Bleacher Report - Articles by Jin Woo

Warriors' Downfall: Billy Owens to Robert Rowell

Jin Woo — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:10:08 -0400

The Golden State Warriors championship is a distant memory for many. Management is to blame for this sad reality. If you weren’t born in the '60s and you grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, you have no NBA championship to brag about, but many “what if we…” scenarios float in our minds.

In fact, the last championship of any kind of basketball was Stanford, so we stole their coach and he was laughed out of town to Berkeley. He is now the coach of the Golden Bears.

Despite some early mistakes like signing Mike Dunleavy and Adonal Foyle to long term contracts, Chris Mullin got Warriors' fans excited trading for Baron Davis and making the team from Golden State one of the most exciting teams to watch in the NBA. And just as hope was restored to the Warriors faithful, little by little, hope was crushed until Mullin was sadly let go to the dismay of Bay Area basketball fans. And this is all the evidence you need of bad ownership and bad management that has plagued the Warriors for years.

Kevin Garnett was rumored to be on his way to the Warriors, but reports indicated that it was vetoed by President Robert Rowell because the team would be over the salary cap.

Baron Davis, the heart of the playoff Warriors, was free to walk away and signed with the Clippers.

Monta Ellis was made the league example for his moped accident. Instead of firing himself, he fired Chris Mullin, who as part of Run TMC, excited Warriors' fans until draft picks and trades ruined the team. Rowell fired Mullin for making the playoffs only once in five years. If Rowell didn’t meddle, it was highly anticipated that the Warriors would have returned to the playoffs.

The downfall actually started with the dismantling of Run TMC when Mitch Richmond and Les Jepsen, were traded to the Sacramento Kings for the rights to Billy Owens.

Luckily, the Warriors were able to redeem themselves after stealing Latrell Sprewell in the 1992 draft with the 24th pick. Then, the following year, the Warriors added Chris Webber after trading the rights to Anfernee Hardaway and three first round draft picks to the Orlando Magic, which luckily didn’t amount to much for the Magic.

The next year the Warriors ended up with Clifford Rozier and missed out on names like Jason Kidd, Jalen Rose, Grant Hill, and Eddie Jones. But the Warriors finally felt like luck was on their side in 1995 with the first pick in the draft. Instead, they got stuck with Joe Smith. Drafted fourth was Rasheed Wallace and fifth was Kevin Garnett.

I'm not even going to analyze what a huge mistake that was.

Come 1996, the Warriors management put its faith in Todd Fuller. That's not as hurtful as drafting Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan, but the Los Angeles Lakers got Kobe Bryant with the 13th pick, only two later. Peja Stojakovic, Steve Nash, and Jermaine O’Neal were three of the next four picks.

This was probably the worst pick ever, but it gets worse.

In 1997, Golden State selected Adonal Foyle with the eighth pick and Tracy McGrady was taken next. Then we finally draft smart in 1998 by taking Vince Carter with the fifth pick and management decides to trade it away for the fourth pick, Antawn Jamison. And let me remind you that Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce were taken ninth and tenth.

After a few quiet years, the Warriors got the steal in the 2001 draft with Gilbert Arenas in the second round, but Agent Zero walked free because the Warriors didn’t want to pay the man.

In a weak 2002 draft, the Warriors drafted Mike Dunleavy with the third pick. I’m not even going to waste my breath on this guy.

Finally, it seemed like order was restored to the franchise when, in April 2004, the Golden State Warriors named Chris Mullin executive vice president of basketball operations. He brought back Don Nelson then started adding members like Andris Biedrins, Monta Ellis, Marco Belinelli, and Anthony Randolph.

That's not to say Mullin didn’t make mistakes like drafting Patrick O’Bryant, but he was putting something special together getting Baron Davis for a bargain.

But Rowell made Mullie the scapegoat. I hope Rowell gets fired once Owner Chris Cohen realizes he made a mistake, when Larry Riley runs the team once again into the ground unless he becomes Don Nelson’s yes-man.

Chris Mullin's Make-Or-Break Summer

Jin Woo — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:11:37 -0400

The first week of the NBA off-season has been an exciting one for the Golden State Warriors and General Manager Chris Mullin has yet to make a move…well an attempted move that has proved to be fruitful.

Just last week, rumors were flying that had the Warriors sending Baron Davis and Al Harrington to the Detroit Pistons for Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace. Two days ago, the Warriors were content that team captain Baron Davis was staying put.

As that assumption blew up in the Warriors' face just hours before the deadline to opt-out, the Dubs are now left scrambling.

Mullie didn’t anticipate Davis leaving, but coughing up top dollar for BD after one iron man season didn’t make sense. Not knowing if Davis could hold-up for a second season of 82 games and limiting his playing time to account for his knee was a risk the Dubs couldn’t make, especially after just getting rid of Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy.

