Golden State Warriors: Where Are They Heading?

Two seasons ago, the Golden State Warriors made history when they upset the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 2007 playoffs.

It was probably the biggest upset in NBA history.

People were excited because the Warriors had not been a postseason team for more than a decade. Monta Ellis, Baron Davis, Jason Richardson, and Stephen Jackson were the four key players that helped the team succeed. They hit every three point shot, they ran people out of the gym, and most importantly, they played as a team.

In the summer of that year, the Warriors made a splash on draft day. They traded away guard Jason Richardson for rookie forward Brandan Wright.

It was a good move for the Warriors because they only played small ball. In addition, it was a change to acquire somebody that can bang on the block and he was a good big man coming out of North Carolina.

The following year, the Warriors won 48 games.

However, they were unable to make it to the playoffs because the West was extremely competitive. Don Nelson had made some crazy coaching decisions in his coaching career, including All-Star point guard Baron Davis in the second half of the second-to-last game of the season against the Phoenix Suns.

In effect, people were worried that something was wrong.

Last summer, Davis had a chance to opt-out of a contract that would have paid him $17.8 million the following season. Davis shockingly opted out and people knew that he wanted to leave.

He signed with the Los Angeles Clippers and people started to question the franchise's direction. The Warriors signed Corey Maggette, a guy that clearly does not fit their system. Sources around the league are saying that the Warriors are regretting signing him to a contract this summer.

It only got worse when the Warriors found out that Ellis would have to miss the first three months of the NBA season with a torn deltoid ligament.

Ellis told the Warriors he had been injured playing a pick up game in his home town in Mississippi. But when the Warriors investigated the situation, they found that Ellis was injured in a moped accident. Ellis had just recently signed a $66 million contract with Warriors. The front office decided to suspend him for the first 30-games of the NBA season and issue a $3 million fine.

The Warriors are now 11-29 and look like they can be in the lottery in the 2009 NBA draft—all thanks to Chris Mullin, who blew up the team that made history just a couple of years ago.