AJ (SF): W's trading Jrich and getting Wright doesn't seem to better. Will they even make the playoffs next year? Will Nellie come back? SportsNation Marc Stein: Nellie was not a big J-Rich guy. He is, by contrast, already a Belinelli guy. Between Monta Ellis' probable improvement and Belinelli, they can cover what they lost from J-Rich. And, yes, Nellie will be back.
The thing with Nelly is he loves ballhandlers and shooters. I can see how Jrich might be the odd man out. Jrich's game has always been about power rather than finesse and more about scoring than shooting. Sometimes he's finesse, but not prototypical two guard type finesse. That essentially makes him an undersized small forward like Desmond Mason, except Jrich has better finishing inside besides just dunks and longer range shooting. If Brandan Wright can give us something on his own without having to be set up, great, but if not, I hoped for another swingman that can dribble penetrate, pass, and shoot. It's what I've been saying if we couldn't find a big man. We're forced to play this style of game without a polished, strong, athletic force inside. It's either transition, shooting the long ball, or drive and kick. I just hope our drive and kick guys can finish like Jrich has. Quickness cannot go without strength. We need strength as well to match up with opposing players. It just sucks for the opposing team to walk it down or dump the ball off and have guys get muscled in for a midrange just outside the post shot or point blank layup.
I don't think what Stein said is very convincing. There is a difference between a coach liking a player, and that player being able to fill the shoes of a starter, especially in the case of Marco and Ellis. The question of rebounding still stands. He doesn't even say anything about Brandan Wright.
<div class="quote_poster">Clif25 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I don't think what Stein said is very convincing. There is a difference between a coach liking a player, and that player being able to fill the shoes of a starter, especially in the case of Marco and Ellis. The question of rebounding still stands. He doesn't even say anything about Brandan Wright.</div> Sorry, I tend to go off on tangents. Actually, I don't even know why I said anything. LOL!
I think it's just because it's Nellie. If Nelson doesn't like you, it doesn't necessarily mean that you're a bad player but that you don't fit the type of player he's looking for. You have to be able to do other things well instead of just a specialty. That's just my interpretation of it. What hurt JRich IMO was that he didn't have great handles. I doubt one gets thrown off Nelson's Christmas card list because you can't shoot free throws or play decent D or grab a lot of rebounds if you have JRich's talents. It's not just JRich he has gotten rid of. There's Dunmurphy, Ike, Foyle, and even Zarko. POB is next in line. Nelson has done this with Dallas in recent times and it's hard to argue with because he's been successful at it. Of course, he still needs to prove that you can win a championship with his philosophy.