Mullin can now be seen firing max contracts to this year’s top free agents Gilbert Arenas and Elton Brand.

Agent Zero, originally drafted by the Warriors, would have stayed in Golden State but headed east when the Dubs couldn’t pay what the Warriors East, aka the Washington Wizards, offered.

The Wizards, even with the re-signing of Antwan Jamison, are not a credible playoff team. And now that the Warriors have a better cap situation, a better supporting cast, a brighter outlook and the freedom of playing Nellie Ball, Agent Zero should think twice before turning down the chance to make the west coast home again.

But Brand should be the preferred choice as he averages a double-double, blocks shots, and can bang with the big boys in the West.

If he chooses to stay with the Clippers, Brand would be relegated to third fiddle in Los Angeles behind Baron Davis and Kobe Bryant.

Brand faces the risk of having to deal with Clippers owner Donald Sterling changing his profit-driven franchise on a whim back into the laughing stock of the NBA. Sterling’s never been committed to winning if it doesn’t mean profits and almost fired Head Coach Mike Dunleavy several times last year and was unable to pull the trigger on trades put into place like the deal to bring Andre Miller to town.

If he chooses to join the Warriors, Brand would be the best talent in Northern California on a team committed to staying away from another playoff drought. He’ll be in San Francisco, one of the top destinations in America, and know that Mullin would be committed to putting players on the court that will pay off.

The Warriors have gone after Kevin Garnett, Agent Zero, and even Brand in the last year and the law of averages says the Warriors will get their turn to land the big dog.

BD is on a different agenda as his hometown, alma mater and his movie business based in Southern California.

Although the uncertainty of who will be Nellie’s successor after the upcoming season may concern free agents, Mullie is in the hot seat to make the Warriors a contender and this off-season will be his defining moment.

With cap space, a hall-of-fame coach, and a young nucleus, you really can’t ask for more from a general manager perspective.

Time For a New BRANDing Strategy For Warriors

Jin Woo — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:58:13 -0400

With the possible departure of Baron Davis after he exercised his out clause Monday night, Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins have become huge priorities for Chris Mullin to keep the nucleus intact.

Still, their signings wouldn’t be an improvement over last year. More playing time for Brandan Wright and Marco Belinelli will further the overall experience of the team, but, without a major upgrade to the roster and seven more games from Stephen Jackson, that doesn’t necessarily make the Warriors a playoff team, either.

Forget about Mickael Pietrus, Matt Barnes and Kelenna Azubuike, who aren’t worth the money they are asking for; the Warriors need an impact player. The addition of projects in this year's draft are a "good two-to-three years down the road"..a broken record of lackluster success in Oakland.

The Warriors can pick up role players like Detroit’s Jarvis Hayes or Boston’s James Posey. But without that impact player, it doesn’t make a difference in the Western Conference.

The $10 million exception that came as part of the Wright deal for Jason Richardson expired today, and Mullin should be ashamed of himself that nothing was done with it. Not that the Warriors should have taken best available rather than what makes the most sense for the team, but Mullin had one year and knew that when the trade occurred there was an expiration date. Mullin has a history of hit-or-miss deals and it's time for him to make himself more notable to the Golden State franchise beyond being a member of run TMC.

That said, the piece that the Warriors have been looking for has just appeared on the free agent market. The Clippers' Elton Brand is only 29 years old and has been a Warriors killer. Mullin would be smart to weaken a division rival and get the impact player they are looking for.

The Clippers likely will be fighting with the Warriors for the final spot in the West, but Brand may enable the Dubs to not only make it, but go deeper by banging with the big boys. The Warriors could also hope that Wright matures quickly and Belinelli becomes a sharp-shooter, but only if they are able to add Brand would it make sense to go after players like Hayes and Posey to enhance the roster.

While Davis has been great and has helped create excitement in the Bay Area, the team will keep running and can find a cheaper point guard who can handle the rock. Brand will help make the Dubs tougher and drastically change the dynamic of the team. Plus the Warriors still have Jackson, one of the captains and just as much the heart as Davis. Not to discredit BD, but Jackson will thrive with any decent point guard and Brand.

The fear right now is that the Warriors may go over the salary cap and owe luxury taxes. As much as I enjoyed shipping Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy to the Indiana Pacers—the Warriors accomplished what they needed to—shipping one of the franchise’s many busts and his sidekick out of town—it’s time to part ways with what they got in return, Al Harrington, if it means staying under the cap. But after 14 years of misery, a lucky one-year Cinderella run, and an unlucky miss, ownership owes the fans, especially considering the crowd support in recent years.

Mullin's success has come when Don Nelson has looked over his shoulder, and getting rid of Dunleavy, Murphy and Adonal Foyle was made possible with his mentor's help. In the last year of the Nelson Era, it’s time to put up or shut up.