Trade gives Warriors a Nelson-type roster

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> With only four games to go by, the jury is still very much out regarding the Warriors' influx of new talent and what effect it will have on the organization's seemingly perennially fruitless chase of a playoff spot.

But one thing seems absolutely clear: This is a roster that's specifically designed with the unique skills of coach Don Nelson in mind.

Asked if there was another coach out there who could get as much out of the Warriors' revamped lineup as Nelson is capable of doing, Warriors guard Jason Richardson gave an unambiguous "no."

"There's so many different guys capable of scoring, from so many different backgrounds and so many different situations, that I don't think anybody else could do it," Richardson said.

At 66, Nelson is the oldest head coach in the NBA, with almost two full years over the second-place finisher, Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz. Nelson's given no indication that he won't finish out the three-year deal he signed this summer, but it's fair to assume he isn't settling in for a decade-long stint on the bench.

Nelson has stuck by his assertion that the Warriors' eight-player deal with the Indiana Pacers on Jan. 17 will go down in history as a good decision even if it makes no difference in Golden State's record this year.

"I think it was really necessary and important to make the trade we made," Nelson said. "That was the main thing that needed to be done this year. I'm willing to take whatever (consequences) there are."

But without Nelson at the helm, it's doubtful the team would have such a happy blend of coaching style and talent.

So the clock on this group, Nelson's protestations notwithstanding, is already ticking.

"(Nelson) is not going to be here long, we know that," Warriors swingman Mickael Pietrus said. "But today is his, so we have to enjoy him being the best and trying to help us. That's most important to us, having a coach who wants to help us be something great."

Said Richardson: "It probably makes it a more urgent situation for him, but we've just got to win games."

If anybody can bring this roster near greatness, it's Nelson. Instead of sluggish forwards who couldn't defend and lacked athleticism, Nelson now has Al Harrington to use inside and Stephen Jackson to serve as a primary stopper against opposing team's perimeter stars. On offense, he has multiple post-up possibilities with which to create mismatches.

And even the lesser lights are good news for Nelson, who lauded the play of forward Josh Powell -- career-high 13 points, seven rebounds -- on Saturday.

"I have to give him credit," Nelson said of Powell. "He knows all the plays and knows where he needs to be on every play."

If you're guessing that was a not-so-subtle dig at former forward Ike Diogu, who never grasped the playbook to Nelson's liking, you wouldn't be alone.

Warriors executive vice president Chris Mullin shipped out Diogu, Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy -- all former lottery picks -- in favor of players who would fit better with Nelson. Asked if he had any concerns about getting stuck trying to find another coach to take on a Nellie-tailored roster at some point in the future, Mullin said he had no qualms because he is simpatico with the up-tempo philosophy behind the changes.

"Maybe a different coach wouldn't have wanted to make the move we made, I don't know," Nelson said. "I think anybody can coach good players, and I think we're assembling some good players."</div>

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It's pretty amazing, if you think about it, that Dunleavy, Murphy, and Diogu were lottery picks made by Mullin yet his former coach basically slapped him in the face and said, "bad choices, especially signing them to extended contracts."

A little ironic but it shows how much trust Mullin has in Nelson and it's clear and obvious that the players have the utmost confidence in Nellie, despite the record. That is the biggest difference this year: faith in the coach.

 

actually the only one of three that was a mullin draft pick was Ike

 

I think Mullin had faith in Montgomery. Montgomery just didn't know what to do. So that didn't work out so well. But it is obvious that the players have 100% faith in Nelson compared to last season where the players probably had like 5% faith in whatever Montgomery wanted to do; that is if Montgomery actually knew what he wanted to do.

Mullin didn't draft Dunleavy or Murphy, but the extentions he gave them were pretty... - well they weren't pretty at all.

The Warriors' assistant coach and a long time coaching partner with Don Nelson, Rick Reily(I don't know how to spell his name) mentioned on the radio on a quick interview played during the Warriors/Bobcats game that he thinks that this team is very similar to the teams he had earlier in Dallas. I thought that was a strong statement. Who knows, maybe Baron/JRich/Pietrus/Harrington can somewhat = Nash/Finley/Dirk/?? and plus Andris is better than Bradley. So it seems obvious that Don Nelson and at least Reily find some familiarity and comfort with this roster. And shoot, if Harrington can continue to shoot 46% from three point range, maybe he will become as good or at least almost as good as Dirk. Dirk is probably a better rebounder (maybe I should check the stats before saying this though).

I am excited to see what this updated roster can accomplish, and I bet Nelson and the rest of the team feels the same.

 

We'll see. Harrington to Dirk hint at a comparrison must have Harrington block as many shots and rebound as much as Dirk and get to the foul line and convert at least at 85% free throws.

I'm a pessimist at this point, so what can I say? We need a star in the paint, and I'm not sure Harrington can fulfill that expectation. We've got to go to the draft or something or else we'll just continue to be weak in the middle. Plus, people forget Jrich or not, we're still about the same record as last season.

So even if Montgomery was winning, fans would probably poo poo him because he doesn't have the clout/respect of Don Nelson. I still continue to support the notion that nba teams are all about the players rather than the coaches. Coaches can give a team an edge, but not when we're trying to fight for the 8th seed. That's like a who cares, type of goal because we know at the 8th seed we will get our asses handed to us by the first seeded team.

If we just had more players that could take care of more areas we're weak at, and also fulfill the roles needed at those positions, it wouldn't matter who we had coaching, just to make the playoffs. I don't want to blame Mullin like I did before, because getting those impact players is a crapshoot, but I can't stress enough how bad it was for Mullin to lock up guys like Dunleavy, Murphy, Foyle, and then Fisher.

I want to say we have moved forward, but there's a window of opportunity and I think it's closing because we chose the wrong FA's and we're having to try and find a way to win without rebounding or ability to score inside in the halfcourt situation. When a team is without rebounding ability and ability to score inside in the halfcourt, it makes it really hard to win. We become over-reliant on the three ball and the fastbreak to get things done at a high %.

I want to think positive, but small ball goes against my philosophy for what good balaanced team ball should be. A lot of it starts with the power forward or center and I think Nelson has his own idea of what that position should be according to his offense. I just don't feel safe with Nelson's agenda. I'd rather we have somebody who has played halfcourt and fastbreak offense. They maybe might be able to find candidates for each starting position that actually fit together and can handle multiple situations on the court.