There is too much short-term thinking on this board, maybe because long-term plans over the past decade and a half have not turned out so great, but I digress.

This is a flexible, talented team. There are no horrible contracts. None of the recent contracts were doled out solely based on potential. A 20 pt scorer is worth about $10 mil a year. A 7-footer that averages 10/10 is worth $9 mil a year. You could probably argue that Turiaf and Buke were paid a bit on potential, but Turiaf definitely brings something that this team needed and Buke tossed in 30 a couple times and had a few double-doubles last year, so banking on his potential is hardly unfounded.

The way I see it, there are 6 big question marks from this offseason: Should they have kept Baron? Why Maggette for $10 mil? Can Monta play the 1? Where's the D? Nellie's future? Where does BWright fit in?

The Baron in the room

I love reading about how the Warriors should have paid Baron the $65 mil. I love Baron Davis, but that is not a good investment. He's a flawed star. Too stubborn to realize he can hurt the team as easily as he can help it with his unconscious hoisting and petty one-up-manship mindset. His attitude is part of what makes him great, but it also made him a sub-par teammate.

I just made case for not resigning him without even mentioning his injury history and his suspect dedication to keeping his body in top shape for the entirety of that next contract. I also didn't mention how much he wanted to go home, and at 28, with his mileage and his injury history, I think he knew this would be the last chance he would have at playing in LA.

So could he have been had for $65 mil by the Warriors? I say no possible way. Once he opted out, he was not coming back. That's why his departure was so amicable. Mully and Nellie knew there was nothing they could do.

Maggette

No one likes Maggette. He is a selfish, one-dimensional player. But he's pretty efficient with that one-dimension. If you simply replaced Baron's ability to get to the line with Maggette's you would come out ahead.

But why $50 mil when his only offers were the MLE and why does the team even need him?

It happened quickly, so people didn't notice, but as soon as Brand went to Philly, things changed with regard to Maggette. Everyone assumed Maggette was gone from the Clips, but they never renounced him. To sign Baron and Brand they would have had to renounce him, but that never happened. So, the Clips could have offered Maggette more money to stay, which he said they did before he signed with the Warriors, or the Clips could have worked a sign and trade to get him more money from one of the teams that offered him the MLE (provided they got value in return). So the Warriors were not competing with just the MLE.

So why does the team need a selfish scorer? Because he can score by himself. Monta will have a lot on his plate, carrying the team offensively all the time might be asking a bit much. Here's a guy in Maggette that will replace Baron's scoring with very little help from anyone else. He doesn't have to be set up, he just needs the ball. That takes a lot of pressure off Monta. I wasn't thrilled by the signing, I also preferred they go after Iggy or Smith, but I think that the team felt Monta would be their biggest offseason investment and if they were to strike out on the RFAs, they would leave too much on Monta's shoulders. They had to make a decisive move, and not be forced to wait for another team to make a decision (which had a high probability of not working out in the Warriors favor). Which begs the question of why is Monta so important?

Monta

Anyone who watched games last year could see who the most dynamic player on the floor was. Monta gets to the rim effortlessly. And he finishes with incredible consistency. And there are still areas for him to grow. With his first step, he can be a better distributor. With his shot, he can be a better 3 pt shooter. With his handle he can be a better ball handler. With his quickness he can be a better defender. As good as he is, he can be better.

Can he be a true PG? Probably not. Most think it is something you are born with. He has a scorer's mentality. But you know, Baron was a true PG, but how often did he squash that impulse to take over games? Everyone but Baron could tell that if he focused more on being a PG the team would be better off. Monta has already shown he can play within his limits. He doesn't jack 3s and he reduced his TOs while keeping his assists steady from his second to third year.

So what is the difference between Baron being a true PG, but choosing to focus on scoring while Monta is a true scorer choosing to focus on distributing?

Nellie is not stupid. Monta's PG duties will consist of occasionally bringing the ball up and running the pick and roll. Both things he did plenty of last year. The only question mark is how they deal with the fast break.

