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Bay Area sports with no offseason.
Make the jump for the second installment of our interview.
Atma Brother #1 (Golden State of Mind): You revealed that the Warriors have launched an anti-PR campaign against VP Chris Mullin who will most likely not be extended past this June. Have you seen anyone specifically in the local or national media participate in this campaign and paint Mullin as the instigator in the front office troubles and as a poor GM? Are there any specific instances? Putting aside this questionable method, do Chris Cohan and Robert Rowell have any legitimate case that Mullin is the instigator in the front office dysfunction and a bad GM that needs to be replaced?
Tim Kawakami: On the first part: Other than the team mouthpieces who are obvious, I haven't seen or heard any media member regurgitating the management spin, which only makes the heavy-handed PR effort sillier and more senseless .
Why did the Rowell people think any credible journalist would buy their campaign against Mullin? Because they're desperate. Because they've staked their jobs on the current regime. Because they've given up their own credibility and presume that others might, too. They should've just taken the bullet and fired Mullin once Rowell decided he wanted to do that, and then been brave enough to explain it, straight up. But that's not their way
Everybody who has actual independent NBA sources knows better than what they're trying to sell.
Is there reason to fire Mullin? There's always reason to re-evaluate a GM after five years of successes and failures. If Cohan and Rowell have lost faith in Mullin, it's their call. But it comes back to where it was five years ago: They had Garry St. Jean, they had no structure, and they weren't going to get anybody more credible than Mullin to run the hoops office. Mullin had some whiffs early, but he has grown on the job and now is a good GM, in my estimation (maybe not yours).
The real question: Who are they going to get who's better than Mullin? With Nelson sitting there, with Rowell there, with Cohan as the owner... it's Larry Riley, Larry Harris and maybe that's it. I don't think those are successful options.
Atma Brother #1 (Golden State of Mind): The Warriors slot in the 2009 NBA draft has not been finalized as the lottery has not happened yet. However have you heard any murmurings about their interest in any particular players? What should the Warriors do with their draft pick?
Tim Kawakami: I wrote yesterday that if they get the No. 2 or 3 slot, Ricky Rubio is the obvious choice but I wonder if Rowell can wrap his mind around drafting a Dan Fegan client with many options. That makes the 2 or 3 slot a potential trade scenario, because I cannot see the Warriors taking Haseem Thabeet.
If they're at 7 or 8, Ric Bucher has written that Don Nelson has his eyes on Louisville swingman Terrence Williams--think point-forward--and I've heard nothing that contradicts that. If not Williams, then Jrue Holiday is somebody I've circled. Tyreke Evans, too, if you project him to be a big point guard.
I think 7 or 8 aren't bad spots, since, after Blake Griffin and Rubio, the players are pretty similar from 3 to 9, and actually probably the true value of this draft, if you're looking big point guard, is 6-7-8-9. I think the Warriors are looking for a big point guard.
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Thanks to Tim for not only fielding these questions, but also giving us year 'round coverage of the Dubs over at Talking Points!