This Is The Post-Cohan Era

There's been a lot of good news to go around throughout the Warriors franchise this summer & a lot of it happens to be more significant than most but good news is always good news regardless of stature. Right now I'm going to countdown the five "MAIN" points into why this era will be one of the greatest eras in franchise history:

5. MONTA ELLIS/ ANDRIS BIEDRINS

According to Matt Steinmetz, Monta Ellis was spoken to a couple of weeks ago about this year's off-season acquisitions and said that he was very happy with the talent being added. (He might just be too happy to care as he's getting married sometime this month according to Steinmetz.) This is not very high on the list for various reasons; if Monta is happy that's great because it's less likely he will cause controversy like last year's training camp and if he's peeved off we can send him off like we've done with players the past few seasons but what good would it do as the franchise never seems to get proper value in return.

From very sources here on GSOM, I've read that Andris Biedrins is nearly completely healed from his injury and that he should be working on his free throws with the great Rick Barry very soon now. If Andris is able to get his confidence back as well as hit his free throws with regularity it may be safe to say that we may have one of the few legit big men in the league that can go to the free throw line and knockdown free throws with regularity (Take That Dwight Howard LOL). That's a good sign knowing that our higher paid players are showing great professionalism on and off the court.

4. DAVID LEE ACQUISTITION/DORELL WRIGHT SIGNING

I'm not going to say I was very happy when we went after David Lee but now I am psyched that we have him. I think he is one of the top five power forwards in the NBA. Yes, I know some might think I am going over board but let's just take a look. David Lee (6yr/$80 million) averaged 20 PPG & 10 RPG on high efficiency which was better than both Carlos Boozer (5yrs/$80 million w/ CHI) & Amare Stoudemire (5yr/100 million w/ NYK) who received larger contracts from more desperate teams. But the thing that separates David Lee from the two is that he played with nowhere near an above average point guard. When Lee finally gets to play with Curry, I expect everybody, including him, in that line-up to be able to take their game to the next level for the better. We should also remember that both of the players listed above has baggage that no team would want around a young core (Injury prone with a me-first attitude). And those who think I'm overrating David Lee, there's only a few PF's that can be considered better than Lee: Pau Gasol, Tim Duncan (on the decline), Kevin Garnett (injury sped up his decline), Dirk Nowitzki, & Chris Bosh even though more than half of those can be considered debatable.

Dorell Wright brings to the Warriors something they haven't had in a while; an athletic, defensive wing man that knows what it takes to be a champion. He's going to be what Mikael Pietrus should've been and possibly better as he is still nowhere near his prime and has the IQ of a seasoned veteran due to the fact that he entered the league as a high school prep kid. He may not be able to shut down Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade, Brandon Roy and all them but he will gives the Warriors a chance to contain them better than anyone else on the roster they've had in a while. These moves gives us good hope for the future as they help us with the supporting cast of an above average big man and a defensive stopper.

ON THE SIDE NOTE: David Lee played out of position all season for NYK. In 06-07, D. Wright was allowed to play point forward on a team that included fellow playmakers Dwyane Wade, Jason Williams, & Gary Payton.

3. SALARY CAP FLEXIBILITY

I'ma just come out and say this one plain, the Warriors will have cap space in 2011 so that they can be a big player in free agency for the first time in several years. Hopefully the Warriors don't use it on Carmelo Anthony as he is a one-sided typed of player that we do not need on this young roster. My worst nightmare is that the Warriors take the money and make a desperate move on the wrong type of player like they did back in 2008 (Just think about Corey Maggette's contract and we can ALL understand why most fans might become worried). But other than the past it is always good to know that a team has the flexibility to add more talent to its roster.

2. A LEGIT FACE OF THE FRANCHISE

We, the fans, actually have a player with the credentials required to be a franchise player. Sorry, Monta we thought that was you (even though it would be nice to have you along for the ride) but that is no longer the case as it is now Stephen Curry's team. This is great going into a new era as a lot of teams going through ownership controversy hardly ever have a franchise player on their side unless you're like the Seattle Supersonics, now the Oklahoma City Thunder, a few years ago when they had Kevin Durant. This gives the Warriors more recognition as we should not only be getting more positive press release but also even more national publicity as everybody has been in love with the "idea" of Steph Curry since his 2008 NCAA tourney appearance at Davidson College (who would've believed that "shooter" could soon be one of the better point guards in the league?).

1. CHRIS COHAN IS FINALLY GONE/THE START OF THE LACOB AND GUBER-ERA

Since the mid-90's we have wanted that man away from this team as soon as possible and we have finally gotten our wish as a fan base. He was around to destroy two great eras of basketball for this team ("Run T.M.C." & "We Believe") but above all he just sat there and watched it all happen. The only thing that pleases me about this style of departure is that he did it with two months to spare so that this front office has time to reshape its self before the season starts as well as make some better changes for the future. I was kind of upset about Larry Ellison not buying the team but we must look at the better side of things; for one the team team was sold to somebody that understands what it takes to be a respectable franchise in basketball and not just the laughing stock everybody can rack up career numbers playing against. And second and most importantly, we got somebody who was willing to pay for the disaster of a franchise ($450 MILLION PEOPLE!) which is something incredible especially after all the destruction that has been brought upon it especially the past decade and a half. I know this franchise is about two to three seasons of even thinking Western Conference Finals but let's just be happy knowing Chris Cohan is no longer at the helm of the ship. LET'S GO 2010-2011 WARRIORS!