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Frantz: Mullin, Warriors leave well enough alone
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Chris Webber, the Warriors’ prime late-season addition, came with very little risk involved.
SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - It’s not an original thought, but it’s a rather relevant one when looking at the NBA’s Western Conference with just 20 regular season games to play: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Dang straight.
Phoenix general manager Steve Kerr apparently never learned that lesson, but he’s learning one now as his blockbuster deal that brought The Big Albatross, Shaquille O’Neal, to the desert is blowing up in his face.
Dallas owner Mark Cuban always thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room, so he doesn’t need to learn anything — even though his big brainstorm, trading for All-Star guard Jason Kidd, has busted up his team’s continuity and has them on the verge of missing the playoffs a year after posting the best record in the league.
Golden State GM Chris Mullin, on the other hand, has been learning on the job since taking charge of the Warriors, and it’s about time someone puts a gold star next to his name on the class roster, because he is quickly racing to the head of the class.
With every personnel guy in the conference zipping across the country looking for a hired gun to push his team over the top prior to the trading deadline last month, Mullin had to have been feeling the pressure to keep pace. His team was playing exceptional basketball in the ultra-competitive West, and to stand pat while the other contenders bolstered their lineups with new talent must have been agonizing for Mullin. He watched Shaq go to the Suns, Kidd to the Mavs, Pau Gasol to the Lakers, and Kurt Thomas to the Spurs, among others, but instead of giving in to a knee-jerk reaction, he stood strong.
Oh sure, he went and signed Chris Webber off the scrap heap, but Webber is not going to make nor break what the Warriors are trying to accomplish this season, so his presence is negligible at best. But what Mullin didn’t do was pull the trigger on a big deal that would have upset the chemistry on his deep and talented roster just for the sake of keeping up with the Joneses in the West. And given his track record of success in similar mid-season situations, it would have been very easy for the GM to do so.
Three years ago, Mullin brought Baron Davis to Oakland in a winter swap for Speedy Claxton and Dale Davis, and of course, last season he jettisoned Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy in order to bring in the frequently-troubled Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington. Those moves re-made the Warriors’ roster and completely changed the fortunes of a perpetually putrid franchise.
This time, however, Mullin knew that the best play in this high stakes game of Texas hold ’em was folding his cards and keeping his chips in front of him. There was no sense risking the progress that has been made, and for the time being, at least, Don Nelson and his boys have rewarded his faith in them.
While the new-look Suns have gone 4-6 with O’Neal in the lineup, dropping them to 6th place in the West, and the Mavs just 5-5 since adding Kidd, the Warriors have won 7 of their last 10 and are coming off a huge 3-1 East Coast trip capped by a dominating defensive (yes, you read that right: defensive) performance in a win over the East’s 3rd best team, Orlando. In the process, the W’s have put two games of distance between themselves and the Nuggets in the battle for the eighth playoff spot, and are now, amazingly, just ½ game behind those New Kidds in Dallas for the seventh seed.
Can it be possible? Could the Warriors, who pulled off the greatest first round playoff upset in history just one year ago when they shocked top-seeded Dallas, actually return to the playoffs while the Mavericks miss out on the 2008 post-season altogether?
Of course it’s possible. Because the team ain’t broke, so nobody had to fix it.
Sports personality Bob Frantz is a regular contributor to The Examiner. E-mail him at bfrantz@examiner.com.
Comments from Examiner Readers
10:47 PM MST on Tue., Sep. 30, 2008 re: "Steinmetz: Warriors’ nucleus not among best in West"
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Iwi said:
Kings will be a good team
1 agree | 1 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I think that this is a fair summation of the warrior off-season moves. They appear to be one more "star" type player short of the playoffs, and that is assuming Ellis, Biedrins, and Randolph all develop as projected. Hope you are right about Williams at point, because we are asking a lot from Ellis there.
5 agree | 6 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
You neglected to mention Morrow, the free agent who tore up summer league for the Warriors. He was one of the best looking players in the summer league according to those in the know.
7 agree | 6 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
To the guy who wonders why Kosta Perovic didn't play much last year. Kosta was just terrible, he made Zarko look like an All Star.
