Delete.

Originally Posted by FRANCHISE 55

I really don't think Bosh is a franchise player. I see him more as a great second option a la Pau Gasol.
And Biedrins would be a great 5th option on a team. Dude has no offensive game and it's hard to envision that ever changing.
Even having Bosh for 1 season would be worth it. Especially since the Warriors have a clone in Randolph that could learn a lot from him. Even if it'sonly for one season.
 
Even though that would be true about AR learning from Bosh...it was reported that the raptors turned down a trade of beans and AR for him. Totally defeats thepurpose of having him for 1year. haha
 
Hey while we're at it, maybe we could convince ATL that they won't get anywhere with Joe Johnson and that they need pure offense in Jamal Crawford anda young up and coming player like BWright.


I don't want any part of Bosh, that guy is incredibly overrated. I don't think for an extra 5m we're going to get this stellar offensive productionfrom Bosh when we don't run anything inside anyway.
 
imo, bosh doesnt fit at all.
alot of good trades coming up, but theres still a log jam everywhere you go.
joel+blake would be perfect for this team. a true 5, with a real PG playing the run and gun offense.
joel would be hard to trade since oden hasn't developed as they wish they he would have, but steve blake is def. expendable, but his contract is big moneyfor portland. if im not mistaken, broy contract ends in 2010. they better save up some $$ to keep him.
 
fyi, riley is having his press conference.
http://www.nba.com/playoffs2009/live1/


"our goal is a winning basketball team". .....shouldn't it be to win the chip?
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Originally Posted by NothingToL0se

TK just went in HARD on rowell


Where's this on? KNBR?

edit:
Nvm.. I think its on the link you posted. Too bad I don't have sound on my work comp.
 
This lame Rowell kept saying the "W's only been to the playoffs once in the past 5 years".

We've only been to the playoffs once in the past 15 seasons
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[h1][/h1]
[h1]Mullin knew his days were numbered[/h1]

Published: Monday, May 11, 2009 at 6:52 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, May 11, 2009 at 6:52 p.m.

Does anyone in his right mind think the Warriors will be better now that Chris Mullin is officially gone?

External Links:

The Warriors, for a short while an improved franchise under Mullin, now have regressed to the danger level, the bad level, and are bottom dwellers as organizations go, along with the Raiders and A's.

I phoned Mullin on his super-secret cell a couple of weeks ago just to say hello. We've known each other since his first day in the league as a player and we grew up in the same neighborhood. We are familiar with each other and comfortable in each other's company, and it struck me as odd that he didn't call me back.

I thought something was up but let the thought go and got on with my life. Now I wish I had been more persistent.

Sometimes he and I have lunch at Barney's, the burger joint on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland. It's a Brooklyn kind of place and we feel at home there. The last time we ate at Barney's, Mullin was surprisingly upbeat. I knew he was history with the Warriors and he knew he was history and he was smiling and chipper. I asked if he wanted to stay with the team and he said, no, that would be impossible. And then he said the most touching thing, and from my point of view, the saddest thing.

"It would not be good for me to stay there."

I don't have any special insight into human nature, but when he said it wouldn't be good for him, I took him to mean it would not be good for his health and well-being.

Mullin, as you know, has battled personal issues and won. He is a model of propriety and he's a gentleman and you can trust him and believe in him. And he was saying, I thought, the Warriors organization, the toxic culture that has evolved there, is harmful to a reasonable person's health.

What an indictment. He also was saying, if I understood him correctly, it would be better for him and his family if he and the Warriors severed their connection.

He told me he would leave at the end of June when his contract expired.

"I'll let it run out and then I'll just go away," he said.

So, for the Warriors to write a release Monday, stating they won't renew Mullin's contract, gives me a laugh. Mullin never wanted it renewed. He wanted out. He wanted his life back.

At that lunch - we both had burgers and I had a Coke and he had seltzer - I asked: "Do you hang around with Don Nelson?"

"No," Mullin said. "He drinks and smokes. I can't be around that."

Mullin said those words and it was like I saw through them to the depth of his soul. He had brought back Nelson to the team - out of respect, Mullin still calls him "Coach" - because he has been a hell of a coach.

