Saturday, November 29, 2008
No Jack, now what?
From Janny Hu in New York.
So Stephen Jackson is out tonight with a sprained left wrist. The news apparently caught the entire team off-guard, and no one's sure how much time he'll miss.
"Nothing's broken. Probably a game or two," coach Don Nelson said.
Jackson stuck to his usual routine of not talking pre-game, so we'll learn more after. Meanwhile, he's wearing a brace on his swollen wrist that was originally injured in Washington, then aggravated in Boston when Ronny Turiaf fell on him, then aggravated again last night against Cleveland.
Let's see how Nelson -- and the Warriors -- adjust.
| Nov 29 at 04:11 PM
Friday, November 21, 2008
Harrington checks in about checking out ...
From Janny Hu.
Full story coming about the Al Harrington for Jamal Crawford swap, but in case this gets lost in the shuffle, here's what Al said on the phone earlier about the trade.
(As an aside, he obviously had issues with coach Don Nelson and wasn't giving the Warriors much on the court. But Al's going to be severely missed as a teammate, starting with Stephen Jackson. It was Al and Jack that really encouraged the young guys behind-the-scenes in that locker room).
On the end:
"Obviously, you're sitting there and you're trying to wait and see what happens, wishing something would happen. I'm happy that Chris was able to make a deal they were comfortable with.
My highs and lows, ups and down, was obviously my dealings with Coach. As far as the city, fans, they were a big plus. I'm really going to miss them. Up to that point in my career, they're definitely the best fans I've been around. I'm going to miss all the guys, the organization, Mr. Cohan, Bobby, Mully."
On the Knicks:
"They're in a rebuilding stage, but it's something I'm excited about being a part of. Growing up there, I've seen what the Knicks mean when they're a winning team, They're on top of the world. And I'm looking forward to bringing that back. It's probably my favorite arena to play in, and I'm going to be playing there 41 nights a year."
On playing for coach Mike D'Antoni:
"You look at his coaching career, obviously, his system is a lot like Golden State's. At the end of the day, his run-and-gun style allows people to be who they are. It's a great system where you can get a lot of things done, so I'm just excited to get there and learn it as fast as possible."
| Nov 21 at 04:32 PM
Monday, November 17, 2008
Jack officially signs extension; Nellie on Pete Newell's passing
From Janny Hu.
Stephen Jackson's long-anticipated contract extension is finally done. He'll get the max allowed under league rules -- three years at just under $28 million.
Says Jack: "The hold-up was being patient and getting the paperwork right. That was the hold-up. Things just took time. Just wanted to get the wording right. I wanted to make sure I understood what my contract said without having an agent.
"Being wanted, that's the biggest thing for me. I've played on a lot of teams, and even after I won the championship with San Antonio, it didn't seem like I was wanted. They wanted to lowball me in my contract. Just being wanted at a place where I had success. I helped turn this organization around somewhat, and I'm with a team that can't go nowhere but up. I've made this my second home. I'm comfortable here and so is my family."
Says team president Robert Rowell in a press release (Worth noting that VP Chris Mullin is NOT quoted): "We're excited to have Stephen under contract for the next several years. He has been nothing short of terrific -- both on the floor and in the community -- since we acquired him almost two years ago. He has embraced this opportunity with the Warriors and has become a leader of a very young basketball team. Furthermore, he expressed a desire to be here long-term and we wanted him to be a part of our team as we move forward. We view this as a win-win for everyone."
Also, here's Nellie's statement on the sad passing of basketball legend Pete Newell:
"This is obviously a very sad day for the game of basketball, whether you are associated with the NBA, college or high school ranks. I've known Pete for over 50 years and have a tremendous amount of respect for the man and his many accomplishments. Pete was a great coach and a great man who had the ability to relate to players and people on every level. A countless number of coaches and players benefitted from Pete's tutelage over the years -- including those who attended his specialized camps each summer -- and will be indebted to him for the expertise and wisdom that he provided. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family."
| Nov 17 at 03:19 PM
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Friday, November 14, 2008
Nelson, Hendrix to the D-league
From Janny Hu.
Nothing earth-shattering here, but the Warriors have sent rookies DeMarcus Nelson and Richard Hendrix to the Bakersfield Jam, their D-league affiliate.
Nelson, if you'll remember, started the first five games at point guard before Warriors coach Don Nelson started going with C.J. Watson.
DeMarcus did about as well as could be expected considering that he's an undrafted 2-guard, and he'll learn more about running a team in Bakersfield.