Defense and the starting 5

Before I move on to D, let me address that fast break question. The biggest problem with Monta at the one is who throws him the ball when he is on one of those patented one-man fast breaks? The starting lineup needs more ball handlers to get Monta the ball past the half court line on missed shots. That is why I think Anthony Randolph starts at the 4.

That notion also plays into the next two questions on Nellie and BWright, but let's talk about D first.

Here's the starting 5: Monta, Jax, Mags, Randolph, AB. Skinny group, with the exception of Maggette, but also a very long group.

Compare that to the starting lineups of last year: Baron, Monta, Jax, Harrington, AB or any number of small lineups that put the team's best defender Jax on the other team's PF.

We all know how Baron's interest in D could come and go, but if Monta defended the 1 and Baron the 2, and everyone else their opposite number that D was not that great.

With this new lineup Jax and Mags can swap allowing Jax to take the better offensive wing. Randolph and AB are long and quick help defenders. The biggest weakness is one-on-one inside, but help will come from equally long (Jax) and quick (Monta) or strong (Mags) players.

And, Randolph has to be a better rebounder than Harrington. And Jax's lack of rebounding will be less noticed if he plays the 2.

At worst, the D of this starting lineup is the same as last year, but I think it will be better.

Nellie's future

That starting lineup happens because Nellie is at the helm. He'll see Randolph as a big mismatch with his ability to take big guys off the dribble and the ability to push the ball on the break.

But, the team has to think about life after Nellie. Randolph might be playing PF, but he will be developing his SF skills in Nellie's offense. Nellie is going to play a certain style to win games, it will emphasize running and offense. But the players can fit into a conventional system as well. IMO, we won't see the full potential of Biedrins until Nellie retires, then we will see a guy who has a quickness advantage over almost every center in the league. An efficient 15 and 10 is not out of the question.

The team has young players lined up at every position, Williams at PG, Belli and Buke at SG, Randolph at SF, Wright and Hendrix at PF, and Turiaf at C. Most of that crew figures to be the second unit, with the exception of Wright, who will have to fight with likely sixth man Harrington.

Wright

Wright has talent, but he's not ready to play a conventional PF. But Nellie doesn't particularly like conventional PFs anyway. BWright will have to bide his time on this team next year. With Randolph's skill set, Nellie will choose him over BWright every time. The team could deal him, but Wright would have a future role.

If he focuses on getting stronger, improving his post game and his range, he'll be in line to be the PF when Nellie retires. A front line of AR, Wright and AB could be pretty dynamic if any of them can beef up a bit.

It seems the only way people would have been satisfied with this offseason is if Baron re-upped for like 3 years at $45 mil (which Baron would not have), we acquired one of the RFAs (which was not realistic, which high profile RFAs have switched teams in the last few years?), or we traded for a superstar (Kobe, Lebron, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul are not available).

The team has a nice core of quality players. None of them are outrageously overpaid (ie. Damp, Foyle, Murphy, Dunleavy), and most of them still have a lot of untapped potential, so reimagining the team after seeing them play for a few months is not out of the question

g-drive's original post in the warriors forum

GM's grades typically center on whom they draft and whom they pay. While the former receives significant fanfare, the latter is every bit as important when it comes to fielding a consistent winner. Sadly, the W's have repeatedly missed the mark when it comes to assessing impact, value and worth relative to the market/league.

From Mullin&Co's first batch of extensions featuring Fisher and Foyle to the recent additions of Maggette and Turiaf, the common theme remains the W's spending big dollars to sign complementary talent.  This isn't meant to suggest Turiaf will be the disaster Foyle was or Maggette will struggle to reconcile his role(s) the way Fisher did, but converting MAX cap space into a back-up F/C and a scoring 3 is hardly an ideal return.  Armed with the flexibility to add a young, building block, the W's target and acquire role players.

If you're going to front load an offer sheet in an effort to dissuade a team from matching, do so for a player like Andre Iguodala--not Ronny Turiaf. Have the patience to sort out the available options(even the unlikely ones) rather than rushing to sign the first b-list player who'll take your money. 