Nelson isn't any more. But the idea that they were close, that they socialized, as outsiders like us might imagine, always was false. Nelson, just by his lifestyle, is harmful to Mullin's health. Mullin brought him back, not to be with a friend, but because he admired Nelson's ability and thought he was good for the team.

Maybe Nelson would have been good for the team. He would have been good if the team kept him under its thumb. Nelson needs to feel subservient and needy to perform.

Nelson asked for a contract extension before the 2008-2009 season and Mullin advised the Warriors not to grant it. Let Nelson finish the contract he already had. If the Warriors gave him another two years just like that, Nelson might not feel as hungry. And that's exactly how it played out, lazy Nelson ceding defensive duties to assistant coach Keith Smart - outrageous.

Team president Robert Rowell - Bobby - granted the extension and it was an unwise business move. Rowell, I believe, gets manipulated by people who kiss up to him. He is a silly executive. Nelson charmed him, charmed him over Mullin's head, and look where that led.

Stephen Jackson charmed him and got a whopping extension that Mullin didn't like. And look where that led.

Mullin wanted to extend Baron Davis, but Rowell dithered and delayed and lost Davis because, I believe, Rowell thought Davis didn't like him. In other words, did not kiss up. And look where that led.

The principal complaint the Warriors had against Mullin was this. They saw him as a players' executive. He always would see things from the players' point of view, not from management's. This is not true, never was.

Mullin was a great player and understands players. The Warriors believed he wanted to be soft on Monta Ellis after the moped accident. This always was a lie. Mullin wanted to dock part of his salary and discipline him. But he didn't want to levy one of the largest fines in league history. He advised proportion. This infuriated Rowell so much he called out Mullin to the media one Saturday night last preseason, called him out when no one even had asked about Mullin, called Mullin out when Mullin wasn't there to defend himself. The Warriors portrayed Mullin as weak, as having the wrong priorities, but Rowell is the weak one with the wrong priorities.

In the past year, the Warriors treated Mullin shabbily. They ignored his advice, marginalized him and embarrassed him. Mullin took all this without lashing out. Rowell runs the show now with no opposition. He is shortsighted and he takes things personally, a tragic flaw in a businessman. Look where Rowell's stewardship has led. It has led the Warriors to a place called No Hope.
 
Damn, I missed the press conference. Hopefully there's some replay or something.

And the lottery is on the 19th (of this month) and the draft is June 25th.
 
Originally Posted by dont be a menace

so what did TK say?
Here's TKs transcript. I didn't read it. *@%@'s too long
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Quick highlights before I get to the nitty-gritty:
* Don Nelson was such a huge issue and will always be a huge issue, which Rowell and Riley acknowledged by individually launching long Nellie's-just-the-coach soliloquys before any question was asked.

Here's the weirdest part, spun by Riley.

"But this stuff of, you know, 'Don Nelson's running the organization." I talked to him again last night.

"He told me over and over and over again, 'I have no interest in being general manager. I want to coach the team. That's what I've got left. And that's what I want to do.' We're very comfortable with each other, obviously."

Umm, Larry you JUST GOT THE JOB. And you still had to hear Nelson tell you he didn't really want the job? Why was Nelson even bringing it up if it's not an issue?

Except it is an issue, of course. So much of an issue that Rowell and Riley couldn't stop referring to it-and denying it-for an hour today.

Yeah, that sounds like it's going to work out just fine.

* Rowell seemed awfully proud of his line, directing blame at Chris Mullin, about one playoff berth in Mullin's five-year reign was "not acceptable." (Then I guess he repeated it later with KNBR friends.)

I didn't expect any kind of real RR answer when I asked him if he and Chris Cohan had any personal accounability, since Rowell had been in a leadership position for about nine years and Cohan has owned the team for 15 and the Warriors have had only one playoff berth in their LONGER tenures.

And they've obviously got more power to change things than Mullin ever had, since they just fired him. Err, replaced him.

Didn't get any kind of RR answer, of course, other than him swiftly pointing out that he has only been team president for six seasons. RR gives himself an official 1-for-6, which is OK, though he ousted Mullin theoretically for a 1-for-5.