8 agree | 7 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Do you talk just to hear yourself talk? this is the dumbest peice of no thought crap that you have ever writin and if the refs called games fairly Kobe and company would'nt even have been in the playoffs and thats why Kobe gets more calls than 411
8 agree | 9 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Continuing my post: Warrior's are not unproven in scoring department. We are in D. We can't guard PG, PF and C's. The way we solve this? Our depth. We have Buike guard the PGs, Jackson on the SF's, Monta on SG. and have Turiaf and Beidrins clog the middle. Even though they don't take up much space they can try slow them long enough for some help D. Look for the Warriors to have a kind of flowing zone this season. Lots of help D and a whole lot of agressiveness and pressure on the ball.
8 agree | 8 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Well first off, since Artest is going to the Rockets (presumably), you can shift the Suns down a spot and let Houston rise. As for Utah and the Spurs, NOH is way better than them. Yes NO lost to the Spurs in the playoffs, but now the Spurs are one year older and have not made any significant changes and NO has a playoff berth under the belt, another year of experience and James Posey to boot. Now for the Warriors. I believe that they deserve that 8th spot, if not the 7th. For right now I will just look at the core/starting 5 and not consider depth, overall play, and injury/age. Portland: Oden, Roy, Aldridge. Baylees? Outlaw? Mavs: Kidd, Terry, Howard, Dirk, Diop. Warriors: Monta, Jackson, Maggette, Harrington, Beidrins. Greg Oden is highly unproven and still has to fully recover. The others are well rounded and can put up serious numbers, but they do not have a good PG. Mavs have a chance but they need more heart. Warriors can score in bunches, but need D. I need letters.
7 agree | 8 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I agree with matt...to an extent. the key to the dubs success isn't all on the core (as it is with many other teams). This team is DEEP. They can eclipse many teams in the west with contributions from other players that aren't core. Not many other teams can make that claim. Well done Mully. Now go get Josh Smith!!!
8 agree | 8 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Wright and Randolph are the secrets to the Warriors future. Harrington, Jackson, Magette, Azu offer real fire power, in addition to Biedrins and Ellis. Warriors are one of the best balanced teams in the West in my opinion IF Nelson makes Wright and Randolph go to guys; i.e. if GSW play less run and gun, and more run and bring ball inisde, play more pwoer game, and play defense.
8 agree | 8 disagree
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Paul Huff said:
Hey Genius. Dallas has a nucleus of DIrk, Howard and Jason KIDD...but go ahead and throw Terry in there for a foursome. And putting the Mavs under such an unknown in Portland? Thats why you're a beat writer and not a true analyst. I look forward to watching the Mavs rraape the Warriors this year.
8 agree | 8 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Matt-- If the Warrior's competition won't win as many games because many teams have improved, doesn't that make it together for the Warrior's to get as many wins also?
7 agree | 9 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Matt, the Warriors could be a lot better this year. They have some young players that are due to have breakout years, like Beleneli, Wright, and this new kid Randolph. Last season I though the Warriors gave too many minutes to players like Barnes, Croshere, and even Kelena Abuzuke, who played just fair. The Warriors future is these young guys. While the loss of Baron hurts, the team will be awfully potent next season offensively. With Monta, Magette, Jackson, and hopefully Beleneli they will be shooting the lights out this season. The Warriors will be a better rebounding team too. You seem to have little confidence these young players will step up. Basketball belongs to the young guys coming up, not aging veterans.
11 agree | 10 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
My only problem is, if he planned to go he could have allowed GS to use the trade clause giving the team a chance to use it.
11 agree | 11 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Rich Walcoff: Warriors wise to let Baron fly south You hit the nail right on the head, Richie, in every way. Kudos.
10 agree | 10 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
i can see why you dont write for the chroicle
12 agree | 12 disagree
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noah said:
So, we're going to require all basketball playing college freshmen to sign a contract promising to stay in college for two years? It seems very unlikely that such a contract provision would be enforceable, at least absent collective bargaining.
12 agree | 12 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
"It was tough for me growing up in the streets"..... Yeh, I'd like to hear that on tape. Never, ever, ever believe what you read without a sense of humor and pity for the angle the reporters are going for. The boy is educated, polite, and has always been far from the streets... Except, apparently, for the day this interview happened.... Good lord....
