NO. NAME POS. HT. WT. SCHOOL/COUNTRY EXP. 7 Deji Akindele C 7-1 240 Chicago State R 15 Andris Biedrins F/C 6-11 240 Latvia 1 11 Zarko Cabarkapa F 6-11 225 Serbia 2 40 Calbert Cheaney G/F 6-7 217 Indiana 12 5 Baron Davis G 6-3 223 UCLA 6 45 Justin Davis F 6-9 230 Stanford R 9 Ike Diogu F 6-8 250 Arizona State R 34 Mike Dunleavy F 6-9 230 Duke 3 8 Monta Ellis G 6-3 175 Lanier (Miss.) HS R 4 Derek Fisher G 6-1 200 Ark.-Little Rock 9 31 Adonal Foyle C 6-10 270 Colgate 8 0 Aaron Miles G 6-1 175 Kansas R 1 Troy Murphy F 6-11 245 Notre Dame 4 2 Mickael Pietrus G/F 6-6 215 France 2 23 Jason Richardson G 6-6 225 Michigan St. 4 21 Chris Taft F 6-10 260 Pittsburgh R 25 Ray Young G 6-4 210 UCLA R WARRIORS TRAINING-CAMP BATTLES Warriors executive Chris Mullin said that when he played, teammates went at each other hard, forcing each player to step up his game. He wants to see some of that same healthy competition on this team. With that in mind, here are a few interesting ``competitions'' for Coach Mike Montgomery to judge coming into training camp and the preseason: MIKE DUNLEAVY VS. MICKAEL PIETRUS At stake: Minutes at small forward. The skinny: An outside shooting threat or athleticism? An extra ballhandler and passer or a solid defender? If the end of last season was any indication, Pietrus is ready for more playing time. He is a better, a more controlled player with Baron Davis and one who can ignite the Warriors' fast break and guard the best perimeter player. Assuming he stays a Warrior, can Dunleavy's experience and versatility hold off a surging Pietrus? ANDRIS BIEDRINS VS. ZARKO CABARKAPA At stake: Minutes off the bench. The skinny: With five big forwards on the roster, court time figures to be hard to come by for big men off the bench. Montgomery can go with Biedrins as a backup center or opt for Cabarkapa as an up-tempo power forward. Has Biedrins improved enough to demand playing time? Or will Cabarkapa's production earn him the bulk of the reserve minutes? DEREK FISHER VS. MONTA ELLIS At stake: Backup point guard. The skinny: Fisher is currently Baron Davis' backup and doubles as Jason Richardson's top sub at shooting guard, where he has proved most effective. Ellis, who might be the star of the Warriors' draft harvest, is talented, fearless and determined to avoid the NBA Developmental League. But is he good enough yet to earn the 10 or 15 minutes available behind Davis, leaving Fisher fresh for down the stretch? TROY MURPHY VS. IKE DIOGU At stake: Starting power forward. The skinny: It may be a bit far-fetched, especially early in the season. But because he provides the low-post arsenal Montgomery wants, Diogu could take over at power forward, moving Murphy to center. Can Diogu be dominant enough down low to force Montgomery to make a move? Or has Murphy developed his inside game enough to make such a move unnecessary. --MARCUS http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews...rs/12812985.htm
These contests will be interesting to see. Add in Miles-Ellis battling for a role as a pg backup. Biedrens won't directly compete with Zarko-as he's apt to seldom play PF and Zarko probably will seldom play C. What links them is that it's a plus if we get them enough action to develop well. I assume Murphy plays full time-so it's almost a case of Ike vs Adonal. If Ike is playing well-Murph plays more often at C. If Adonal improved,then Murph plays more PF. I have a pretty good feel for what Pitrus can do,but I'm mighty curious about Zarko. Zarko had a few games that hinted at some scary upside,and we didn't get the chance to see if he can play at a starter's level consistantly. I've been very optimistic when it comes to Diogu. I expect big things-the quesion is how soon. Ellis can be a real plus,but he's got a lot to learn before we see him in a regular role. Taft has to show he's going to try hard and learn fast. For now he's an uncertain factor. there is a chance we got a steal. There is also a chance we got a hadcase who will never amount to much.
Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times reported today that Taft is in camp at 272 lbs. His playing weight is 260. He has a groin injury and is out of the action in camp. This is a problem for the kid because he needs to be on the court. The W's have 18 guys in camp. Montgomery will have a beast of a time getting all those players some court time. I am most excited about Monta. He has gifts and respect for the game.
It will be very tough for Zarko. Even last year, he was basically shafted from the rotation. I remember in one day he dropped like 14 pts with 6-6 shooting night, and he received zero min in next day. And, a guy who can drop pts in instant and can shoot 48% from the field should deserve more than 12 mins. To make things worse, Foyle, Murphy, and Biedrins all look for more mins and we just added Diogu and Taft in that mix. I know Mullin really likes him, and he has responded very well in limited role, but it would be very unfortunate if he just couldn't get a role. Well, it doesn't seem like Taft is catching a break. If he misses training camp, I don't think he will escape NBDL...
I see Zarko taking up most of his minutes backing up the three spot. He's an instant mismatch for alot of the threes in the NBA. He's like seven feet right? The guy has decent handles for a big man, can run the floor, is long, a good shooter, nice finger roll, decent rebounder, and can play against some of the bigger threes the league has to offer. If Fisher is eventually traded, while Dunleavy runs at the point (like he does from time to time), Zarko would fill the 3 or 4 depending on if we're going small.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kwan1031:</div><div class="quote_post">It will be very tough for Zarko. Even last year, he was basically shafted from the rotation. I remember in one day he dropped like 14 pts with 6-6 shooting night, and he received zero min in next day. And, a guy who can drop pts in instant and can shoot 48% from the field should deserve more than 12 mins. To make things worse, Foyle, Murphy, and Biedrins all look for more mins and we just added Diogu and Taft in that mix. I know Mullin really likes him, and he has responded very well in limited role, but it would be very unfortunate if he just couldn't get a role. Well, it doesn't seem like Taft is catching a break. If he misses training camp, I don't think he will escape NBDL...</div> I think the Warriors press said it was a "skin rash" Zarko got that sidelined him for a game or two. I love the Z man, I'm confused why Murph and Dun get more love. Sure Z has his faults like the other two on defense and is a weak rebounder, but he plays aggressively, passes, scores, finishes, and is where he should be off the ball on an open court cut to the basket. The W's style with Baron was just pure creativity, something out of nothing. Nothing really ran outside of simple motion offense and pick and roll. Right now they say Z is struggling with turnovers. Maybe they are trying to convert him to a small forward when he is probably better off as a scoring F/C.
