More from Charley Rosen at foxsports.com: Golden State (8-22): Don Nelson has turned the defense over to assistant Keith Smart — but only a magician could make something out of nothing. How long before Nellie makes another assistant responsible for the offense? As I said when the Warriors rehired him back in 2006, Nellie is only in it for the money. Perhaps he already has the cash he needs because Nelson is increasingly taking his hands off the team and putting them in his pockets. A perusal of their roster identifies Andris Biedrins as a useful defender, screener, roller and rebounder. Jamal Crawford is an electric sixth man but an undependable starter and go-to guy. All Corey Maggette wants to do (and can do) is score. Stephen Jackson can't handle, defend or act like a grown-up. That leaves Anthony Morrow, Brandan Wright and Anthony Randolph as the only viable hopes for a brighter future. Too bad Golden State's in-house politics are so cutthroat. But an immediate step in the right direction would be to fire Nelson — before he pulls a Bear Bryant and coaches ball games atop a 30-foot chair and shouts his instructions through a bullhorn. Not much different from what we've all said on this board although he doesn't mention Belinelli. Marco, more than Morrow, is part of the brighter future. Surprised that he says Jackson cannot defend. He does a decent job when he tries. Problem is that at least 20% of the time he's late getting back while he's complaining about a non-call on the other end.
Well, didn't we see how much coaching was a wear on Nelson at his age a couple of seasons ago? He was contemplating taking last season off, if I remember correctly; even after that big playoff upset. Maybe the Warriors could have taken that into consideration when they gave him that extension. I think he's done a fine job; so I don't want him to get fired. If he wants to help develop the next head coach, be it Keith Smart or Moncrief, then that's great, in my judgement (better than bringing someone in from college or whatever). Dallas didn't turn out too bad when he gave his position to Avery Johnson. And if someone or entity is willing to give you more money and more job security, then who isn't going to take that offer? For the Warriors to have the expertise and experience of a Don Nelson, they need to give out a lot of money and security. He's kind of too old to coach such a young team, as he even stated on TV during a game. Who would you rather have? Mike Dunleavy Sr? PJ Carlesemo? There are a lot more names of coaches that I'd rather not have coaching this team in place of Nelson (Dunleavy, PJ, Montgomery, Musselman) than coaches that I'd rather have coaching here rather than Nelson (Stan Van Gundy, D'Antoni, Sloan, Jackson, etc.). Basically, I think this article is about two weeks too late. I think the team is really starting to take off, with this current coaching staff and latest move of giving more responsibilities to the assistant coaches.
