You're a Warriors fan. You know it's sunny now, all good. It's October and that 14-5 finish is still glowing in your mind and nobody's hurt or fighting or giving up 35 to Amare Stoudemire. But you know it's never easy. For 11 seasons, it was incredibly, furiously, apocalyptically difficult. You know a trip to the 2006 NBA playoffs is sacred territory, but you know it won't be a free ride. You're a Warriors fan. You don't want to hear it, but it's better if you're prepared. I just went to media day and bumbled onto FIVE THINGS you're worried about or should be heading into Hawaii training camp today: 1. What if Baron Davis and Mike Montgomery don't get along? They co-existed just fine in the final 28 games last year, but they're both strong-willed and Baron is never going to play pure Stanford style hoops. I think they're solid for now, but if Baron gets hobbly or frustrated or if Montgomery's is too stubborn after a slow start, look out. 2. Who's playing low-post defense? Adonal Foyle and Andris Biedrins are the first candidates, and I like both of them. But they got away with a lot of loose play during the stretch run because teams either quit or just ditched the low-post game with Baron was torching them. Troy Murphy and Ike Diogu are not answers here. 3. What if Mickael Pietrus' anger about his limited role turns into total self absorption? This can be fixed easily if he plays well in camp and earns consistent minutes, but I'm not sure Montgomery will do that. He has Fisher, Richardson and Dunleavy to finish games alongside Baron, and I think Montgomery will stick with that for the most part. If Pietrus goes volcano, the Warriors lose a unique player--a mini-Ron Artest, the kind of player who can do wonders in a tight game against a good team. This one is up to Montgomery. (Side question: What if Dunleavy gets a big $40+ million deal by Nov. 1 and isn't worth it or doesn't get a big deal and gets cranky? Listening to Mike today, he's obviously much more willing to compromise than Richardson and Murphy were last year, but I still think his agent is going to hold out for something large. A three-year extension would be perfect for the Warriors, but I don't know if that'd be OK for Dunleavy.) 4. What if Montgomery isn't up to it? Open question. He got a free pass last season from the media, fans and players. Not this year. I'm not a big John MacLeod fan, but we'll see if the veteran assistant settles Monty down. 5. Is Diogu ready to provide three or four baskets a night, every night, on the low post? The Warriors didn't need a low-post game after Davis' arrival last year because, again, they didn't exactly face grind-it-out teams. But over an 82-game schedule and possibly playoffs, it's imperative and there's nobody else on the roster who can do it. That's why I've been writing a lot about Eddy Curry--you should see Baron's eyes light up every time I mention Curry, or "Baby Shaq," as Baron says--but it won't happen, at least this season. 6. I'll throw in a bonus.. Will Chris Mullin make the dramatic trade-deadline move if his team needs it in February? But this really isn't a question any more, is it? He got Baron Davis for nothing last February. If a guy like Kevin Garnett possibly becomes available, even in a blink, Mullin can offer Pietrus/Dunleavy, Murphy/Biedrins/Diogu and assorted combinations. Bank on this one. Posted by Tim Kawakami on October 03, 2005 at 08:36 PM in NBA, Tim Kawakami, Warriors | Permalink http://blogs.mercurynews.com/bay_area_spor...ors_whats_.html
I'm not a Kawakami guy, but this is the 4th or 5th time he's mentioned Garnett. Is there something there that he's hearing, or is it simply a pipe dream by a columnist to get people talking?
It pains me to say that I agree with any part of Kawakami, but... Garnett clearly is a pipe dream. That has been said, it's not too far fatched logic. Even with KG, Wolves missed PO last season. To make things worse, they also lost Cassell and Spree for Jaric and rookie McCant. With other west teams all improving, it's not too far fatched to say that they will miss yet another PO this season, because they are only one of few teams that didn't make upgrade in talent wise. If they miss POs in two straight years, it's inevitable to say that trading Garnett rumors will come out. After all, Garnett is now 29 years old, and they won't be a championship contender for next few years. Since they are rebuilding, it's likely that they will only look for young talents, and whoever receives Garnett also has to be a PO team with bundle of rookie contracts, because there is no way for Garnett to go to rebuilding team. So right now, that really shrinks the list to us (assume that we make PO) and Bulls. In other hand, as much as we love to see, we can't keep all young talents or develop all of them, because there are only 240 mins in one game. That means, sooner or later, we have to cash in some of young talents, and if we offer anybody except Davis, Wolves may be interested in that offer. And, as you see from Davis trade or any mega deals Mullin gave, Mullin has Cohan's full support to pull a big deal like that. It's a dream alright, and do not hold your breath. But, if Garnett ever becomes available, we may have a good shot at it...
Kwan, while that makes sense, I just don't think the Wolves would ever trade an MVP within their own conference. But we do have a lot of loaded talent on our end. Question though: how on earth would we really make these contracts work under the CBA though? We'd need at least something thrown in there to match that contract of KG's. I just don't think Kevin McHale would do that. He would trade the guy he drafted to somewhere else away from his conference. Calling Curry "Baby-Shaq" just insults the real Shaq. I think Shaquille O'neil could rebound the ball as a 4 year old toddler better than Curry can right now.
Obviously, either Richardson or Murphy's contract has to be included, and it would be similar to Shaq trade. Yeah, they may prefer trading him to other conference, and Chicago may have a good chance to do so, because not only Chicago is KG's hometown, they can also offer bundle of young talents. Well, it's a long shot anyway with no real base, so we can dream ...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kwan1031:</div><div class="quote_post">Obviously, either Richardson or Murphy's contract has to be included, and it would be similar to Shaq trade. Yeah, they may prefer trading him to other conference, and Chicago may have a good chance to do so, because not only Chicago is KG's hometown, they can also offer bundle of young talents. Well, it's a long shot anyway with no real base, so we can dream ...</div> Yeah, I guess we're allowed to. Some boards mention "KG" like every other topic and as long as we're not obsessed with the dream, sure why not? After all, I'm obsessed with the dream of us playing some defense in addition to scoring at any tempo we desire. And I guess I do repeat those things like every topic it seems like. But hey, is it realistic that we can play defense and can run in the open court and score in the post?
