Nellie: Wright deserves to play, but not Belinelli or Randolph

November 5, 1:24 PMGolden State Warriors ExaminerMatt Steinmetz

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Don Nelson: Belinelli and Randolph not yet ready 

Here's a quick give-and-take with Warriors coach Don Nelson, on his reluctance thus far to play rookie Anthony Randolph and second-year players Brandan Wright and Marco Belinelli.

The long and short of it is that Nelson said he has three young players who he thinks are ready: Wright, DeMarcus Nelson and Rob Kurz.

And also according to Nelson, two players who aren't ready: Belinelli and Randolph.

Question: Are you worried about how the young guys are handling not getting playing time, how they're doing mentally?"

Don Nelson: "I can't worry about their mental state. There's always going to be somebody who's not playing. It's up to them to keep their minds open and be ready to go when I call on them.

"That didn't happen (Monday) in Memphis when I did use my bench. As a result, they weren't very effective."

Question: But this summer, didn't you talk about a change in philosophy and about playing the young guys more?

Don Nelson: "First of all, it's up to those players to deserve their minutes. It’s not a gift. They have to deserve them. At this point, I think Brandan probably has deserved to play. I wouldn’t say anyone else has at this point.

"I may be a gift horse later in the season. ... Nobody has been beating my door down on playing time that I can see or my coaching staff has seen. So, we’re diligently working to try to improve their games and when that moment comes, I’ll be glad to play them.

"I have two young players (in addition to Wright) who are ready to play: One of them is (DeMarcus) Nelson and one of them is Rob. I think both those guys are able to play in an NBA game right now and you’d have a chance to win that NBA game.

"The other players I would think you wouldn’t have much of a chance to win at this point in their careers."

♦ ♦ ♦

Nelson said that Corey Maggette won't play tonight because of a hamstring injury. When Nelson was asked if he thought this was an injury that might linger, he quickly responded: "It's already lingered for a while."

Nelson said that, in retrospect, he wouldn't have played Maggette in the second half of the loss to Memphis _ one in which Maggette was ineffectual.