Make sure to check out Part 1: Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins situations + Ellis and Stephen Curry co-existing
Jump for PART TWO!
Golden State of Mind: In a recent interview with ESPN head coach Don Nelson stressed that he had nothing to do with Chris Mullin's demise and was bothered by some Bay Area writers thinking he was responsible:
"I think the only thing that really bothers me is that some writers in the Bay Area think I had something to do with Chris Mullin's demise. And that's just totally untrue. I backed Chris all the way to the last day. When they finally were going to let him go, I begged them not to. I loved working with that guy. He's truly one of my good friends and that bothers me more than anything."
You've labeled Nelson a back-stabber on several occasions in recent months:
- Morning 1, 2, 3: Dropping Cust, denying Don Nelson's Hall pass, waiting for Tiger Wood
- Fire Don Nelson: My 10-count indictment of the Warriors coachWas that in relation to Mullin's demise? If so, given Nelson's quote above what explains these radically different takes on the situation?
Was that in relation to Mullin's demise? If so, given Nelson's quote above what explains these radically different takes on the situation?
If the back-stab label wasn't in relation to Mullin's demise, then what was it in reference to?
Tim Kawakami: Nelson has a right to his side of the story, and you can believe him if you'd like.
Slight problem for those who want to believe anything he says about office politics: 99.9% of the NBA never believes anything Nelson says, and most of those people have close experience in dealing with Nelson's manueverings.
There's a 30-year history here. But again, if you want to believe in Nelson, I'm not stopping you.
What's Nelson supposed to say: Yeah, I undercut the guy who brought me out of retirement, my former player, and I shoved him aside when I saw that Rowell was jealous of him, and I got the $12M deal when nobody thought I should.
I don't think Nelson's going to say that until he's long sequestered in Maui, when he has a big pile of chips and knows that Woody''s trying to bluff him out of a big hand.
Golden State of Mind: Look into your crystal ball and tell us what you see the Warriors doing this offseason in the 2010 NBA Draft Lottery, the 2010 NBA Draft, and the trade/ free agency market.
Tim Kawakami: As Marcus Thompson II has said, the ownership situation is the only one that really matters. Sorry. Boring. Yes. It's the ownership. I know other things will be happening, but they're all side issues for the big one.
Sorry. Boring.
Draft: If they get 1 or 2, they take John Wall or Evan Turner and re-apprortion the backcourt.
If they get 3-6, your guess, or Larry Riley's, is as good as mine..
Golden State of Mind: More than any other media member you're completely immersed in the Bay Area sports scene. If you could pick a different sports media market to cover intensely for a a few months what would you pick?
Tim Kawakami: Nothing compares to the Bay Area--two wild NFL teams, every major sport, great location.
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All of us at GSoM wanted to thank Tim for fielding our questions. It's always fun to have him on our show.
Make sure to check out Tim's blog Talking Points for everything in the world of Bay Area sports. You can follow him on Twitter @timkawakami
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