Warriors dwelling on future, not past By Marc J. Spears Special to ESPN.com The past 10 years have been forgettable for the Golden State Warriors, and Chris Mullin wasn't willing to spend a bulk of his day reflecting upon them. "I'll be here until dinnertime," said Mullin on Wednesday morning. "C'mon now. I am not going to talk about the past. That won't do you or me any good." Jason Richardson was the Warriors' leading scorer last season, averaging 18.7 points a game. During that 10-year span, the Warriors haven't been to the playoffs and have quietly been the NBA's most disappointing franchise. They've had nine head coaches, the Chris Webber trade to Washington, the Latrell Sprewell choking incident, the below-expectation performances of Billy Owens, Tom Gugliotta, Donyell Marshall and Joe Smith, and the departure of talented players such as Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and, this week, Erick Dampier. But now with a solid, young nucleus and some potential salary cap room, Mullin hopes he can finally turn things around in his new role as the Warriors' executive vice president. While he has only been in the executive seat for a few months, Mullin has had a very busy offseason. The Warriors drafted a promising teenager in 6-foot-11, 240-pound forward-center Andris Biedrins. The Latvian had a solid summer league, averaging 11.7 points and 9.2 rebounds at just 18 years old, but is probably two seasons away, at best, from being a solid contributor. Guard Nick Van Exel was dealt to the Portland Trail Blazers for center Dale Davis and guard Dan Dickau. Fan favorite hustling forward Brian Cardinal surprisingly signed a long-term deal with the Memphis Grizzlies. Veteran guard Avery Johnson agreed in principle to sign with the Dallas Mavericks. The Warriors signed veteran Lakers guard Derek Fisher to a long-term deal, re-signed center Adonal Foyle to a reported five-year pact worth a jaw-dropping $41 million after averaging 3.1 points and 3.8 rebounds last season, and also re-signed veteran guard Calbert Cheaney. And on Tuesday, the Warriors dealt Dampier (who signed a seven-year, $73 million contract), Dickau, the draft rights to guard Steve Logan, and center Evan Eschmeyer with his long and lucrative contract were dealt to Dallas for forwards Eduardo Najera and Christian Laettner, the draft rights to guards Luis Flores and Mladen Sekularac, two first-round draft picks and a second-round pick. One of the first-round picks and the second-round pick came from Philadelphia, and the two first-round picks could be available in 2007. While there has been strong talk about Laettner getting bought out of the final year of his deal, Mullin seemed open to having him on the roster next season. Despite rumors that Mullin didn't want to do a sign-and-trade with Dampier, who averaged 12.3 points and 12 rebounds last season, he said he considered several deals before choosing the one from Dallas. "All along, I had certain criteria that I felt was going to help the team," Mullin said. "I was always open to doing a deal that met our criteria, really. Probably the only thing I didn't have was a timeframe. I was kind of hoping to do anything as long as it met my criteria. When it came down the pipe, I was more than willing to do it. "There were a lot of talks. A lot of different scenarios. But I felt like this met my criteria, and it helps our team now and in the future.'' Now that the summer dust has settled, the Warriors are left with a solid, young nucleus of players: After dealing with foot and ankle problems last season, Troy Murphy, 24, is still one of league's best young power forwards, if healthy. While he will be a restricted free agent next summer, expect the Warriors to re-sign him possibly as early as before the season. Shooting guard Jason Richardson, 23, returns after averaging a team-best 18.7 points last season. The Warriors are considering signing this restricted free agent before the season, too. But 2005 free agent shooting guards like All-Stars Tracy McGrady, Michael Redd and Ray Allen may cause Golden State to be more patient. The problem, however, for Golden State is Charlotte, Atlanta, Portland, Seattle, Cleveland, Chicago and the Los Angeles Clippers will have money, too, during free agency. The Warriors will likely have around $14 million in cap space next summer. However, they would have to use most of that money if they re-sign Murphy and Richardson, and they've given every indication that they want both players back. Now that the Warriors' roster affords him the ability to play his natural small forward position, Mike Dunleavy Jr., 23, has a chance to finally show he is worthy of all his draft hype. Second-year shooting guard Mickael Pietrus, 22, showed strong promise during the end of his rookie season. A separated shoulder, however, could cause him to miss training camp and the early part of the season. "The process has been started to take the next step,'' Mullin said. "The young talent we have needs to step up and have breakout years. We all feel confident about the veteran players, what they're going to do and what they're going to bring each night. When you combine that, it's now about getting on the court and making it happen.'' The Western Conference is way too deep and strong for the Warriors to make a playoff push this season and possibly the next one. Expect the Warriors to be competitive, especially at home where they are 51-31 over the past two seasons, and to beat teams that take them granted. And if they get some luck in the draft and land a difference-making free agent, the 10-year curse may be cured quicker than expected. "What we're doing now is putting together a deep talented team that complements each other and is going to come together and win,'' Mullin said. "And we've also set our self up to retain players that can be part of our future and entertain free agents and do whatever we can to make this team better as we go along.'' The Warriors do have promise to get better. But promise isn't a certainty. And until that long-awaited Warriors playoff day comes, their fans and followers can talk about their problems over the past 10 years all day until dinnertime. Marc J. Spears, who covers the NBA for The Denver Post, is a contributor to ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/stor...marc&id=1868129
Wow what a great article; Mullin appears determine not to make the same mistakes that where done by St Jean. I certainly hope that mullin sticks to his plan and convictions and don't panic and make a stupid trade. It may be just my gut feelig but, with Mullin building an actual team that will have to play together to win and not depend on one particular player every night to win, the Warriors will make the playoffs this year. I like the roster a lot very flexible, well balanced and with hard workers ready to play. I can't wait for the season to start.
I thought you're not allowed to post the whole story? Anyways, the team seems to be heading in the right direction now, even though they're probably gonna be a losing team and miss out on the playoffs for the 11 straight year. They have cap-space next summer, and can fill out some holes...however their aren't much holes to fill except the Center Posistion. Claxton/Fisher have the PG spot settled, J-Rich will be a top SG out there with Redd and T-Mac likely to return to their own team and a Ray Allen will be a downgrade from J-Rich...The SF spot is held by top pick Dunleavy, Troy if healthy is a legit double double man each game, and there's Foyle who's not starter quality. If they're able to get a defensive Center in there, like Theo Ratliff, then they'll have a very good starting 5, with Pietrus, Fisher and Foyle off the bench. However this still might not be enough to take it to the next level into the playoffs, only time will tell. --- By the way, this is offtopic, but does anyone know the name of Mikael Pietrus's brother? He was a projected lottery pick in 2003 and I haven't heard anything about him in a while.
It's Florent Pietrus (actually he has another brother out there but he's not quite as good as his other brothers). For the links, I try to encourage posting the first 2-4 paragraphs but it's tough to get people to break their habits. It clearly lists ESPN at the top, though, and has the link.
I guess I figured things would be easier to quote if its right there in front of you. I put the source, the author though.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Banks:</div><div class="quote_post"> J-Rich will be a top SG out there with Redd and T-Mac likely to return to their own team and a Ray Allen will be a downgrade from J-Rich....</div> You have got ot be kidding me.. I'd take Ray Allen ove Richardson any day of the week..
I'd take Allen also. Allen gets more assists in one game than J-Rich gets in a week. Allen's also a better shooter. I harp on this nearly every post but J-Rich has got to learn to play some D and how to dribble.
I like Allen as well (he is what a shooting guard should be, a guard that can shoot from distance accurately, dribble, hit the free throws, pass), but I also believe Jrich can be special in his own right. Don't give up hope on him just yet.