Except…

- Rowell has been president for six seasons (ONE playoff berth);

- Before that, Rowell was the team's chief operating officer for two years (and if you want the team's own PR on that reign, it credits him as hiring Mullin during that period);

-Rowell was the team's VP for business operations for two years before that.

That actually adds up to 10 total seasons of Rowell power, and one playoff berth. Yeah, just not acceptable, is it?

And Cohan: owner for 15 seasons, ONE playoff berth. Excellent job, there, guys. Glad you could blame Mullin. (Who's the next scapegoat? What quality person would even bother to try to save them?)

* If you know the situation, you heard Rowell trickle out his real reason for removing Mullin: Communication. That's a big problem with the Warriors and Mullin naturally was not exempt or alone in that.

Rowell sees Riley as a nice guy who can talk to everybody, which Riley might be able to do. That's not exactly the best qualification to be a GM, but I guess Nelson and Rowell provide all the required plotting and back-stabbing.

Rowell is telling people he wants it to be more "focused on the players," though I'm not sure what that means. Does that mean NOT having his full-page picture on page 4 of the 2009-2010 media guide?

Can't wait.

* Once again, I need to point out the Warriors' puny insistance that Riley and Rowell would only address formal question-no individual answers in a more casual setting, which is usually when you get the best answers, as Al Davis knows so well.

That means that Rowell doesn't trust himself in that situation, and he doesn't trust Riley, either. Strong start, fellahs.

--OK, to the transcript from the ROWELL/RILEY press conference at Oracle. I chopped out more than I usually do, but they do go prattling on for long bits and I couldn't type it all…

-ROWELL INTRO: First of all, I would like to thank Chris Mullin for his last seven years of service for the Golden State Warriors organization…

I also want to thank our Warrior fans for their commitment and passion to this organization. They deserve better than what we've been able to deliver over the course of the last several seasons and we are committed to doing whatever it takes to win.

Ownership and Mr. Cohan have committed to providing us with the resources and are steadfast in doing so. Our goal is to win. Our goal is to be in the playoffs. Our entire organization's committed to that.

We want to be playing basketball next May in this arena.

We've been to the playoffs one time in the last five years and that's not acceptable. Our fans deserve better than that and we deserve the opportunity to get out there and win basketball games. And we're going to do that.

We've committed too many resources over the course of the last several years not to do so. We're going to continue to commit those resources and we're going to expect that we win and that we provide our fans with the best entertainment and product on the floor.

This is a team that I think the focus here needs to go back on the players. Our players are the most important part of what we do. Our players win games, they make baskets, they defend. They help everyone do their job and our players need to be the focus of where we're going as we move forward.

I'm here to formally introduce Larry Riley as the general manager of the Golden State Warriors. And I know a lot of you are probably sitting there going, 'Well geez, this is just Don Nelson's buddy. This is the guy who's put in a position to be Nellie's puppet.'

I've got to tell you, this is a gentleman I've had an opportunity to work with for the last three years. Spent a lot of time over the course of this last season and I have a lot of respect for him.

You've got to understand that I've got a 69-year-old head coach, in fact, he'll be 69 on Friday. He's been in the league for 45 years. He's got over 30 years of experience as a coach. He's got a .565 winning percentage. He's going to be the winningest coach in the NBA with 24 wins next season.

And of course, yes, he's quirky he's unconventional, he's stubborn. He hates to lose. But he's a heckuva coach.

So when I'm looking at a person that I want to put in position to be our general manager, to lead our organization, I need someone that understands our coach and understands what's necessary in order for us too provide him the tools to win…

I need someone who can communicate to our entire staff. I need someone who can talk to our players and to our coaches and to manage people. I need someone who knows what it's like to be the best team in the Western Conference, someone who isn't going to sacrifice tomorrow for today and develop young players. Someone who doesn't like to lose, as well, and someone who understands the way we play.

Larry Riley has been an assistant with Don Nelson for eight seasons. He's worked with Don for eight of the last nine seasons. Prior to that, he spent 12 years with two organizations where he was charged with building a roster, scouting players and managing people. This is the right guy to be our general manager. I'd like to present Larry Riley as the general manager of the Golden State Warriors.

