Don Nelson Mania on the Web!- Part II

I actually think it’s a great move for the Warriors. Are the going to win a title with Don Nelson at the helm? Under no circumstances. Are they going to improve their record, and be a hell of a lot of fun to watch? Oh yeah. Get your track shoes on, Troy Murphy.

4 points: Will Boom Dizzle work with Nellie? Will Nellie have input on personnel matters? What can the small forwards give us? Can Nellie help develop the kiddie corp?

I'm betting that Nellie has the Warriors back in the postseason at the first attempt. I'm even more convinced that there isn't a single free agent or trade target they realistically could have landed who makes the Warriors up to 10 wins better than they were, as Nellie does.

It's unlikely he would return as Stanford's head coach any time soon. There's no indication Cardinal coach Trent Johnson is going anywhere, and because Johnson and Montgomery remain close, Montgomery would avoid any move that might jeopardize Johnson's success.
If coaching does not appeal to Montgomery, it has been speculated he might return to Stanford as some type of assistant athletic director. With Stanford having a new athletic director (Bob Bowlsby) that might not be an automatic move, but it remains a possibility.

No, this is about the man who made the initial call. This is about Mullin, who as the club's master of basketball operations, has taken it for a few spins around the cul de sac without getting it aimed toward the cross street. His roster doesn't work, and its parts are hard to change, and its dysfunctions are set nearly in stone. He is trapped in a world of his own making, and though there is no long-term solution to be had, there is a short-term pseudo-fix, and it is his mentor.

Not only does the hiring of Nelson improve the teams chances of winning now, but he will also groom Mario Elie like he did Avery Johnson to fill his shoes when he leaves. Elie was originally signed by Nelson out of the CBA and is the heir apparent to the coaching throne in Oakland.

Nelson arrived on the scene in 1987, as executive vice president after a falling-out with Milwaukee Bucks owner Herb Kohl despite nine playoff appearances in 11 years. At the time, the Warriors were chronic underachievers. He quickly shipped the phlegmatic Joe Barry Carroll to Houston. On the same day, at Nelson's urging, Mullin entered a hospital for treatment of an alcohol problem. Three days later, Nelson traded Chris Washburn, the abysmal top draft pick of 1986.

As for the fans' reaction, the Warriors have no worries. This might be the greatest fan base in professional sports. It's not the soulful, deeply knowledgeable crowd the franchise drew in the Run TMC years, but it's a packed arena, full of anticipation, under any circumstances. The cross-venue A's should be so lucky.

Tuesday, however, was the final certification of Montgomery's flaws and flameout as an NBA coach. His old friends from Stanford did not sound overly shocked by the news that Montgomery and the Warriors had agreed to part ways. Eric Reveno, a longtime Montgomery assistant with the Cardinal, heard the news at the University of Portland, where he is now the coach.
``I was surprised,'' Reveno said, ``but I wasn't as surprised as I was when he took the Warriors job.''

WARRIORS' DESPERATELY NEEDED BIG MAN: Chris Webber. Best field-goal percentage of his career came as a rookie for Nellie. Potential drawback: Aw, now what could possibly go wrong?
WARRIORS' VETERAN INFLUENCE (CHOOSE THREE): Chris Mullin, Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, Latrell Sprewell. Mully and Richmond already run the floor at team headquarters anyway, and Hardaway recently scored 51 points in the championship game of the masters national tournament. Potential drawback: Nellie will rue the day he gets in the way of Spree's ability to feed his family on a scant $14 million.

Nellie was hailed as a genius. On the other hand, no one would have been surprised if he had again traded away half the team.
He'll have trouble at Golden State with Baron Davis, the early reports Tuesday were suggesting.
No, he won't. Nelson, just for the action, would trade Davis faster than you can say 'Jamal Mashburn.'
But that's what made him here so...well...Nellie. So confounding. So fun to watch work.
Assuming he and Warriors owner Cohan don't draw pistols on each other in the first month, it's going to be entertaining to watch Nelson try to resuscitate the franchise.

Nellie is coming to the Arena in Oakland tonight.
Not Nelly the St. Louis rapper. Not the Canadian vocalist Nelly Furtado. The other Nellie.