<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Posted by: Yocke on Thursday, January 20, 2005 - 01:09 AM Ever since Chris Cohan took over as owner of the Golden State Warriors, the team has strictly adhered to a kindly old fisherman's rule: you can catch stars, but always be sure to throw 'em back. If you happen to be a fan of the team, you can probably recite the list of ex-Warrior stars faster than you can recall your own address. Precious few players are given long-term contracts around these parts, and even fewer live up to the expectations that come with their deals. This summer, Adonal Foyle and Derek Fisher each signed 6-year deals worth the equivalent of Master P's bicuspids, which is no small chunk of change. Apparently the names Danny Fortson and Bimbo Coles mean nothing to the people running this franchise. So when Chris Mullin inked Jason Richardson and Troy Murphy to 6-year deals for Monty Burns-type money, Warriors fans' pH level rose considerably (that's player-Hatin', for those of you who never took science). Not only had Mullin failed to realize that he could change the number of years on the contract template left to him by Garry St. Jean, but he forgot to convert their salaries from pesos to dollars. How else to explain the infant GM's dubious signings? As expected, Fisher and Foyle have performed about as expected: poop. Murphy has been a very nice surprise, averaging 16 points, 12 rebounds, and shooting a death-defying 48% on three-pointers. Richardson, on the other hand, was the signing that was going to make or break Mully as a GM- 6 years, $70 million. That's leading man money for a man who'd shown only Ben Affleck skills up to that point. So, in typical Warriors fashion, guess what happened: J-Rich has been worth every dime.</div> From warriorsworld.net More at http://www.warriorsworld.net/modules.php?o...order=0&thold=0
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Posted by: Yocke on Wednesday, December 22, 2004 - 10:34 PM For the 11th consecutive year, the Western Conference playoffs will narrowly elude the grasp of the Golden State Warriors. For a fan of any other team, missing the playoffs brings a small element of excitement, because it brings with it a chance at the #1 overall pick in the draft lottery. But for Warriors fans, there is no such feeling. There is only dread, knowing that if the Warriors did indeed win the right to draft first, they would somehow manage to screw it up. However, this general dread of NBA Drafts is becoming an outdated sentiment in the Bay Area, as the Warriors have quietly begun evaluating talent as though they were actually running a team. Jason Richardson and Troy Murphy have finally begun to live up to their ginormous contracts, which appeared at the time to be the greatest heists the NBA had seen since.....well, since the Warriors re-signed Adonal Foyle only months earlier. Gilbert Arenas, the Warriors' 2nd round pick in 2001, is rapidly becoming a star, and beat Golden State Monday night with a game-winning layup. Michael Pietrus and Jiri Welsch are both playing well as reserves, and Andris Biedrins is at least the most exciting rookie the Warriors have had in years (being 7 feet tall at age 18 qualifies as exciting around here). So while the Warriors still lose just as much as they ever have, at least now they're doing it with some decent talent. Of course, the other reason Warriors fans have no cause for concern over the #1 pick is because they know it's not coming. Only once during their tenure as bottom-feeders have the Warriors picked first overall, when they took Joe Smith in 1995. They had a great shot at the top selection in 2002, when they finished the season tied for the league's worst record with the Bulls. According to the rules of the draft lottery, by finishing with the worst record, the Warriors could pick no lower than 3rd. So what happened? The Warriors picked 3rd. The man who went first overall in the draft that year is a man named Yao Ming. The Warriors ended up with Mike Dunleavy, Jr. And so our story begins.</div> More at http://www.warriorsworld.net/modules.php?o...order=0&thold=0
