The Sacramento Bee (Scott Howard-Cooper) writes: Don Nelson has the look and sound of someone trying to get fired. This comes as no surprise to those who know him well: thrive in the underdog role, scuttle the ship when people get excited for a genuine payoff. Except that, now, the timing is curious even by his standards. He signed a two-year, $12 million extension in October, set to begin after the current deal expires with $5 million due this season. One of Nellie’s closest friends, Larry Riley, was moved from the bench to the front office to handle personnel matters in place of titular head Chris Mullin. Nelson is entirely in position to be at the intersection of everything that goes on with the Warriors, without having to get bogged down in management minutiae. There is no such thing as shocking in the Nelson world, but quitting and walking away from $12 million would qualify. No one expects that to happen. Moving himself into the line of fire to become the seventh coach to get the ax, that’s another story. He would get a sizable payoff and the freedom to swing a new deal elsewhere, if he suddenly feels tough enough again.
Category: Golden State Warriors Blog
Warriors blog -Golden State Warriors blog
Dec 23: Heat 96, Warriors 88
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade had 32 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Daequan Cook scored 15 of his 20 points to spark a second-quarter comeback, and the Heat matched last season’s win total by beating the injury-depleted Golden State Warriors 96-88 on Tuesday night. Udonis Haslem scored 16 points and Shawn Marion finished with a Heat season-high 16 rebounds as Miami reached the 15-win mark in 27 games—55 fewer than it needed to get there last season as the NBA’s worst team… C.J. Watson scored 18 points for Golden State, which has lost 16 of 19. Kelenna Azubuike scored 16, Brandan Wright added 12 and Anthony Randolph finished with 10 for the Warriors, who got within four points in the final minutes but simply couldn’t stop Wade, who delivered four points and a big assist to Marion with the game on the line.
Dec 22: Magic 113, Warriors 81
The AP reports: Jameer Nelson has elevated his play during the Orlando Magic’s five-game winning streak. Nelson scored 22 points and had seven assists to help the Orlando Magic rout the Golden State Warriors 113-81 on Monday night. Nelson, named NBA Player of the Week for the first time in his career earlier on Monday, was 9-for-9 from the field—including hitting four 3-pointers… Rashard Lewis scored 21 points and Dwight Howard added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic, who held Golden State to just 31.9 percent shooting for the game… Jamal Crawford led the Warriors with 18 points, but was 7-for-21 from the field. Anthony Morrow had 13 points and Marco Belinelli 12 for the Warriors, who lost for the sixth time in the last seven games.
Marco Belinelli getting minutes
The Bay Area News Group (Marcus Thompson II) reports: Finally, guard Marco Belinelli said he has made it to the NBA. Sure, he has been in the league since the Warriors’ drafted him with the No. 18 overall pick in 2007. And he’s certainly collected more than a third of the nearly $5 million he will earn over his first three seasons. But Belinelli said it wasn’t until now that he felt as if he’d arrived. For the first time in his career, he said he feels as if he is part of the team. He’s getting minutes, providing offense and growing with teammates. There’s no telling how long this will last, as the Warriors’ injured players figure to return and Coach Don Nelson’s whims are likely to change. In the meantime, Belinelli is enjoying the experience.
Keith Smart to coach Warriors defense
The Bay Area News Group (Marcus Thompson II) reports: The Warriors have a new defensive coordinator. No, Monte Kiffin will not be joining the bench. Warriors Coach Don Nelson announced after Friday’s 115-99 loss to the Atlanta Hawks that assistant Keith Smart will be a “defensive coordinator” and that assistant Sidney Moncrief will be Smart’s assistant. Nelson said he is relinquishing the defensive duties because he has grown too lax. “I’ve decided to identify one of my weaknesses at this point in my life, which is I’m not tough enough anymore,” Nelson said. “I’m a little soft as I get older, and I feel like I haven’t done a very good job defensively this year. … They will be handling all of the defensive training, the game plans defensively and, during the game, the switching of situations. They’re in charge of the defense now.” Smart and Moncrief will have to start their upgraded roles without arguably the Warriors’ best man-to-man defender as swingman Stephen Jackson’s sprained left hand has forced him out of action again.
