Nene, Tyson Chandler, DeAndre Jordan... Our hopes at upgrading the center position through free agency are drying up before our eyes. The latest reports have the Warriors scraping their pennies together to sign DeAndre Jordan to an offer sheet that will likely be matched by the Clippers, unless of course we completely overpay for him. We aren't the only ones hearing all the rumors involving the future of the center position on this team. Andris Biedrins has been hearing them too. It seems like the harsh reality is starting to set in among Warriors fans, and for the 25 year old Latvian alike, that the team's best chance to improve at the center spot might come from Andris himself. The proof will have to show up on the court, but for the time being a confident, honest, and surprisingly upbeat Andris Biedrins is certainly a good start.
At some point it makes you a little bit stronger, that they start looking for somebody else, and you say "No, no way." I can prove to them that I'm better than those guys they are looking for. Now is my chance. Last two years were horrible for me, and I know that. Everybody knows that.
It's going to take a lot more than good training camp sound bites for Warriors fans to get behind Andris though. His on court production has fallen off a cliff the last two seasons, and his play has been hard to watch at times. Maybe more so for those of us who defended Andris and his $9 mil per year contract from '07 to '09. I still want to see him succeed, but I'm not holding my breath, and Warriors management shouldn't be either. Jump for more video, and check out Marcus Thompson's article on Andris for the CC Times.