12 agree | 14 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
So a week ago you state "Do you still think the Rockets are better without Yao Ming?" Yet in todays trash from you you state they go backwards when he comes back. Please tell me you don't get paid for this
18 agree | 17 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
so are all comments that disagree with the article deleted? Doesnt matter, you lost all your credibility when you said Josh Howard was the best player on the mavs. I'm still rolling on the floor over that one.
19 agree | 16 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
What you are forgetting is the play of Houston's rookies down the stretch. Add Yao into that mix with Scola and Landry with a year under their belt. Houston is a contender - I cannot see how you say a team will go backwards when you get the most dominant inside presence back in the line-up.
19 agree | 16 disagree
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Yinka Dare said:
Actually, Matt, David West played all of 111 minutes in a first-round playoff loss in '04. He is a stranger to the playoffs. Does experience count when you have only experienced losing? Why hate on the Toronto/Orlando series starring two of the league's best young bigs, instead of, say, the Hawks/Celts or Pistons/Sixers?
20 agree | 19 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
"True, the Warriors have yet to lock up a playoff berth, but that is something that is outside of their control." Outside of their control? Isn't it completely in their control? Steinmetz is unbelievable.
21 agree | 19 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
nellie needs to give his bench more playing time and believe in them more. he doesnt have to ride his starters for 40 minutes when the bench is very capable. Lastly, why didnt he leave the same lineup in that got them back within 6 points of the kings?? It was an off night for Jackson and Davis. A comeback was killed off and much need rest for your starters was lost.
23 agree | 24 disagree
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Steve in Concord said:
Perovic just recalled from D-league after avg. 18 rebounds and 35 minutes in two games. Significant?
22 agree | 20 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay warriors will win it all this year
23 agree | 22 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Hi, Could you please ask Don Nelson why he isn't playing Kosta Perovic?? It's really puzzling. When Kosta came into the game in Milwaukee, he dominated Andrew Bogut. Kosta looks a lot more agile than he's been given credit for and he sure can cover a lot of ground. When the Milwaukee guards were driving towards the basket they thought twice when they saw Kosta's huge presence in the lane and instead kicked it out to Bogut who Perovic got to with 2 large ground covering steps, just enough to disturb Bogut's release point so he missed. Plus, Perovic has professional experience, so he knows what it's like to go up against older guys. Kosta also looks stronger than Brandon and Patrick. I just wish he'd reward Kosta for his impressive defense against Milwaukee. Thank you!
48 agree | 56 disagree
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timgreen79 said:
I know we shouldn't sleep on the Spurs but I think they'll probably have too tough of a road if their record doesn't get better. As a 5 seed they'd play (in current standings): 1st - Utah on road, 2nd - Hornets on Road, 3rd - Lakers or Suns on road. Wow. They have experience on their side but will miss the athleticism and depth that the Suns and Lakers have. (That is if they could even get by Utah)
59 agree | 49 disagree
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Bob said:
Good point that we need to wait 20-25 games to evaluate Shaq. Personally I think Phoenix is going to drop in terms of overall record (because their SOS gets tougher), but then will come on in the playoffs. Which really is the only point of the Shaq experiment.
62 agree | 56 disagree
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Matt (SF) said:
I just posted a comment a few hours ago that was removed. Am I being censored? All I said was that the inclusion of Turkoglu and Noah in this article makes no sense. Steinmetz doesn't know what he's talking about - Hedo's having a great year and Noah has been above average. So why put them on your hate list, Matt? Please censor this comment again. I'm watching.
62 agree | 56 disagree
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J Barnett said:
I know Matt can't write but he was a quality baller for F&M College. And he's quite handsome in person.
64 agree | 59 disagree
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Ben R said:
I've already come up with the best solution to problem that is Matt Steinmetz, don't read the column. Go Lakers.
66 agree | 63 disagree
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Caleb B said:
How can you have an anti-NBA player list without including the likes of Stephan Marbury? I can't figure out the pattern in your list but Francis should be given a pass - he's injured and playing for cheap. And Hinrich? He's on team USA. Lot's of former and current knicks made your Top 15. About the only thing I agree with.
73 agree | 78 disagree
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