If you run a fast-paced offense and you lose your best playmaker, you might want to redirect those resources to someone who actually creates scoring opportunities for his teammates. The W's instead work their way down their pre-ranked list of unrestricted free agents. They throw at money at one guy after another until Corey Maggette graciously accepts a W's offer that bests his MLE options by a significant sum.

At the end of the day, one can't help but question the franchise's commitment and wherewithal to build a contender. 

Did the Warriors really deny KG an extension when the parties were talking trade scenarios? -- totally indefensible.

Ownership appears content to compete for the final playoff spots in the West. Don Nelson, Baron Davis & Co. sell out the lower bowl and now it's up to Cohan's lackeys to keep this team well in the black.

That the Warriors still have a talented roster with the flexibility to improve is more a reflection of where they were at the start of the summer as opposed to what they've done since.  They were seemingly caught off guard by Baron's opt out and subsequent defection to the Clippers.  They tried and failed to sign their primary, free agent targets.  When it's all said and done the Warriors most recent restructuring might yield a brighter future than the track they were on with Baron Davis, but 48 wins and/or a playoff berth are long shots with the current rotation.  Teams only have so many chances to add impact players to their core group.  The Warriors had the cap space to target a franchise building block, but ultimately settled for depth, experience and at least in the short term... mediocrity.

I expect the W's will be a relatively competitive team.  Chris Cohan is banking on it.

Discuss this in the main forum

First a little about AR. (Who seemd to be in a great mood on the bench, laughing with the other players and coaches. I wonder what he did to celebrate his birthday and new contract?) I would humbly suggest he is nothing at all like Jalen Rose. If memory serves me, Rose was a pass first, play from the floor, very intelligent but not extremely athletic type of player. Did he not have a point guard mantality? AR is a scorer. He is a good passer but I don't get the impression he would rather have an assist than a high flying put back dunk. He loves to jump and slash, blocking shots, getting above the rim as often as he can. He also plays very well with his back to the basket which I don't remember Rose doing very often. Which leads me to a question.

Is AR the only player the Warriors now have that can play with their back to the basket? With the loss of Baron I think AR is the only player we have capable of causing problems from the post. He can both score and pass for there, something I don't think any other Warrior can do. Which leads me to wonder if his role on this team could be quite important, even as a rookie.
Which leads to Brandon Wright.

With AR and Hendrix not playing tonight I paid a little closer attention to BW. He played well. I just think he has too many limitations to be more than a role player. He gets knocked off balance by stronger players, he lacks a good shooting touch, and I have yet to see him throw a good pass from the post back out to a shooter. He runs the floor incredibly well and when left free to move in space gets incredibly high very quickly and has a great nose for the ball. He seems very bright and coachable so I am sure he will continue to improve. His shot definately looks better than I remember from last year. I am sure Nellie will find a way to utilize his strengths and hide his weaknesses.

CJ vs. DJ was fun. I came away a little more hopeful that CJ is quick enough for the NBA. He did a decent job on DJ, who is very quick. They battled all night and CJ more than held his own. He is tough and very calm. Nothing bothers him. He just keeps doing his thing. Very smart defender with good hands and good anticipation. And a good 3 inches taller than Augustine.

Marco had a good game. Not as spectacular as Sundays game but a little more within the offense. He had about 21 points at halftime and then a very good player shut him down in the 3rd quarter. A guy named Kyle Weaver from Washington State. Love him. He actually played the point for a while and I thought ran the offense very well. His defense was amazing. Marco could not get by him or even get comfortable enough to get a shot off. For some reason he did not play the last 5 minutes of the game. If he had I think the Bobcats would have won.

Demarcus Nelson can't shoot. Case closed.

Lou A. is a hustler and so very active. I believe he is just a bit one dimensional for Nelson.

Back to L.A. in the morning. Thanks again for the nice comments.

 Warriorsworld.net hooked up with Matt Steinmetz who is the Comcast sideline reporter and insider/analyst on Golden State Warriors telecasts, for a Q&A on the Warriors offseason, future as well as his thoughts on Warriorsworld.net.

What’s the latest with Monta Ellis and his contract extension? What’s a realistic contract for him? Sign and trade a possibility? Ditto for Andris Biedrins.

