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Jackson's agent rips Nelson, wants his player traded immediately
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Stephen Jackson is just sitting and waiting to get traded.
"I just want him out of there now. It doesn't matter where. At this stage, something has to be done. It can't get any worse."
Those are the words of Stephen Jackson's agent Mark Stevens in an ESPN.com story in the wake of Sunday's 120-107 loss to the Kings.
Maybe Stevens hasn't been watching the games, only the masochists among the Warrior faithful are still tuning in every night, but he's wrong when he says it can't get any worse. Right now, the Warriors are at least still trying. They're not winning, but they're trying.
The players seem sincere when they say they're working hard trying to get things turned around. After all, we're only five games into the season.
But if the season continues at its current pace and the Warriors hit Pearl Harbor Day at something like 3-17, there's no telling what could happen. This franchise has already seen a player (Latrell Sprewell) choke his coach and has seen how a Don Nelson showdown with its star player (Chris Webber) can turn ugly and destroy the future for years to come.
As of right now, it seems that nobody has quit on this team. But if there aren't some fixes soon, that may change.
Stevens directed most of his ire at Nelson, saying the 69-year-old coach has lost the team because the players don't trust him. He takes several shots at the coach, who is 23 wins away from setting the all-time NBA record for wins, and squarely blames him for how the team has collapsed since its 2007 upset of Dallas in the playoffs.
Just a word of warning for Stevens: Turning up the heat on Nelson may not be the best course of action to get your client what he wants. You sited Nelson's dealings with Mark Cuban and Chris Mullin as examples of betrayal. Something that should be learned from those instances, as well as the Webber issue, is that Nelson rarely backs down and doesn't get pressured into changing his mind.
Remember, Jackson took advantage of the Warriors and signed that huge three-year extension that will hold up any trade talks. The 2007 team was already dismantled when Jackson opted to take the money.
The Warriors say they're fielding offers (the Nuggets and Bobcats are rumored to be the latest interested parties) but won't give Jackson away. They want a player with similar skills in return and are willing to wait for the right deal. Moving Jackson won't immediately make this a playoff team. They're looking long-term and knew this would be a long season.
It's clear Jackson needs to go, but let's hope it doesn't turn into a public war of words. That would just be embarrassing. And the play on the court has been embarrassing enough.
Speaking of going public with their words, here are a few other quotes that may interest Warriors fans:
"We had Saturday off, and then Sunday was probably our best practice of the year. Everybody was focused and working hard for two hours. And the veterans, they don't really do that too often."
Reaction: That's taken out of Stephen Curry's blog for GQ following their 0-2 start and probably didn't go over too well with the veterans who saw it. Curry went on to say the mood of the team is positive, but it's hard to get past the fact that he called out the veterans for what he perceives, at least, to be a lack of effort at practice.
"We're not a good basketball team right now. ... We're totally predicated on shooting. We do not have any kind of defensive mindset, we don't have much toughness and we're not very smart. So, right now, we're not a very good team."
Reaction: You may be stunned to hear that's not someone from the Warriors' organization. That was Magic coach Stan Van Gundy after a 102-74 loss to the Thunder. It seems the Warriors have a lot in common with the defending Eastern Conference champions who are 5-2 on the season. Maybe there's hope.
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