"The Warriors seem to know full well that Monday's surprising hire of TV analyst Mark Jackson as their head coach is only the first step in an attempt to transform a culture of lackluster defense. The next step - or leap - is remaking the roster, a process that is much more involved and probably ultimately more important than the coaching search. "I'll believe Mark will be able to get our defense where we want to go, but we're going to make an effort to get players that can help," general manager Larry Riley said. "He has the strength of personality and has stressed that, if this team is going to get better, it has to start on the defensive end. As far as we're concerned, that's right. "We also know that he's going to make efforts to help our defense from the first day of practice. He's going to make defense a priority." On Tuesday, some details of Jackson's three-year, $6 million deal became known and the Warriors confirmed that he'll be joined by top assistant Michael Malone, a defensive guru. Rumors also swirled about the team's trade talks. ESPN reported that a Monta Ellis-for-Andre Iguodala deal has been discussed - an idea that has been considered for the better part of two years. League sources said the Warriors also have discussed Ellis, among a variety of other players, in trade talks with Atlanta, Chicago, Memphis, Orlando and the Lakers. Executive board member Jerry West said at his opening news conference last month that the Warriors needed to be willing to take risks, and the most obvious gamble would be breaking up the backcourt of Ellis and Stephen Curry." Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/08/SP621JQSF0.DTL