How’s this for a bad start … quite frankly, I haven’t been that curious about these contract situations. No news is good news. To me, Ellis and Biedrins not re-signing with the Warriors would be more of a shock than Baron Davis leaving.

Nothing is outside the realm of possibility, but Chris Mullin has made it clear from a while back that he was going to re-sign these guys. If there were going to be any monetary constraints they went out the door once Baron left.

I fully expect both to be back, although when it becomes official … who knows? There are benefits to doing these deals later rather than sooner. As for money, I’m not big on predicting because I do believe the adage that it only takes one team … and that a player is worth what one team pays him.

What are realistic contracts for them? I’d say Ellis is probably trying to get $10 to $12 million per year and the Warriors are shooting for $8 to $10. And for Biedrins, he’s trying to get $8 to $10 and the Warriors are trying to get him for $6 to $8.


Your thoughts on Baron Davis’ departure

I’ve written a lot on this on my webpage at 

http://www.examiner.com/x-441-Golden-State-Warriors-Examiner .

That’s my first shameless plug. In general, I believe that the point guard is the most important position on the court and the Warriors had a pretty damn good one for the past few years.

Without getting into the pros and cons of his game, Davis has been the biggest difference-maker on the Warriors since I’ve been around this team, 15 years or so. Sprewell, Hardaway, Webber, Mullin. Sorry, I think its Davis.

I just think losing a player of Davis’ stature is a significant blow, and I don’t see the Warriors making the playoffs next year if Monta Ellis is the starting point guard playing 30-plus minutes per game there.

Now, if the Warriors find a way to get Billups in here or even Kirk Hinrich, then you’ve got to take another look and reassess. Though off the top of my head I wouldn’t be ready to proclaim that team better than last year’s team, either.

Until the Warriors make another move, I don’t see how anyone can maintain this team is better than it was last year.


Did Baron leave on bad terms with the organization? How was his relationship with his teammates?

Baron didn’t leave on bad terms with Chris Mullin, I know that. As for his relationship with teammates, overall it was good. Baron could be a little temperamental at times and certainly high maintenance, but that’s not unlike most stars.

I would say he was generally inclusive, and overall to the good.

Corey Maggette at 5 yrs. $50 Million. Did the Warriors overpay? Was it a panic move?

I hesitate to use the word overpay because, well, the Warriors paid him. That said it would have been much, much better if they could have gotten him for the mid-level or just above.

But chances are he wouldn’t have come to the Warriors for the mid-level. I’ve heard the deal might be closer to five for $45, but I just don’t think Maggette is a $9 million or $10 million player. He’s a little too one-dimensional for that kind of money.

I won’t call it a panic move. I think you could make a case it was a logical move. They just lost a 20-point per night scorer in Davis (forget about position for a minute) and they went out and got a 20-point scorer, one of the few like that on the market. The problem is there’s still that point guard issue.


Randolph has looked good early in the summer league. Do you see him cracking Nellie’s rotation?

Ordinarily I’d say no way, but for some reason I think Nelson just might try to play this kid. From what very little I’ve seen of him, I like him.

I agree with the person on the board who said Randolph resembles Jalen Rose. I thought the same thing but wouldn’t dare print that after I saw it here. So, you know what they say … give him poster credit.

However, a resemblance is a resemblance and at this point I don’t think Randolph is a 3. He may become one. But not right now. More than one person has told me about a move Randolph made in the summer-league opener (didn’t see it; flying) on Jason Smith, where he took him from the top of the circle and got an “and-one.�

They used that example of why Randolph is a 3. I don’t see it that way. Jason Smith is a 7-footer. That’s the kind of guy Randolph should have an advantage over on the perimeter.

Until and unless he can do it with a 6-foot-6 defender on him, let’s hold off on talk he’s a small forward. I know Nelson has said he’ll play small forward but what Nelson says in the summer often isn’t what he says in November.


Who will have the biggest impact: Wright, Belinelli or Randolph?

Good question. Toss up between Belinelli and Wright, and for no real reason I’ll take Wright.