As for the Warriors, the point guard slot is going to remain a huge issue as they sort through the Monta Ellis aftermath -- Their remaining choices for now are Watson, Marcus Williams, the moonlighting Stephen Jackson, and maybe Marco Belinelli, though he's buried behind shooter Anthony Morrow at the moment.
| Nov 14 at 04:37 PM
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Monta Ellis set to begin courtwork in two weeks
From Janny Hu.
Since there wasn't room for a story in today's paper, thought I'd add a quick note here.
I'd been told by people who've seen Monta Ellis rehab that he's looking pretty good, having already conquered the treadmill, elliptical and all that.
I checked with Ellis' agent, Jeff Fried, and he said Monta should begin court work the week after next, which coincides with the Warriors' long East Coast road trip over Thanksgiving week.
| Nov 13 at 11:12 AM
Monday, November 10, 2008
Larry Harris, former Bucks GM, joins Nellie's coaching staff
From Janny Hu.
This should be officially announced tomorrow, but the Warriors have added former Bucks GM Larry Harris as an assistant coach.
The space for Harris, son of Del Harris, opened up when Larry Riley moved into the front office to replace fired assistant GM Pete D'Alessandro.
| Nov 10 at 03:36 PM
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Let the games begin: Rowell fires Mullin's right-hand man
From Janny Hu.
As of right now, Chris Mullin is still around. But Pete D'Alessandro, his top aide and close friend, is gone.
Team president Robert Rowell fired D'Alessandro today, according to league sources, and is replacing him with assistant coach Larry Riley.
It's a move laden with meaning:
As we keep saying, the story of the Warriors this season is off-the-court, not on it ...
| Nov 06 at 11:30 PM
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Nellie on life post-Harrington: We might as well start making the change now
From Janny Hu.
Wow. Al Harrington has a bad game. Brandan Wright has a great game.
So after the game? Coach Don Nelson essentially torches Harrington and talks about moving forward with Wright.
Not nearly enough room for all this in the paper, so here's what Nellie said, followed by Al's response.
Nellie:
"Al wants to be traded, everybody knows that, and we would like to oblige him. We'd like to get a good player for him. And he's playing like he's unhappy. I kind of feel for the guy because he doesn't want to be here and it's probably very difficult to really gear up and play up to his abilities.
"I made a deal with him that I was going to play him as many minutes as he wanted. When he surprised me with going public with wanting to be traded, it made it pretty difficult for me. And he hasn't been playing well to go along with it, so we might as well start making the change now.
"I think the people in the league know he's a good player and if there's a trade to be made there, we'll make it. But our frontline is young and some of the guys are on the bench a lot. Brandan is ready to play more. So I'm going to play him. And I hope I'm not breaking my word, but I've kind of been forced to change the way I go about playing time with Al.
"I just thought there'd be enough minutes between the 4 and the 3 that I wouldn't have to worry about it, but if he's not going to be here anyway in the future, we might as well start to think about bringing some of these younger guys along.
"Now, I'm only going to bring along the guys that are ready to play in an NBA game, don't get me wrong. As I said before the game, Brandan is ready. I've held him back a few games where he probably should have played. But it's to the point now that we know that he's going to be a member of our team and Al isn't, so we have to face reality and go with it.
"I think Al will be traded, but we got to wait til we get the right deal for him. In the meantime, I have to bring his replacement along. I don't know what player we're going to receive from him. It could be any position, one through five, it just needs to be a good player, that's all."
Harrington:
"I'm a B. Wright fan, so as long as he's playing well, I'm happy for him. ... We went to the bench and the bench was a huge lift. Nights like that, you got to take your hats off to them and let them guys rock. I'm proud of the bench. They did a great job.
"Whatever's my future's my future. But when I'm playing a game, I'm going to play as hard as I can, regardless of how many minutes it is."
| Nov 05 at 11:50 PM
Monday, November 03, 2008
Corey Maggette update: Strained LEFT hamstring
From Janny Hu in Memphis.
Update: Maggette was out warming up at halftime and will start the third quarter ...
Corey Maggette left tonight's game at the end of the first quarter with a mild strain of his left hamstring. The Warriors aren't sure if he'll return.
Of note: This is Maggette's other hammy. He missed time in the preseason with a strained right hamstring.
| Nov 03 at 05:51 PM
New-look Nuggets could debut against the Warriors
From Janny Hu in Memphis.
The Warriors' first game back home after this three-game road trip might've gotten a lot more interesting.
On Wednesday, they'll host a Nuggets team that just sent Allen Iverson to Detroit for Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess.
There's no guarantee the new guys will be in uniform by then, since players have 72 hours to report, but either way, there's something for the Warriors to look forward to:
They'll either get Game One of the Billups-Melo era, or get the Nuggets shorthanded.
Your thoughts on the AI-Billups trade?
| Nov 03 at 02:43 PM
