Nelson talks again, but not about O’Bryant, Diogu or Biedrins (again)
Open mind. I go into the Warriors’ Don Nelson Era II with an open mind. I swear I do. Bigger than open mind, because Nelson’s a slam-dunk great NBA coach with a track record of constantly improving his weirdly assembled teams.
But Nelson gave another interview recently, this time with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat’s Lowell Cohn, and if Nelson mentioned the names of any of the Warriors’ last three first-round picks (all brought in with major doses of hope), Lowell didn’t print it.
And Lowell knows his stuff, as any Bay Area sports fan surely understands. I grew up reading Lowell.
Anyway, I’ve interviewed Nelson. Dave Newhouse of the Oakland Tribune (and the MediaNews empire) has interviewed him. Now Lowell.
And in those interviews, from what I’ve read, Nelson always brings up–of course–his plans to make Mike Dunleavy a ball-handler from the power forward spot.
Nelson always mentions that Troy Murphy is his center (me: ugh). Nelson talks about Baron Davis’ importance, mentions Jason Richardson, occasionally talks about Mickael Pietrus and Monta Ellis.
But he only mentioned the 7-foot O’Bryant to me when I asked about him (top pick 2006) specifically, and Nelson didn’t seem enthused. In fact, he said he doesn’t mind 7-footers as long as they play like Dirk Nowitzki. Which, I added in case Nellie was wondering, O’Bryant does not.
And nowhere else does he mention Diogu (top pick 2005) or Biedrins (top pick 2004).
So I have an open mind. But I’m not going to be naive here, and Warrior fans shouldn’t either. Maybe Chris Mullin’s being a little naive, but he understands what he has just done by hiring Nelson at this late date.
Forget about O’Bryant as a Warrior. He’ll ride the bench, then they’ll start thinking about trading him.
Worry about Diogu as a Warrior. He’ll get some time, but Nelson will get frustrated with him because he doesn’t shoot well enough and he was brought in specifically to play Mike Montgomery low-post offense. They’ll have to start thinking about trading Diogu soon, too.
And be concerned about Biedrins. He’ll probably get the most time of the Invisible Trio, but he does stuff that will annoy the heck out of Nelson, and his shooting range is about 6 inches.
It’s hard to pull the opponent center out of the lane if Biedrins is the guy he’s guarding. Or Diogu.
You tell me where the playing time is for any of these three guys. It’s all back-up minutes, if at all.
That’s three years of high drafts, gone, unless Mullin can get something out of them. All because Mullin–who could be right–wanted to maximize the previous picks of Dunleavy and Murphy, who were already signed to huge bucks and couldn’t be moved in a trade.
I have an open mind. But I have a closed mind about wasted talented and wasted money.
Why not trade all three (Biedrins, Diogu, and O’Bryant) along with Richardson to the Sixers for Iverson? I don’t think the Sixers would take back Baron, but I’m sure they would take Richardson. Plus now they have three younger big guys to develop behind Dalembert and Webber.
True, Baron and Iverson could turn into a major headache, but that’s one reason why Nellie was brought in–to manage egos. I mean if you’re the Warriors you are trading away (according to you and apparently Nelson) three guys who will never see the light of day so it’s basically a trade between Richardson, a player who will always be a step below super star, and one of the top 5 players in the league. Anytime you have a chance to get somebody of Iverson’s talent, you have to go for it.
The Sixers now have a Louis Williams and Jason Richardson backcourt, Iguodala and Carney at the 3, Webber anchoring the 4 this year (before he’s traded away next summer), and Dalembert at the 5 with Biedrins and Diogu backing them up. That’s a young, athletic, exciting lineup (with the obvious exception of Webber but let’s face it, fixing the Sixers will take more than one trade).
Thoughts?
Are you a Sixers fan, because that is a terrible trade for the Warriors. You end up with 3 guys who need the ball in their hands, Iverson, Baron and Dunleavy. Your left with no one play D on 2 guards, because both Baron and AI are too small and you take minutes away from Monte Ellis’s development. I can’t imagine how you think that trade would improve the Warriors at all. If the Warriors are to trade their young bigs it should be to get either an athletic big that can reboud, run the floor and fill the lane or a perimeter sharp shooter to fit into the run and gun system Nellie is going to implement. I think AB could actually do well for the Warriors rebounding and running the floor. Also look for Cabarkpa to play a bigger role next season. He’s long, runs the floor well, can handle the ball a little and shot some too. When Baron first came and they were allowed to play uptempo he played his best ball.