How would you rate Chris Mullin during his tenure in the front office? Good, bad, why?

I think in general it’s been good. First of all, it’s almost as if he’s had to deal with two different kinds of rules.

When he first began, Mullin spent a lot of money for players such as Dunleavy, Murphy, Fisher and Foyle. They might not have been great signings, but they were signings that at least represented a philosophy of trying to keep a core together for a few years and grow with it.

I also give him a lot of credit for the timely recognition of a non-successful transaction and taking decisive action. Too many GMs cut off their nose to spite their face, holding onto to an obvious losing hand just to stay in the game until the end. I hate that more than the mistake.

In the past year or so, I don’t think there is any doubt the Warriors have taken a more cautious approach to signing players. Not that they’re unwilling to dole out money, just that they’re being far more deliberate about doing it.

There have been things Mullin would have liked to have done that he couldn’t get done, let’s put it that way. However, no one knows if those things would have helped his reputation or hurt it.

It seems obvious from all his public quotes about Baron that he would have liked to keep him around.

The luxury tax is a factor, no doubt. Simply put, the Warriors aren’t going to go over it. Has that limited them? Absolutely, most teams in the NBA, however, operate under the tax, including the San Antonio Spurs, who have won five titles in 10 years. I think you can be successful under the tax and I don’t think going over the tax ensures success. In fact, we all know that to be true.


What are some of your favorite Warriors moments?

Well, obviously the 2006-07 playoffs were memorable because of the novelty and excitement around everything. I wouldn’t say it was a favorite though because I was a little too freakin nervous on TV to really enjoy it. But here’s one:

I was actually in a bar in New Orleans when the Warriors clinched Game 6 against Dallas. I’d probably been to the previous 500 games the previous 12 years at the arena, but I wasn’t at that one.

In early January, before the trade, I had made flight reservations for early May. Warriors weren’t going anywhere again, right? It was a trip I’d made a couple times in years past. Of course, the Warriors got hot late in the season and made the playoffs.

Well, I figured I wouldn’t be going on the trip to the Jazz Festival and that was fine by me. I’d been hanging around this team for 12 lousy years so the playoffs were fine, too. Playoff basketball or Van Morrison _ that’s a win-win.

Long story short, we were done with our broadcasting duties by the Game 6 clincher so I was able to make the trip and be back in time for the start of the Utah series. It was the first and only time I ever watched the Warriors as a true, unadulterated fan. What can I say? I’m never really able to be a fan when I’m working, if you know what I mean. I might have an interest in a game going one way or the other but never fan.

But I was that night … 2,000 miles from the Bay Area and the Warriors playing their biggest game in decades. I purposely chose a near-empty bar to watch it and sent away my fair-weather-basketball-fan buddies because I needed to lock in and focus.

It was the most perfect game to finally be fan. Pretty tight first half, blowout in the second. I was wound up all night, cheering on every possession, cursing at times and just generally doing what fans in the arena were doing.

By the end of the game, the bar was full but for some reason nobody was bothering the guy shouting and pumping his fist at the end of the bar (me). I know that’s probably a weird recollection, but it’s the one I have.

It was actually cool enough to finally be a fan for one night that I didn’t even miss being there.


Take us through a day in life of Matt Steinmetz on game-day. There’s more to it than just wearing makeup and holding a mic, right?

Not that intriguing, really. I do a lot of reading and watching of games when I’m not “doing� a game. I love basketball and don’t consider what I do a job. Away from the arena, when I’m not doing the family thing, I’m watching basketball, talking basketball, playing basketball, reading about basketball or writing about basketball. That’s basically my preparation.

As for makeup … put it this way: I never wore any until I saw Walt Frazier applying it before a game. That meant it was OK.


Your thoughts on Warriorsworld.net?

So many thoughts. First of all, it’s great site. No doubt about it.

I firmly believe that if I want to consider myself a so-called “expert� on the Warriors, then I absolutely must pay attention to the site. How could I possibly pretend to know what I’m talking about if I choose not to hear what fans are saying about players and the team?

