In Fox Sports 10 Things We Learned this Week, #6 in their 10 was the departure of Mario Elie and what this means.
What this really means: It's too bad it has come to this for Elie considering how close it appeared that he would be the heir apparent for the head coaching job here. But general manager Chris Mullin's loyalty to Nelson for helping him through his bout with alcoholism pushed Mullin into making this call for the 66-year-old Nelson.
Elie played with Mullin under Nelson on the Warriors, but it was a completely different deal. There is no denying the help Nelson gave Mullin off the court. Basketball-wise, Elie saw through Nelson's politics and game-playing and never bought into his "basketball genius" way of treating players. Consequently, it's hard to fathom at this point he would stick around for such a minor role under a head coach he never quite saw eye-to-eye with. But make no mistake, a competitor the level of Mario Elie will have no trouble getting a job -- he just deserves to get a head coaching opportunity sooner rather than later.
It's sad to see Mario go because he's got a lot of potential to be a very good coach. Unfortunately, this is what had to happen for the short term success that the Golden State Warriors are expecting with the hiring of Don Nelson.
Mario vs. Nelson. If we don't make the playoffs under Nelson, will the departure of Elie come back to haunt us?