If I were running the Golden State Warriors ...

November 9, 11:35 PMGolden State Warriors ExaminerMatt Steinmetz

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First order of business: Hold off on Jackson extension 

Every once in a while I get an e-mail telling me to quit being so negative and instead to offer a solution or two about some of the Warriors' problems.

OK, with an eye toward the future, here is my six-point plan for the remainder of the 2008-09 season:

♦ DO NOT EXTEND STEPHEN JACKSON: Stephen Jackson already may have been promised a three-year extension, but it’s this simple: the promise must be broken.

I understand this is a potential powder keg, but let’s start with a smart move. And that's what this would be: a solid, safe and sound business decision. Period.

If president Robert Rowell’s relationship with Jackson is as good as Jackson says it is, then Rowell must tell Jackson to sit tight.

Why? Because extending Jackson is not in the Warriors’ best interest, and it might not even be in Jackson’s best interest.

Jackson is one of the Warriors’ most significant assets right now, mostly because he is a hell of a player and he’s got only two years left on his deal. There is absolutely no doubt that Jackson will hold value to a contender at the trade deadline.

But come February, if Jackson is sitting on four-plus more years on his deal, then he's not going to be as attractive, and the Warriors aren't going to have as many options.

Also, just because you don't extend him now doesn't mean you won't or couldn't at the end of the season if other things broke right.

♦ IDENTIFY THE CORE OF THE FUTURE: At this point, it seems pretty obvious. You build around Andris Biedrins, Anthony Randolph, maybe Brandan Wright and, possibly, Monta Ellis.

Kelenna Azubuike and Ronny Turiaf are more than welcome to hang around, too.

♦ TRY TO TRADE AL HARRINGTON AND COREY MAGGETTE: Al Harrington’s got to go, simple as that. His head and heart aren’t in it so it’s time.

As for Corey Maggette, his $50 million contract is gumming up the works, big-time. He can’t be traded till mid-December, but once the holiday season kicks in, the Warriors need to look to put him under some other franchise’s Christmas tree.

He just doesn’t seem to be Don Nelson’s type of player, and by the looks of things it seems like he could be a game-time decision for the next five years.

Of course, trading Maggette is going to be difficult, and in order to do it, you might have to do something very painful. But it may come to this ...

♦ BE OPEN TO THE POSSIBILITY OF TRADING MONTA ELLIS: As difficult as this may be, moving Ellis is something the Warriors must consider. Assuming the kid comes back healthy, and there is still no reason to think otherwise, he could do two things for the Warriors’ franchise.

First, he could likely fetch a pretty good player in return. Second, you might have to package Ellis with Maggette in order to get off Maggette’s money. The reason for this kind of thinking: see next.

♦ FOCUS ON CREATING SALARY CAP FLEXIBILITY FOR 2010: Everyone knows that’s a big year in free agency. If I were running an NBA team, I would want to be in a position to be a player in that 2010 offseason game.

Not so much because you think you’re going to land a LeBron James or Dwyane Wade or even a Chris Bosh, but because you want to at least be in attendance at the party.

If you have money and you’re lingering, who knows? Maybe you do sign a surprise player or maybe you become a third-team facilitator. Maybe you don't do anything but you end up being the only team the following year with cap space.

Again, you just want to be in on the action that summer.

And you never know, either. Maybe, just maybe, one of those big-name free agents takes a liking to the Warriors. But you've got to play to win.

♦ BEGIN PLAYING A STYLE TAILORED TO YOUR CORE: The Warriors have some intriguing young big players. Biedrins, Randolph and Wright are long players capable of changing a lot of shots in the inside. Jackson has length. That is the Warriors' uniqueness right now and one they should try to accentuate.

Defend the 3-pointer and funnel players into the lane. Establish an interior defensive focus and begin creating some kind of shot-blocking identity.