What's with the former player hate?

I couldn’t believe people booing Baron. He came here and gave us everything he had, and wasn’t rewarded by the organization. He was then offered about $20-$30M more than the Warriors’ last-second face-saving offer gave him.

Baron gave us the greatest dunk in Warriors history. I still smile when I think about that.

Let’s stop the hate.

And can we remember how awesome it was when we shipped out the DunMurphy sisters and got StackJack and Al? Instant playoffs baby! Couldn’t have done it without them.

Blame the freakin J-Rich cost-cutting trade for alienating good players and making the team suck.

I can’t take this seriously when you say booing Dunleavy is justified but booing Stephen Jackson is not. Sorry, that’s not fair.

“Al bitched and moaned his way into a trade”

this is simply not true

Harrington’s trade request was made quietly, over 6 months prior to his actual departure, through his agent who represented his frustration at being played out of position at center.

When the media ran with the story Al tried to give the company line at the outset, then relinguished when Nelson confirmed the reports.

He did not fake an injury, the club told him he would not play in order to prevent him from getting injured and rendering him value-less to the club, then because of the NBA rules about putting players on the inactive list they listed him as injured. This practice is all too common when teams are trying to move a player who’s stayed past his time with the club.

Harrington was not an ideal PF, he had defensive and rebounding weaknesses. Despite that Nelson often played him at center and tried to exploit mismatches. Al soldiered on and was part of a terrific run to the playoffs that ought not be lost to revisionist spins by Nelson and fans. During the regular season run prior to the Dallas series he was instrumental in our success. That he didn’t have a good playoff dimished the luster on his season but there wouldn’t have been a playoff at all without his late season performances.

As a former Nelson supporter, even I have to admit that it was Nelson who mismanaged Al, who didn’t handle his departure well, and who forced GSW to make an ill-timed and ill-suited trade.

As for Dun & Jax, the former was a poor pick and even poorer re-signing in retrospect and the latter played the FO like a drum and got a terrific contract. Boo them if it makes you feel better, but they played the hand they were dealt. Al deserves better imho.

They’re just players in a big league.

Baron Davis – Wish I could say that I have a soft spot for him, but I don’t. He landed a contract worth a lot more than he is, and he returned to duty unprepared. I can’t respect that. It doesn’t say a lot about a player’s character to me. I’d be happier for him if he came into arenas along with Oracle and lit it up, to honor his new contract, rather than just being in Los Angeles. I don’t think he’s worthy of a lot of praise, personally. I’m glad he led us to an upset. People misplace glory, as if it were for the fan’s sole benefit instead of the player’s.

Stephen Jackson – Was he wrong for wanting to leave? No. Was he wrong how he left? Absolutely. If he could’ve just dropped the ghetto act and acted like a pro who inked a commitment on paper, we wouldn’t be talking about a weak bench right now.

If Jackson would’ve went to the management like an honorable man, and chewed out his employer behind closed doors, demanded a trade, and then just shut up and played ball, we would’ve traded him for a valuable player(s). He also could of had more options for himself. Truth is, he didn’t care about the fans. His sense of pride and feeling like he got “slighted”, even though management overfilled his pockets, got in the way of his respect for the game.

Instead, he said things like, “I would never lay down. That’s not me. I respect Don Nelson too much.” What a tough guy. Would never lay down, huh? Well you just laid the fans down 6 feet under when their beloved team had to dump you for nothing.

Some players love to sing about “respecting the game”, and then turn to their agents to squeeze management for the last dollar. Best not to pretend that money was never the real issue. Great mentor for Monta, huh?

Al Harrington – Eh, I’m a little biased towards perimeter bigs. Never liked them much. Harrington really thought he was better than he was and didn’t rebound or defend. Wasn’t a particularly smart player. His self-image of a player became a little obvious once he came out with the shoes. Al Harrington? Why would I want your shoes again? Just because you’re part of a winning team, doesn’t mean I owe you some kind of allegiance for what you should be doing anyways – competing. I’m glad we got rid of him.

Jason Richardson – He’ll always be my favorite Warrior. He never stopped fighting when the game was already decided. He out of all the players, wanted to be here and stay here – Even when we were losing. I once went to Jason’s house and poured a concrete slab for him when I was working construction. He was washing his car with his kid and they were listening to some Motown hits. I like old school R&B and we started talking about some of the old bands. He was a really good guy and he played with heart and loyalty. I hope he wins a ring and is recognized greatly for it.

I do it all the time, even at work. I boo my boss all the time.

because they’re bums

most other ex-Dubs are ok, in my book