The Golden State Warriors' Priority: A Big Man

Pro basketball was a big void in the Bay Area for the better part of my life. We've had to suffer through absolutely horrendous seasons led by coaches like Carlesimo, Musselman, and Mike Montgomery.

Ever since Chris Webber and Don Nelson left back in the '90s, this has been a horrible squad. I'm surprised that the fan base for this franchise didn't crumble during that timespan.

The last two seasons have been a pure joy to watch. After the trade with Indiana, the Warriors began to look like a team worth watching. With Baron Davis, Jason Richardson, and Stephen Jackson launching threes; it injected the Warriors offense and made them playoff contenders.

After upsetting the No. 1 seed Dallas Mavericks in last year's playoffs, the expectations for Golden State were high the following year. Unfortunately, they fell short of those expectations, and Golden State watched the playoffs from home this year.

That's not to say that the season was a total waste. Golden State was able to fill the scoring void left by trading away Jason Richardson with Monta Ellis.

Ellis has progressed and looks like one of the game's bright young stars. His mid-range jumper is as accurate as anybody's in the league, and I personally can't wait for him to develop a three-point shot.

Baron Davis played solid at the point and Andris Biedrins' development looks pretty solid (although inconsistent at times). They finished with a record of 48-34, which is a very respectable record.

Too bad they play in the Western Conference, where that record placed them as the ninth-best team. If this squad was over on the East, that record would have been good enough to give them a fourth seed and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs (although I truly believe that the Warriors missed out on the playoffs because of the seven-game suspension Stephen Jackson served at the opening of the season).

This was a span of time in which the Warriors had only one win. Over the course of the season, Golden State claimed victories over multiple Western Conference powerhouses including the San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, and even the Los Angeles Lakers (the eventual conference champions).

I didn't see all of the Warriors games, but I did see a lot of them. As a fan, I learned more about the team when it lost than I did when they won.

Most of the parts to make the Warriors a contender out West are there except for one important thing: a big man who can rebound and play tough defense.

Andris Biedrins is good. In fact, General Manager Chris Mullin has gone on record that the Warriors' plans include Biedrins. But from what I saw last season, he can't really play with most of the other big men out West.

I saw him get dominated in the paint time after time by guys like Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Andrew Bynum, and Amare Stoudamire. Even the Sacramento Kings big men were able to give Biedrins trouble in the post, and that was a rebuilding squad.

There were times in the season when I couldn't help but wonder why Head Coach Don Nelson didn't play Brendan Wright more. His philosophy is simply that rookies are not ready.

Now, I'll admit I got a little nostalgic and excited when they signed Chris Webber back in February. I knew that he was definitely over the hill, but I do remember him still being able to put up 20 points and 11 rebounds in the playoffs only a season ago with the Detroit Pistons.

So I thought to myself, maybe they can get a little production out of him. However, the Warriors didn't get much from this acquisition as Webber retired in March, citing his inability to play because of his knee injury.

In the offseason, Don Nelson has agreed to come back and coach for one more year. He claims that he will be playing guys like Brendan Wright more often. Maybe that will help. But as I've seen from the NBA Champions of past, a big man is needed.

Shaq, Duncan, and now Kevin Garnett prove this theory. Simply speaking, the Warriors need a big man for those nights when the three-point shots just aren't falling for them. This big man would be able to get those rebounds and give the warriors a second opportunity at the bucket.

I was hoping that the Warriors would hit some luck with the lottery pick, but they ended up with the 14th overall selection. Whatever happens with the draft, trades, blah blah blah....I hope that Golden State addresses its need for a dominant post presence. I hope they do it soon, because in my opinion this was the most exciting team to watch in the NBA this past season.