-LARRY RILEY INTRO: First off, I'd like to express my gratitude to Chris Cohan and Robert Rowell and to the Warriors organization as a whole for showing the kind of confidence that they have shown in me and giving me this opportunity to go to work and be involved in an organization that I think has the potential to just be a very good one.

I've worked in three organizations. Milwaukee was a good organization, there's no question about that. I worked in Vancouver-I'll address that one in a minute because that one didn't go quite so well. If any of you are thinking about going to work for an expansion team, uh, look for something else. There's a better way.

And then of course I was in Dallas and worked with Nellie in Dallas for several years… Made the trek from Dallas out here with Nellie in a car, actually his truck, driving in that two-day thing that people have heard about where all we did was smoke cigars, chew tobacco and listen to George Jones…

I'm not nervous about this job. Some of you may think, 'Well, who is this guy? Where's he coming from? Does he really know what he's doing?' I don't have a problem with that.

Now it's up to you as people who evaluate, as people who try to report accurately, and I assume that most of you do. You'll make your judgments as you go along. I'm in a position right now where I've been thrust into a situation where I'm going to required to make decisions and I don't have any problems with doing that…

We're going to take an approach to the next season that we're going back after a playoff position and we're going to be in the chase and that we're going to make it real. We are not that far away…

I'm no longer an assistant coach. I'm going to sit upstairs and I'm going to make some decisions that will be popular in some instances and unpopular in others. I don't care about that. We will collect information and we will make decisions.

If you look at the Utah franchise, for an example. Everybody says, well, they had John Stockton, Karl Malone and Ok, greatness comes along with that. Well, when those guys were gone, that system was able to stay in place and get back to being one of the models that you see in the NBA that's successful.

Have an older coach in Jerry Sloan. They have a general manager in Kevin O'Connor who's not afraid to make decisions. And they have business people who are involved in their decisions as well.

This is an approach that I think we are going to have to take. It's an approach I'm going to take. Which is consulting with Nellie, with Robert Rowell on the business end of things, collecting information from out scouts, assistant coaches, and making decisions.

Some of you are going to say, Robert just said it, 'Riley's a puppet.' That's already out there. We were joined at the hip when we came here. Let's not fool anybody about that nonsense.

Now, does Nellie dictate my life? No. Is he a good friend? Yes. Do I listen to him? Yes. If I have to make a counter-decision, I'll make it, based on the information I collect. I don't see that happening.

Some of you say, 'Well, good luck.' I understand that. But this stuff of, you know, 'Don Nelson's running the organization." I talked to him again last night.

He told me over and over and over again, 'I have no interest in being general manager. I want to coach the team. That's what I've got left. And that's what I want to do.' We're very comfortable with each other, obviously.

There's always going to be a lot of talk about the attachment between me, Del Harris and Don Nelson. Some of it's accurate. Some of it that I've seen is not accurate at all. But that's the kind of thing that doesn't make that much difference…

Now when you come out of here, you may say, 'Well, Riley didn't say anything except we know now that he's mastered the obvious.' Well, OK, so be it. We have a draft to conduct this summer and I'm not going to be discussing draft picks, nobody does that, anyway.

I don't mind telling you we will have failed if we don't get to the playoffs before I'm done here. And if we don't get to the playoffs soon, I won't be here that long. We all know that. And that's OK. That's what this business is all about.

We're going to get to the playoffs soon. And we're going to continue to play exciting basketball, and we're going to give our fans some real enjoyment as we go forward.

-Q: What made you so confident that Riley could move from assistant coach to GM in this short time?

-ROWELL: Over the course of the last three years, I've gotten an opportunity to watch Larry. You probably don't know this, but he's been instrumental in our D-League findings.

And I think that's one of his strengths, to be able to find talent, young skill, have a good feel as to who will fit into our system and play Nellie's style of basketball. I think it has resulted in some pretty favorable decisions on our part. I think we've done one of the better jobs in the league in the D-League.

Also, his communication style. There's a way in which he interacts with our staff and in which he interacts with our players. This is a people business. We've got 14, 15 guys on our roster, we need to be able to talk to them…

I think that from our standpoint… he's the right fit.