Everyone in the organization knows what Warriorsworld.net is … secretaries, salesman, support staff and even presidents and vice presidents, directors and managers. Over the course of a season you’ll hear people talking about something on the site and invariably someone will say: “I don’t read that stuff.�

That’s a joke. Everyone reads it.

Here’s a quick story to ingratiate me with the board (although that ain’t never going to happen with Mac, Diehardwarrior or Shank). A few years ago, some coaches were talking about a particular opinion on the board. One of the coaches dismissed the board as a bunch of “know-nothing fans.�

He was quickly shot down by two other coaches who said that a lot of the stuff on the board had merit and that of all the fans the people on this board knew way more and paid way more attention to what was going on than all others.

“Sometimes,� I remember hearing a coach say “…Those SOBs know a little bit too much.�

Right now, Mac, Diehardwarrior and Shank are muttering: “No kidding we know more than other fans. All you do is state the obvious.�

Sometimes the obvious needs stating. Keep up the spirit.

Special Thanks to Matt and check out his work @

http://www.examiner.com/x-441-Golden-State-Warriors-Examiner

Today had everything bad about summer league. First: The idiot behind me would not shut up for the entire game. Second: The crying baby in front of me was cute but only for the 10 seconds crying baby's are cute. Not for 20 minutes. 3rd, and most importantly, the Dallas team was poorly organized, poorly coached, with all average to bad players. It is hard to get a sense of any of the players in a game like todays.

I was fascinated by AR today. He had one of those games where he could not get any flow going at all. Summer league is very guard oriented and even more so when the teams play sloppily and disorganized. He was struggling on defense and I found one of the first plays of the game pretty interesting. AR was guarding Greene in the srong side corner. The ball was on the strong side wing and Greene swung under the basket to the far wing. AR followed him but only to a point at the weak side low block. I could see his intention was to double onto BW's guy when the ball was fed down low. Welcome to the pros AR. The ball was quickly swung to the weak side and Greene hit a wide open three. I thought to myself there lies an interesting problem for AR. Guarding 3's that play like 2's. Greene, who is not very good, seems to want to camp out on the 3 point line all the time, as alot of 3's can do. AR likes being near the basket to rebound and block shots. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts and how the coaches adjust to "small ball" sort of line ups where the 3 has a 2's skill set. I think he will be a pretty good shooter. He shoots fairly stiff legged which leaves his three point attempts looking more thrown than shot. He shot one with his feet on the ground and it looked quite a bit better. The good ole "set shot".

He has really great footwork in the post. In both games he was doubled teamed in the block and each time was able to calmly (I emphasize calmly) get off a "good" shot using his great footwork. I like him more today than I did yesterday. He had an off game but you could still see the skill set. Passing, shooting, ballhandling and point forward skills. By the way. He threw a beautiful no look pass to Wright for a lay up in the first quarter. I am assuming you all saw it. It was the same pass he threw yesterday the scrub missed. Last thing about AR. I saw something in warm ups that convinced me he will be a good shooter. He was just messing around and took a dribble to about ten feet away and calmy threw in a little right handed jumper. I thought WOW! It looked smooth and easy, not awkward and girlish like most guys when they shoot with their opposite hand. Love AR. He could be something special. It's only summer league so we will see when he faces Koby and KG.

Marco had one of his "get everyone excited games". I enjoyed his passing more than his shooting but I would really like to see it against a team playing a step quicker as The Sixers played on Friday. He has a great feel for basketball. If he can't do what he does against quicker and stronger players I hope he can still be a potential Vinnie Johnson type spark-plug off the bench. (anyone old enough to remember the bad boy Pistons?)

Lou A. looked very good today. Aggressive and tough. He has some hops and decent post moves. Who knows if he will make the Warriors but I would guess he will be in the league.

The best play of the game was BW going up VERY high for a lay up and then AR going up VERY high to dunk in the miss. I had a great angle for that one. BW was about four inches higher.

BW was great. Nothing really new to report. Twice he went up for dunks over Singleton and I could not tell if he was beating him to the rim with his quick jump or just surprising him with his long arms. Each time they both left the floor at the same time but BW beat him to the rim each time.
CJ was steady as usual. I like him although again I am not sure he has the quickness to hang in the league.

