Initial Warriors bids due next week.

2 grand should be nothing to him. The guy should be fired out of a cannon into another cannon.

 

Cohan should be shot out of a cannon into the toilet bowl. He can't be flushed down fast enough.

 

GSW Team Report

Larry could be owner before July! No Hedo. Keep AB.

Golden State Warriors Team Report

The Warriors reportedly are down to four finalists in their search for a new owner. Equally important, they seem to be on schedule to make a change before NBA player movement heats up in July.

The Oakland Tribune reported that Oracle boss Larry Ellison and 24-Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov are two of the four men chosen by team owner Chris Cohan to continue the bidding for the Golden State franchise.

It was earlier reported Ellison has made a standing offer of $315 million. But Cohan reportedly is hoping the price goes up when the deep-pocketed quartet inspects the Warriors' books and makes another round of bids in late June.

If Cohan is satisfied with one of the offers later this month, a sale could be finalized before the NBA free-agency period tips off in July.

Comcast SportsNet Bay Area reported Russ Granik, the former deputy commissioner of the NBA, met with Cohan on May 25 to get a progress report. NBA commissioner David Stern's office reportedly has tentatively preapproved all four finalists.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT: The record book will reflect the Warriors' most memorable moment was when Don Nelson broke Lenny Wilkens' 15-year-old record for all-time wins by a coach. That occurred April 7 at Minnesota. The obscurity of the moment was fitting in that most Warriors fans will remember 2009-10 as the year Stephen Curry burst onto the scene. His 26-point, 10-rebound, six-assist explosion Jan. 18 in a win over playoff-bound Chicago began a run so impressive — he scored 20 or more points in 23 of his final 42 games — he was far and away the league's best rookie over the final half of the season.

TURNING POINT: The season went south from the moment Stephen Jackson told fans at a summertime promotional event that he wanted out. It formally splashed into the San Francisco Bay on Nov. 16, the day Jackson, one of the stars of the "We Believe" Warriors three seasons earlier, was sent to Charlotte for a guy who needed surgery (Raja Bell) and a backup with a bad contract (Vladimir Radmanovic).

NOTES, QUOTES

—The Warriors began pre-draft private workouts with prospects without giving much of a clue what they'll do with the No. 6 overall pick. Within one weekend, they'd examined big men, little men, the NCAA's leading scorer and at least one conference Defensive Player of the Year, testimony to the many options they have with the high lottery selection.

If Warriors' fans are confused by the team's options, they've got nothing on the national media. A glance at various mock drafts show the Warriors making nine different selections: Wake Forest's Al-Farouq Aminu, Georgetown's Greg Monroe, Kentucky's DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson, Syracuse's Wesley Johnson, Kansas' Cole Aldrich, North Carolina's Ed Davis, Baylor's Ekpe Udoh and Lithuania's Donatas Motiejunas.

None of the mock selections is a guard.

—The Warriors sent chief talent scout Travis Schlenk to Italy for Eurocamp 2010, where many of the draft-eligible European standouts were expected to assemble. Schlenk has proven to have a keen eye for undervalued talent, having been the driving force in the Warriors' plucking of Reggie Williams and Anthony Tolliver from the NBA Development League this past season.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "You're building your portfolio, so to speak, with these guys. Kind of building your database." — Warriors GM Larry Riley, on why he would send talent scout Travis Schlenk to Eurocamp 2010 when it's unlikely the Warriors will use their No. 6 overall selection on any of the players attending.

ROSTER REPORT

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Stephen Curry. The season began with Monta Ellis insisting, sight unseen, he and Curry could not coexist in the backcourt. Well, suffice it to say, that was the least of the Warriors' problems in 2009-10. Curry was such an unselfish playmaker, it would be no surprise if he and Ellis were the backcourt foundation for the team for many years.