-Q: Will you add to your front-office staff? Where does Larry Harris fit in that?

-RILEY: All of that stuff has been under the process of evaluation… We're close to making some decisions on that. Obviously, this is the first day. But have we been thinking about it? Sure we have. And I have some ideas that are not conclusive yet, but it will not take long before they become conclusive.

You asked specifically about Larry Harris. I don't know what his role will be as we go into the future. Most of you know that he played for me at Eastern New Mexico University and there's another tie back to Del Harris. You know, it kind of looks like a family thing.

But the guy has value. There's no question that he understands the league and understands the NBA. There's several people in the organization that are being evaluated and we're close to making some decisions on.

-Q: Will you have final say on the draft?

-RILEY: Yes. Robert and I have had discussions on that. I'll make basketball decisions. He'll be involved in business decisions and we'll come together on that. Somebody will come back and say, 'Who has the hammer, who has the clout?'

We've been able to work through that this last winter for example in trades that could've happened and didn't, for whatever reason.

But I'll make the draft picks and I'll make the trade decisions and I will seek input from everybody that I can get to within reason.

-Q: Can you explain the timing of this-why now, not earlier or later?

-ROWELL: That's kind of an ironic question. I've spent… first of all, decisions like this are not easy to make. Seven years ago I worked pretty hard to bring Chris back into the organization here. Any time you deal with situations that affect people that you have developed friendships and relationships with, it makes it tough. But this also is a business…

Decisions aren't made quickly… You take your time. And you do the right thing. And you don't just do things because people think you should be doing things the way they want you to be doing them.

-Q: Is Mullin still working for the team through July 1?

-ROWELL: He has some responsibilities right now. In fact, he's working on something for me right now as we speak. We had a great meeting last week and I laid out some things that I'd like him to do. He was very amicable. I wish Chris nothing but the absolute best and will do whatever I have to do and can do to help him in his quest for his next position.

-Q: Will he be involved in the draft?

-ROWELL: He's with us through June 30.

-Q: You've dropped the executive VP title. What's the reason for that?

-ROWELL: I think it's 50-50 across the league, if you take a look at what you call the person in that position. And really, titles are just titles. It's the functions and the duties and the responsibilities of that particular position that are important. There really wasn't a whole lot of thought on my end, other than this gentleman next to me is going to be our next general manager.

-Q: You said one playoff berth in five seasons is not acceptable. For you, it's about one in nine. For Chris Cohan, it's been one in 15. At what point is the responsibility put on your shoulders or your owner's?

-ROWELL: Sure. Good question. This is my sixth season as president of the organization. (TK: He was chief operating officer for two years prior to that and VP-business operations for two years before that. That's 10 total years as a Cohan's top business bigwig.)

And I'm accountable on a daily basis to how we perform and how we do business. And there's no one that likes to lose and no one that takes it harder than I take it.

As far as my accountability, I've judged and evaluated by my boss. And he has a set of criteria that he obviously uses.

As far as one in five years not being acceptable… three years ago, we had the eighth-best record in the West. Two years ago we had the ninth-best record in the West. Last year we had the 10th-best record in the West. And our fans deserve better than that and we're going to fix that. That's my job, that's my charge, and that's why we're going the direction that we're going in and we're focused and committed to winning.

-Q: Where are the season-ticket sales right now? Are they way off? Better than expected?

-ROWELL: Our season-tickets right now are lower than where they were last year. You guys know me well enough, I don't give numbers. Last year we had our highest season-ticket number in franchise history over the last 12 years. We're off, but I also expect us to be back on track by the time we start the season.

-Q: Larry, what's your general plan for the team?

-RILEY: I don't anticipate shaking this team up to the point where you don't recognize it next year. I anticipate maybe one or two moves to give us some help.

We are a very young team. At one time last year we had the youngest roster in the league. I think adding a veteran would be very helpful to us. Obviously we're going to add another young guy in the draft. So there needs to be some balance there, some maturity and some leadership would be very helpful to us.

Needs to be a quality player. It doesn't do any good to go acquire a guy who is older, mature, and going to be your 12th man. I don't see that working for us. It does work sometimes for other teams. But I don't see that working for us.