One other player I saw really surprised me. (that he would be drafted so high). DJ Augustine is too small. He is a very good basketball player, very smart and quick. But I don't see how he is going to survive against the Baron Davis's beating him up and the taller longer point guards taking away his vision.
I am kinda bored sitting here in my hotel room so I may post some other stuff as it pops into my head.

See you Tuesday night around 10:30

Thanks for all the nice comments last time.

PS: AR is very tall. My daughter and I walked by him near the food line after the game. No exaggerating with this guy. 6'10" WITH HANDLES.

That was fun. Although getting a lot more crowded than the last two years.

AR is really fun to watch. He does not duplicate Wright in any way at all. My favorite thing about him is his vision. He sees the floor very well and uses that skill not only to make good passes but to put himself in good position to rebound, block shots and take advantage of mismatches. It is very exciting when he takes a rebound or steal and immediately goes into attack mode. I could feel the tension in the crowd as we all waited to see what he would do. Some comments I heard. "I can't believe he is 6'9". " He looks like Chris Bosh".

A couple "non stat" things. In the 1st quarter he was leading the break and threw a no look bounce pass that slid by one of the "bench scrubs" who was not ready for it. (if he had caught it it was a sure dunk) It was not a perfect pass but a better player would have caught it. He was pissed. He slapped his hands, looked over at Smart as if to say "get this guy out of here", then took a somewhat nasty look at the player. He immediately checked that attitude and went back on defense. He also seems to like contact. He actually goes and looks for it and sometimes seems to try to use his elbows to get under the other guys skin. Got into a "wrestle for the ball" moment with Speights and actually yanked the ball from him as he fell to the floor. His "thin-ness" is not an issue at all. The coaches used him well. He brought the ball up when the mismatch called for it. Drove around bigger guys with no problem and pulled up over shorter guys who could stay with him. (Thaddeus Young guarded him most of the time.) I am not going to comment on his shooting yet. Two more games (for me)to go. He shot pretty well today. Relaxed and confident. His range is about 18 feet and in. (he missed one three pointer by about a yard and a half) I really like his little pull up jumper at about 12 feet. When he gets his defender backpedaling there is no way they can get a hand near him.
He is quite out of shape and seemed to tire fairly quickly. I don't think that will be a problem as he is quite "cut" and obviously takes care of his body. He is definately a 3. He needs space to operate in. Teams will try to crowd him. He reminds me in a wierd way of Montay. Fearless and skilled. Sometimes questionable in their decisions, but always aggressive.
Wright is a skinny 4. Very active and has a great feel for being around the ball near the basket. Got his hands on everything. His problem will be that bigger 4's will be able to knock him off his jump. Hopefully his long arms and quick first and second jump will make up for that. (he has an awesome 2nd jump.) He can't really play facing the basket. I think he will be an incredible garbage guy. He certainly has the physical tools and smarts to develop a "go to" move. I guess we are all hoping for the swing to the middle baby hook. It would be unstoppable.
Hendrix did not play. Hurt??
CJ was steady. Not quite quick enough to play allot of minutes but a very good player. A tough kid and a good defender. When he was in the game the score went in our favor. When he sat it went the other way.
Marco was OK. He played point for about two minutes and I thought he did OK. Good to know the coaches are thinking of that as a match up advantage. He seemed to play harder on defense this summer. Last summer he seemed to think the rep that the Warriors don't play any defense was actually true. Same ole same ole. Forced a few shots but you always think he is going to make them. Beautiful stroke.
Admunson is pretty good. Very active. He duplicates Hendrix and I think Hendrix is bigger and stronger. Who knows.
Speights is going to be good. Unlike Wright, when he goes up he does not get bumped off his jump. Explosive leaper. Lacking in offensive skills but should be a good player with his physical make-up.
Thaddeus Young was very fun as well. Very athletic and plays with a cool swagger.
No one else on the Warriors roster is worth writing about. Probably the worst group of non draftees I have seen in my 15 years of going to these games.