MOST DISAPPOINTING PLAYER: Stephen Jackson. Even with all the injuries the Warriors incurred this season, you have to wonder if they could have stayed in playoff contention had Jackson not quit on the team over the summer. With their captain having signed a three-year extension last season, the Warriors appeared to be set with Curry, Ellis and Jackson manning three critical positions in the Don Nelson small-ball attack. Alas, Jackson didn't want any part of it, forced a trade and, in essence, blew up the season even before the injury epidemic set in.

FREE AGENT FOCUS: Backup point guard C.J. Watson is the club's most significant free agent this offseason. The Warriors already are over the salary cap for 2010-11 with guaranteed contracts, so the most they could possibly spend on a free agent is the league's midlevel salary exception.

PLAYER NOTES:

—C Andris Biedrins is the most popular Warrior in trade rumors this early offseason. The latest: Sending him to Toronto for disgruntled Raptors F Hedo Turkoglu. That deal would shore up one of the Warriors' weakest positions — small forward — and set them up to draft a center with the No. 6 pick.

—G Monta Ellis is seeing his name come up in connection with a possible multi-team trade involving a former suitor, the Grizzlies. Memphis last season reportedly offered G O.J. Mayo and rookie C Hasheem Thabeet for Ellis, which the Warriors turned down. The Grizzlies now reportedly are shopping one, two or all three of their first-round picks, with an eye on acquiring a proven scorer like Ellis. The Warriors are unlikely to have interest in more picks but could become a player if a third team offering a veteran were to join the mix.

MEDICAL WATCH:

—G C.J. Watson (fractured ribs) is expected to make a full recovery well before he goes on the free agent market in July.

—C Andris Biedrins (torn abdominal muscle) had surgery and is expected to be at full speed for the opening of training camp.

—F Anthony Randolph (torn ligaments, left ankle) is expected to start working out early in the offseason and should be at full speed well before training camp.

—F Vladimir Radmanovic (sore Achilles' tendon) should be 100 percent for the start of training camp.

—F Brandan Wright (torn labrum) had surgery and is expected to make a full recovery before the start of training camp.

—F Kelenna Azubuike (torn patella tendon) had surgery May 12 and should be ready for training camp.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/warriors/notes.htm?csp=34

 

Beans for Hedo -- USA Today, you have to be joking, right?

And, I'm sorry, but how does a guy averaging 11 points and 4 rebounds have the right to be "disgruntled?" That's hilarious. The dude is a 31 year-old journey man. No, Hedo. You're not that valuable. Stop it.

Oh, and giving up Biedrins for a lesser value will "set them up" to draft a center with #6 pick -- like they couldn't draft one anyway? Maybe we should trade Monta Ellis for Tony Allen so we can set ourselves up to draft an SG... or, trade Steph Curry for Reggie Evans so we can set ourselves up to draft a PG...

What's wrong with having another center prospect? The point is to accumulate as many valuable assets for the July FA, not try to get rid of valuable pieces just to make room for someone who hasn't even played in an NBA game yet...

C'mon!

Oh, but btw this article is pretty exciting if true. It makes sense because the franchise is a lot more attractive pre- Free Agency. If you let Larry Riley get his hands on another Free Agency period, it could drop the value of the Franchise by many, many millions. Better to sell it before Riley can de-value it.

 

Hedo's value isn't in his statistics... He can stretch the floor and he has great hands, he's a very good passer, and he sets really good screens. He'd actually be a great fit alongside Curry running a pick-pop pick-roll. He's pretty much the upgrade to Tolliver. That being said, we have Tolliver on the roster to run those plays if and when we need them. If the Ws can pickup a solid 5 in an Ellis deal, then I wouldn't be crushed by picking up Hedo. Somehow Magette would have to be moved as well. If we were paying for that contract, then I'd personally rather have Hedo than Maggs

 

do we have any idea of when something will be finalized???

 

Binding bids within a few days. I bet Cohan takes the highest one (it probably won't be Ellison's) and goes to Ellison and tells him to beat it.