Dec 19: Hawks 115, Warriors 99
The AP reports: Expectations are changing for the Atlanta Hawks, who won a game by 16 points and then said it wasn’t good enough. Flip Murray scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to help the Hawks beat the Golden State Warriors 115-99 on Friday night. The Warriors fell to 3-13 on the road with their fifth straight loss overall, but they held slim leads at halftime and after three quarters. The Hawks finally pulled away with a 13-2 run early in the fourth quarter… Marvin Williams led Atlanta with 22 points… Missing injured top scorers Corey Maggette and Stephen Jackson, the Warriors were led by Marco Belinelli’s career-high 27 points. Brandan Wright added a career-high 19 points but Jamal Crawford scored only six points on 3-for-15 shooting from the field.
Warriors waive Richard Hendrix
The Golden State Warriors have waived forward Richard Hendrix, the team announced today. Additionally, the team has transferred guard Monta Ellis from the Suspended List to the Inactive List.
Hendrix, 22, did not appear in any regular-season games with Golden State this season and was assigned to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Developmental League on November 14. In nine games with the Jam, the 6-9 forward is currently averaging 13.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.11 steals and 1.22 blocks in 28.7 minutes per contest. Hendrix was originally selected by the Warriors with the 49th selection in the 2008 NBA Draft.
With today’s transactions, Golden State’s roster currently stands at 15 players.
Dec 17: Pacers 127, Warriors 120
The AP reports: Danny Granger took a major step in his evolution into a team leader with his fourth-quarter effort against Golden State. The Indiana forward scored 41 points in the Pacers’ 127-120 victory Wednesday night. Most important, he scored 13 points in the final 6 1/2 minutes to carry his short-handed team… Jarrett Jack scored 24 points, Marquis Daniels added 23, and rookie Brandon Rush had 10 points and 11 rebounds in his second career start for Indiana. Jamal Crawford scored 29 points, Marco Belinelli had a career-high 21 points, and Andris Biedrins had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Golden State… Indiana played without starters T.J. Ford and Troy Murphy.
Mike Dunleavy happy to be gone from Warriors
The San Francisco Chronicle (Jon Shea) reports: Mike Dunleavy put up career numbers last season and said Wednesday it wouldn’t have happened if he still were a Warrior. “That wasn’t possible out there,” said Dunleavy, referring to Oakland. “It’s no coincidence so many guys who come from Golden State go elsewhere and succeed. The proof is in the pudding. I take responsibility for certain things. You look at guys who went elsewhere after leaving Golden State, they found a way. Whatever that means or says, you could read it through.” Dunleavy hasn’t played this season because of a sore right knee but said he still hopes to play a significant number of games “and pick up where I left off.”
Ex-Warriors GM Dick Vertlieb dies
The San Francisco Chronicle (Tom Fitzgerald) reports: In 1974, general manager Dick Vertlieb pulled off a controversial trade that immediately helped bring the Warriors their only NBA championship since moving west in 1962. He dealt future Hall of Fame center Nate Thurmond to Chicago for center Clifford Ray and $500,000. Ray teamed with Rick Barry to help the Warriors beat Ray’s former team, the Bulls, in the Western Conference finals before sweeping the Washington Bullets in the NBA Finals. Mr. Vertlieb, a passionate, eccentric club executive who left an even bigger mark on the sports landscape in Seattle, died Dec. 5 in Las Vegas after a long bout of stomach cancer. He was 78. He helped found the Portland Trail Blazers and the Seattle SuperSonics. As the Sonics’ first general manager, he tried to negotiate a sale of the Warriors to a group of investors from the Northwest. He failed, but Warriors owner Franklin Mieuli was so impressed that he hired Mr. Vertlieb as GM.