-Q: Do you see Monta Ellis as a point guard?

-RILEY: That's going to be Nellie's decision. I know he wants to play him there as much as he can next year. It will depend on how things unfold and how training camp goes and also depend on who we might draft or we might trade for. I'm happy Monta at this stage from the standpoint that he's in a good mental state right now. I think he's going to come back without issue…

-Q: Can you talk about how much you agree or disagree with Nelson's style?

-RILEY: The basic philosophy is the same. I embrace the style that Don Nelson has used for years. I think it's the way to play this game to provide the best opportunity for players to show what they can do and then along with that it provides a very entertaining evening of basketball. So far as a system is concerned, we're together of that…

That's the thing I'm comfortable with Nellie about this. Everybody thinks he's going to ram everything down everybody else's throat. And I find him very, very… not easy to work with… but in many instances very flexible.

Now have there been instances where he wanted to do something that I didn't like and it got done anyway? Yeah. Yeah. We've got both sides of that.

-Q: For Larry-do you have the authority to fire Don?

-RILEY: (Laughs.) I haven't even thought it that far.

-Q: To Bobby-does Larry have the authority to fire Don?

-ROWELL: Those are personnel issues and I don't get into that in public.

-Q: Bobby, did you consider any other GM candidates?

-ROWELL: Yes.

-Q: What was the timing?

-ROWELL: Throughout the year.

-Q: Who were the candidates?

-ROWELL: Again, my list is going to remain my list.

-Q: Were they outside the organization?

-ROWELL: Yes.

-Q: You've got a 69-year-old coach, yet the players who form the core of your roster probably won't be in their primes for another few years. Have you thought about how the future of this team can be directed by him?

-ROWELL: I wish I had a crystal ball to tell you exactly how long Nellie wants to continue to coach and how long we want him to continuing to coach past the next two seasons.

What I can say is we're going to play the style of basketball that we're playing and that we have played and will continue to play, moving forward under Don, and if and when we decide to make changes and or groom new people into a potential position as a coach, we're going to have the same philosophy in mind.

-Q: This wasn't just a personnel move, this was the removal of a Bay Area icon in Chris Mullin… Do you worry about the credibility of your organization when you axe someone the fans loved?

-ROWELL: We didn't axe anyone.

-Q: Removed.

-ROWELL: He was under contract and it expired. He fulfilled his obligations under his contract and we appreciate that. And in business you have to make decisions and when you make those decisions and you move forward. And I think I outlined earlier as to why we made those decisions, to make a move and go in a different direction.

As far as our credibility's concerned, we have to win. Bottom line, this organization needs to win basketball games and to put a product out there that wins games. And until it wins games, you can always have that question in your mind.

-Q: Larry's a pretty unknown guy. Is there a worry about not having a higher-profile guy in that job?

-ROWELL: It's an interesting question, but I will also tell you, and I don't know how many people know this, but the gentleman who was the executive of the year this year in the NBA was Mark Warkentein, from Denver. You don't need to be a big name per se to do a good job. And Mark has, like Larry, a lot of years of experience. Some being the No. 2, some being the No. 1.

And in this business, you've got to get a chance to be No. 1, and that's Larry's opportunity right now. He's got a chance to seize that.
 
Cliffnotes: Riley is a Rowell guy who will tow the company line. Didn't want to hire somebody who would have independent thought which is why Mullin gotshown the door. Franchise needs somebody like that. Not really a good hire as he's been in the league 20 years and has nothing to show for it. You wouldthink somebody who's been in the league 20 years would have something on his resume that stands out. A track record of some sorts. Other GM's know togo to Nelly if a deal wants to be done. Riley wouldn't have gotten hired as a GM by any other team in the league.
 
Acid!

Enough is enough, dude. Call that girl up and TELL her both of you are going out for drinks tonight. Non-negotiable. You'll pick her up at 8:15.
 
Originally Posted by Dr 715

Acid!

Enough is enough, dude. Call that girl up and TELL her both of you are going out for drinks tonight. Non-negotiable. You'll pick her up at 8:15.
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Not happening today, I have a midterm tomorrow I need tostudy for...Thursday, maybe...maybe.
 
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