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[h1]Not Blowing Smoke[/h1]
Janny Hu, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, June 2, 2008
Warriors coach Don Nelson leaned against the rooftop railing, smoking a cigar and watching the traffic below. A month in Maui had given him a slimmer, tanner profile, and Nelson looked as relaxed as ever as he explained his decision to return for another season with Golden State.
"I got the chance to rest a little bit, think about it, and wanted to come back," Nelson said through a puff of smoke. "It wasn't that hard. I just needed to get away for a few weeks. I'm ready for more action."
With that, the 68-year-old coach was back at the Warriors' practice facility in downtown Oakland on Monday, his first official day of work since informing team officials two weeks ago that he would indeed serve out the final year of his $5.1 million contract.
It will be his 29th season on the sidelines, and Nelson, who needs just 53 wins to surpass Lenny Wilkens as the NBA's all-time winningest coach, wouldn't rule out coaching beyond next season.
"If they're happy and I'm happy, we might do it more, you know? Larry Brown's older than me and just took a four-year job," Nelson said.
Nelson's slate Monday included checking in with Monta Ellis and lunching with vice president Chris Mullin. The team will begin working out potential draft prospects Wednesday and continue to bring in players over the next three weeks.
Golden State has the 14th overall pick in the June 26 draft, and Nelson said the Warriors have no plans to trade their selection. He believes the draft is deeper and bigger than a year ago, and made no secret of his desire to add a big man to his roster.
"If we like a guy a lot, it won't matter, but if we had our druthers, we'd like a guy that can play and plays up front," Nelson said.
Though he assumes that Baron Davis and the rest of the Warriors' core will be back, Nelson also admits that the new season will indeed bring a new philosophy. Youngsters Brandan Wright and Marco Belinelli, who rarely played during their rookie year, have already begun working out in Oakland again, and Nelson insists they will be worked into the rotation.
"Last year, we were very single-minded in trying to make the playoffs. It's what the organization wanted to do, to make the playoffs again, and we tried to do that and we failed," he said. "Part of my job next year is to bring these guys along, and if it costs us some games, which it probably will, then that's what it'll do.
"I'll have to prepare myself mentally for that, but I think it's the right thing to do. They're to future of the team."
Nelson will remain based in Oakland for the next two months, interrupting his coaching duties only for his arbitration case with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
The litigation is scheduled for June 24 in Dallas with more than $6 million at stake.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/02/SP6D111S3G.DTL
i'llto that.
but let's see how much weight this holds when the season comes around.
"Last year, we were very single-minded in trying to make the playoffs. It's what the organization wanted to do, to make the playoffs again, and we tried to do that and we failed," he said. "Part of my job next year is to bring these guys along, and if it costs us some games, which it probably will, then that's what it'll do.
Nellie will never let that go... it should work out later on in the season and save us games.