I'll kick it off with: Good - Getting Baron Davis for Speedy Claxton and Dale Davis Bad - Losing Gilbert Arenas because Cohan didn't shake his head Ugly - Signing Adonal Foyle for $42 M for six years
I'm not sure I understand your point about Arenas. They signed him to a two year deal. That was pretty standard for a second round pick at the time. Unfortunately it didn't grant them bird rights, so they couldn't match the offer that Washington had on the table. Since then the NBA has changed their rules regarding second round picks. The Dubs pretty much got fucked on that one. I really liked that team. So much talent and so young.
Gilbert said after he signed with Washington that the reason he didn't come back to GS was because although GS didn't hold bird rights he was meeting with Cohan/the front office to talk about his future with the team. According to Gilbert, Cohan wouldn't look him in the eye when they were discussing a scenario where GS would bring him back on a shorter/smaller deal and then re-sign him to a big contract when they freed up more money. He said he signed in Washington because Cohan wouldn't look him in the eye so he didn't trust him.
Cohan's teams, at least since I've been following them, which has been since around 1997 or 98, were famous for signing players to the worst contracts imaginable. People may say he wouldn't spend money. But that wouldn't be accurate. What always hurt this team is that they always spent it on the wrong players. The money spent on the non-core players was just way too much. The initial post mentioned Foyle. But there was also Caffey, Jamison (I don't know who he was bidding against), Fortson, Maggette, Murphy, Dunleavy, Foyle, Dampier, and Jason Richardson, and probably some others that I am forgetting. Plus he's always been bad with coaches. Hiring Mike Montgomery was the worst IMO. I may be the only one, but I was/am happy Don Nelson came back to relieve Montgomery of his duties as head coach of this team. It's good to see that the Warriors are being smarter to not dump all the salary cap on non-core players. At least that is what it seems like is going on as we are kind of even low-balling reserves. This is a big improvement.
Yes, you did forget one, he gave Derek Fisher 6 years $37 million... Oh, he also gave the okay on that senseless early extension for Stephen Jackson, one of the worst chess moves in the history of NBA management. Yes, he has spent $$ at times, but with very little insight, as well as very little foresight. That combination of blindness leads down a sketchy road, lol...
The good: Baron Davis + Jrich + Sjax + Nelson, Ellis' second season, Curry his rookie year, the fact we made our first playoffs since over a decade and we beat the #1 seed in the first round!, Biedrins making two free throws in a row! Adonal Foyle with the explosive offensive game prior to signing that $42 million deal, Brian Cardinal, Nick Van Exel's crazy shots The bad: Cohan + Robert f'n Rowell ruining the franchise, player injuries, revolving door coaches, Adonal Foyle after the $42 million deal (doh!) The ugly: Mullin's crazy spending on veteran role players and marginal backups like Derek F'n Fisher, Foyle trying to dunk or catch, buying into the Dunleavy Jr. hype, Moped-gate, Murphy n' Jamison defense.