 

I have been waiting yeaaaaars for cohan to sell, and now that it's about to happen, i'm extremely impatient all of a sudden.

I've been assuming that Ellison was almost definitely going to be the new owner, since he has as much money as the rest of the bidders combined...but is there a GOOD chance of one of these other bidders actually getting the team?

 

I think there's still a chance, but the bidding war was just put on for Ellison to pay fair market value. At the time Ellison made his offer, it was based off Forbes or some magazine. But obviously the franchise is worth more than 315M. So I guess the only real way to gauge true value is to have a bidding process.

I don't know the formalities of this type of sale, but I wonder if there would be any rules broken if Cohan just took the highest bid to Ellison and just told him to beat it by X. I'm curious because we don't really know the true reasons why Ellison partnered with the minority ownership. I initially thought it was to gain inside information so he wouldn't overbid, which indicates that Cohan & Co. wouldn't just cater this whole process to Ellison. Or maybe it's just that Ellison knows he will own the team so why not get a head-start by talking to the people who own 20% of the franchise. I guess we'll find out soon. One thing we know is that Ellison doesn't like to lose and this sale process is setup like a game. But the other thing we know is that Ellison isn't a billionaire by mistake. He makes smart business moves whether it's 5 dollars or 500 million dollars. Does Ellison consider this a "fun" venture like the America's Cup or a business venture like taking over Sun Micro? I'm thinking it's a little bit of both. A lot of good things can come from owning and successfully running an NBA team. More than winning a boat race.

 

According to my favorite source, Mr. Kawakami, if its Ellison, there's a strong chance it becomes West and Griffin (from the Suns) helping in the basketball operations which is a huge step up from Rowell and Riley/Nellie. Close your eyes because the light at the end of the tunnel is getting pretty bright.

"And I think Ellison at some point might ask West to join a new Warriors management team.

I think West has some interest in that. I don’t think West, who turned 72 recently, would want the day-to-day grind of running the basketball operations, so I called somebody today…

And a source with knowledge of West’s thinking today backed a report by Fanhouse’s Sam Amick over the weekend, saying that West thinks very highly of former Phoenix VP David Griffin and that Griffin would be a strong candidate to be West’s right-hand man.

Griffin recently quit the Suns after GM Steve Kerr left before him.

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawaka...rs-jerry-west-and-david-griffin-could-follow/

 

Yeah, I saw that. What do you think of West? A lot of the concern is he has undying loyalty to the LA Lakers. He might pull a Kwame Brown. On the other hand, Ellison wouldn't allow such stupidity.

I don't know much about Griffin.

One thing about West though, he is friends with Don Nelson. Would he keep Nelson on for the remainder of the year? Would that be such a bad thing? Or would he be forced to fire his long-time friend. Either way, I don't think Nelson would care since he's still getting paid.

 

I'm all for West, he built the Lakers, he built the Grizzlies into a playoff team (drafted Gasol I believe) very quickly then left. The Gasol trade to the Lakers was not a bad deal for the Grizzlies as far as I'm concerned, they were going nowhere with Gasol as a max guy. They got Marc Gasol who is one of the best young centers out there, cap relief and a chance to start over. As for Nellie, cannot believe that West would stand for gimmicky, small ball, that's not what West is all about. Griffin was Kerr's asst GM so he's been part of a winner. I like this scenario, Ellison/West/Griffin.

 

Who is your choice as coach?

I think Ellison should bring in Rick Barry in some capacity, not necessarily as coach. I think he might be too much of a hard-ass for these young guys.

 

Initial "binding" bid. It just means it's the first official bid. I think there will be further negotiations after the initial binding bids come in, but Cohan can accept any one of the bids if he has to.

 

Kawakami mentioned Del Negro, he's okay, he's young, been to the playoffs and the Bulls were dysfunctional. He knows the Spurs system and was in the Suns' front office.

I really like Alvin Gentry, who goes against my aversion on retreads, maybe someone like him, not a screamer, gets players to play together, has faith in subs.