Don Nelson Mania on the Web!- Part IV

The smartest Warrior fans I know are OK with the Nelson hire, definitely thrilled by dispatching Mike Montgomery, but are wondering why Elie keeps getting zippo.
Smart Warrior fans like high scores and excitement, but they crave toughness. They want somebody to get up into Baron Davis–and Elie has done some of that–toughen up Mike Dunleavy a bit, and they want a team that can win by flying and win by gritting it out.
Nelson might deliver that. For a little while. But Elie, I’ve argued in the past, could deliver that for a long time.

I implied to GSoM, and have mentioned before, that Warrior fans would be astounded to hear how much Davis is disliked by significant figures around the league.
Not so much the little guys. Not the assistant coaches, assistant GMs and runners.
It’s the coaches. The GMs. The agents.
I always try to add (but didn’t in the Q&A), that I like Baron, even though we’re not too close these days. He’s smart and stubborn and I have to admire that. He’s also, when healthy, an excellent player.

I’m not about to suggest Mike Montgomery got fired/got out/got relief so KNBR and the Warriors could further their "mutually beneficial" relationship. Obviously, Monty was on his way out whether it was now or 10 games into the season. But if you’re wondering why it happened on a Tuesday morning in August and whether it’s a sign of things to come, think conspiratorially for a bit.

Picking Nelson is a lazy move that shows absolutely no imagination and reveals once again that the Warriors have no vision for the future. What? Gary St. Jean wasn't available? Why not Mario Elie? Elie would immediately bring passion, heart, and freakin' defense to a team that desperately needs all three. Elie is ready. This year is going to be tough no matter what. Let Elie and this young roster take their lumps and bond as a team this year, then head into next season as a team on a mission.

Golden State's announcement last week to bring back Don Nelson as coach made a big splash around the league. Almost everyone seems to agree that Nellie will make the Warriors more fun to watch next year. Whether he can put an end to the team's 12-year postseason drought is a different question.

In truth, it’s those who are questioning Nellie that seem to be the ones lapsing on their glaucoma medication. Do they not remember Don Nelson, the single-most progressive, creative, makes-Mike-D’Antoni-seem-like-Jerry-Sloan coach of our era?
This is the same coach that had 6-4 (on stiletto heels, if he’s lucky) Greg Buckner defend Shaq for an entire quarter. Call him gimmicky, but do not call him too old to adapt. That would be the ultimate disservice to a guy who brought on this New NBA that everyone seems to be heralding.

"Even though his track record is one of the most successful coaches in NBA history, he still has some things that he wants to accomplish — and one of them is winning a championship; he still hasn’t done that," said Petersen, who also played for Houston and Sacramento in a career that spanned eight years. "How many coaches out there have his track record and his expertise and his level of knowledge of the game? There just aren’t very many."

So though Golden State's coaching reunion tour appears to smack of desperation from a franchise unable to shake new life into its roster, there certainly can be a case made for Don Nelson. It is the case George Karl is making in Denver, one the Grizzlies hope Mike Fratello will strengthen in Memphis and one that showed late-season promise in Orlando under Brian Hill. Consider it the Return of the Retreads.

Q. What improvement must you make?
A. Mikael Pietrus is one of my mystery guys. He will play for me, if he does what I want him to do, emphasizing the defensive end and not to worry about the offensive end. He's a great athlete, and he can run. And I'm looking for runners.
There are other mystery guys; I don't know if they'll be able to make the next move I want them to make. I'm going to need (Troy) Murphy to play some center for us. If he can make some adjustments, he'll have his best year. And it will allow me to play Dunleavy at the "4," because he basically struggles at small forward. He can function offensively better against the "4s" in the league.
And (Monta) Ellis is a mystery guy. I'm not sure as a high school player (two years ago) if he's ready to play big minutes. I'd like him to, and I'm going to give him the opportunity.