we are a team trying to find that one missing piece, but who knows, maybe Monta can fill all holes.
According to the comminsioner of the nfl, 104 people retired last year. 7 due to age, and the rest because of Patrick Willis
by montasmob69 on Jul 5, 2008 9:41 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Although I'm a PDX fan (read biased) I still think you are underrating our dudes
Monta is a scorer but he isn’t a good shooter nor is he a facilitator or even a decent defender. Roy may not being able to score like Monta but is by far, the more rounded of the two. In fact he averaged nearly the same number of points on a team that played at the 2nd slowest pace in the league. Brandon has the skills of a point in the body of a 2, Monta has the skills of a 2 guard in the body of point. I also think Roy is much more vocal leader than Monta, I think Roy can rally his team whereas Monta hasn’t displayed the same skill. Not that I’m blaming Monta for this, but that’s just what I’ve noticed. I don’t know this one for sure, since I haven’t watched enough Warrior games, but I feel like Roy is more clutch as well. I know you guys at GSoM love Monta, but to me he is a shorter, better version of Leandro Barbosa.
A lot of your young guys you’ve pegged to be solid role players have barely played, and in the case of Randolph, 0 NBA minutes. There’s a huge difference between those guys and the younger role players on the Blazers.
Webster and Travis were important players for our team in the 2007-2008 season. Wright, Bellineli, were…not. Travis(24) averaged 14ppg last season, Webster (21) 10, they are both still young and improving, but they are way ahead of the curb when in comes to contributions than the Warrior players you mentioned. Both were also much more important to the team than Azubuike.
Really Azubuike seems like the GS version of Channing Frye, a young guy, pegged to be a role player, that you would trade for the right offer. They play different positions but they contribute about equally imo.
You also left out Rudy Fernandez who was the best player in Europe last season and a player many Blazer fans are saying will make an immediate impact this season. Many analysts have stated had Rudy been in the draft this year he would be a top 10 pick.
Now as for Randolph, he’s a skinnnnnnnny dude. He isn’t close to NBA ready, in my opinion. He was drafted solely based on upside, there are a lot of question marks about this guy. If you see him play Brendan Wright minutes this year I would be satisfied with his development. Bayless is the better prospect of the 2 in my honest opinion. He’s got an NBA body, and he put up good numbers in a quality conference. There was a reason why he was projected to go at #4 for really, until a few days before the draft. There’s no question in my mind that next year Bayless will contribute more. Especially since depth at the 3/4 spot isn’t really an issue.
About LaMarcus
Aldridge is scoring 17ppg (on a team that averages 95) in his sophomore year, I think I peg him way higher talent-wise than Andris. Especially when you adjust for pace, Aldridge is much better offensive weapon than Biedrins. The rebounding difference is also much more marginal when you take pace into consideration as well. There’s a reason why the Blazer’s core consists of Aldridge, Roy and Oden. LMA’s rangy perimeter game will compliment Oden’s power play in the paint beautifully. If you watched Blazer games in the month of March and April you would be salivating at just how good this guy will be.
In my opinion although GS plays a really entertaining brand of basketball, it’s so unbalanced that it’s not going to win championships. I mean you guys play less D than Phoenix and Phoenix had better talent. Golden State is a team that can blow you out or get destroyed, and a lot of that is really up to chance because of the style of ball you guys play. That’s not going to consistently win you games, and it’s not going to win multiple playoff series. Aside from that you need a lot more depth in the front court, a point guard and a bench. That might have to do with Nelson again, but you can’t gas your best players in games that don’t matter.
A Time For Heroes,
It's not right for young lungs to be coughing up blood
And it's all
It's all in my hands
And its all up the walls
Well the stale chips were up and the hopes stakes were down
Until Kp came into Town!
'Sing it Petey!
by Dheepan on Jul 6, 2008 1:01 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
GS plays a really entertaining brand of basketball
Make that “Played” The Dizzle is off the Boom. I wanna be a portland wanna-be. How much to buy that team and move it to say Fresno? you can keep the uni’s and the name.
by Skeptic con Urquell on Jul 6, 2008 10:24 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Roy is better than Monta, I’ll agree there. In fact, I’ll agree with most of your points except Azubuike. Look at his stats for the first seven games last year. With the suspension of Stephen Jackson and Buike coming off a very good preseason, he played 30+ minutes 6 out of the first 7 games. And every game he played 30+ minutes in, he scored in double digits, including 33 and 27 point games. But then with Jackson back and Nelson using the bench less and less, he gradually got used less and less. But at the end of the season, Nelson realized (too late) that he needed to play his bench a bit more, and Azubuike started coming in off the bench more, and again he started performing.
From what I’ve seen of him, if he’s given playing time, he will produce. Of course, I’ve seen that from Brandan Wright too, but Nelson didn’t play him much either. Hopefully both will get more burn this season.
One more thing. Brandan Wright, not Brendan.
by belilaugh on Jul 6, 2008 11:57 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
And Roy is more clutch than Monta, definitely, but that would be expected from a 4 year college player vs. a high school player. Monta still has time , most players coming out of high school tend to not have the big game experience and have to pick it up as they go along.
by belilaugh on Jul 6, 2008 11:59 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
i have to disagree just a bit...
Monta can’t shoot the ball?? are you nuts? Besides the 3-point shot, Monta was the only player not named Bierdrins, that could make his shots consistently, he is a very good mid-range shooter.
What I think needs to happen is for Don Nelson to name his successor in Keith Smart, if that is the plan, so that we can gear up for the future. Kind of what he did with Avery before Don left Dallas. Because if Smart is going to be the coach of the future, he has the pieces of the future right in front of him already. It would be in the best interest for the Dubs, so that when Don does decide to leave, they he will be ready for job. The more chemistry we build now, will be better for the team in the long run.
by celicadriven27 on Jul 6, 2008 3:27 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
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