I must be missing something when it comes to AI. Why is it that everyone thinks this guy - who shoots about 38% from the floor, holds the ball way too much, and never involves teammates - is one of the top 5 players in the league? He’s around 30 years old, small, and thus more injury prone than ever, and slowing down - the death of quick guards. He’s a smaller, weaker, older Baron Davis
Tim,
It seems Nelson has emphasized Murphy, Dunleavy and Baron in his comments so far. This could mean that your trio (AB, Ike and O’Bryant) amongst others, are going to ride pine and perhaps get traded. This bothers me because I am particularly down on Murphy, and moderately pessimistic about Dunleavy and Davis doing much to help the Warriors win. Pre-Nelson, it was clear that the team’s hopes, if they had any, were to see improvement and increased minutes from Ike, AB and Monta. Post-Nelson, I am relieved to have a new coach and a unique expert who I am confident will see the NBA truth of this roster, according to the Nelso style. Could it be though, Nelson is helping to sell the unsellable? Nobody in the league wants Murphy, Dunleavy or Davis and their ridiculous contracts. I just want to propose that the Warrior situation, helped by Mullin’s contracts, has become so pathetic that Nelson understands that undoing is his first priority. Are we seeing the beginning of a Nelson-led snow job, with the intent of finding new homes for a number of players deemed expensive based on poor ability or production? If I were GM, I would consider such a thing.
Nelson hasn’t mention JRich yet either, so I guess he’s not in Nellie’s plans either? I wouldn’t assume that. Let’s not jump to any conclusions.
Nelson always misdirects the media. I sense trades of these very players he’s praising in the media to pump up their value. At least some. You can never tell with Nelson. I think he’s a great mentor for Chris Mullin. Someone needs to teach Mullin the dirty tricks. Mullin is too nice and trusting so far. He doesn’t have to be evil, just clever. The Baron trade was a clever trade. I think he’ll be fine, especially with Nelson’s mentoring.
At worst, Troy Murphy at center and Mike Dunleavy at power forward should be a heck of a lot of fun to watch. It’ll be interesting seeing what changes Don Nelson tries to make in Baron Davis’ game. Can you teach a getting-old dog new tricks?
Nellie must be getting old…”not liking seven footers?”….everyone but him knew Shawn Bradley was a stiff…..Prediction: Look for a big trade, even if it appears unbalanced….this man is creative….
Ok, yes maybe the defensive aspect of Iverson and Baron would not be good, but the team isn’t going to be playing defense anyway! And when/why does Dunleavy need the ball? He just stands in the corner waiting for someone to throw it to him.
And Matthew, I’m not sure where you get your stats from. Iverson shooting “about 38%”? Well last year he shot 45% (the year before 42%, career 42%) and also has had 7.5 and 8 assists the last two years. Slowing down? He’s still one of the quickest guys in the league! Last year he averaged 33 a game shooting 45%. Kobe Bryant averaged 35 a game shooting 45%.
Those are 3 heckuva players. If only i were still GM.
Hi Tim,
Nice article. Muprhy at C will be a disaster. The Warriors need some big playing close to the rim for offensive rebounds. What is the purpose of having your Center playing on perimeter if your PF (Dunleavy) will spend most of his time there as well?
In addition, the Warrios need some form of a rim protection, and with Murphy there it will be very frastrating for the fans to watch it. How about AB/Foyle/Taft to share minutes at C? Bring Murphy off the bench for a PF/C spot.
Regards,
Charlie
Charlie & Tim,
Murphy at C won’t be a disaster. He’s better than Big Vic in EVERY aspect! Remember, the Warriors will win games by outscoring the opponenents, not by playing defense.
Murphy at C and Dunleavy at PF will be a defensive sieve. I’m convinced the two cannot co-exist as starting forwards either. Dunleavy will be a much better fit for what Nellie is trying to impliment.
Murphy is a slow, unathletic black hole whom the W’s should try and dump ASAP.
With Nellie I think the C position will be utilized for
defense only. I think Biedrins has Camby like potential
on the defensive end and people need to remember he is
still very young. On offense he can be pulled away from
the bucket sort of like Manute Bol was.
As for Ike he can score in the low post but the rest of
his game is marginal. I don’t see him as a good fit for
Nellie’s system and it might be a good idea to trade him while he still has value. If the Raptors can part
with Charlie V, then the Warriors can part with Ike.
A player who gets no mention who would be a good fit at
C is Chris Taft. He has an NBA body, is athletic and he
should be a plus defender. If healthy I think he can be
a productive rotation player at the very least because
Foyle is garbage.
Also the fact that Monta Ellis is getting little mention reeks of a snow job. This kid was as impressive
as Arenas was at a younger age. I think he will be the
Warriors combo guard and he is a perfect fit for Nellie’s system. Plus if Baron gets injured I’d much rather give him PT than McCleod.
So my lineup would be:
Biedrins/Taft/Foyle
Dunleavy/Ike
Pietrus
Richardson/Ellis
Baron/Ellis
I would try and trade Murphy and his contract for sure
and possibly Ike. If they can get a good PF in return,
then move Dunleavy to SF and Pietrus to the bench.