The Two Faces Of Don Nelson: What His Resignation Means For The Warriors
Don Nelson will step down as coach of the Golden State Warriors, effective this coming Monday. Now is an appropriate time to look at the positives and negatives, during his tenure with the Warriors.
There are two sides to this story. Don Nelson is not the awful coach that many in the media and the fan base portray him as. Sure, he has had his problems, but there is also plenty of good he has contributed to the Warriors.
Don Nelson is the winningest coach in NBA history, with a record of 1335 - 1063. Sure he has never coached a team to a world championship, but that is not entirely his fault.
Even Phil Jackson would not have won titles in Chicago without Michael Jordan or in LA without Shaq and Kobe Bryant.
A basketball coach can definitely make an impact, but you need the talent, also. Don Nelson has never had the team with the best talent.
His best squads were in the east, with the Milwaukee teams of Bob Lanier and Sydney Moncrief. Unfortunately for Nelson, he had to deal with the Celtics and 76ers, two superior juggernauts, at the time.
Former Warrior coach Al Attles is one coach I can think of that turned an above average roster into a championship team, in 1975.
Attles had one superstar in Rick Barry and several decent players, which he got to play together for two stirring upsets in the playoffs, first against Chicago, then Washington. This type of outcome is not the norm in the NBA, where outstanding talent is essential.
Let's take a look at the good and the bad, when it comes to Don Nelson's coaching career with the Warriors.
Don Nelson's Early Years With The Warriors Featured Run TMC
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The highlight of Don Nelson's early years with the Golden State Warriors featured the Run TMC group of Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin. The Warriors were exciting to watch and won a lot of games with this trio.
Tim Hardaway was the brash, streetwise kid out of Chicago, who ran the team. Mitch Richmond was the rock. A solid scorer, excellent defender and tough as they come. Chris Mullin was a deadly shooter, with the smooth left-handed jumper.
Don Nelson's high water mark came in the 1991-92 season when the Warriors won 55 games. The playoffs were another story, however, as the game typically slows down into more of a half court battle.
Defense and rebounding become more important, and the Warriors had only limited success in the post season.
Nevertheless, it was great fun watching these run and gun Warrior teams outscore their opponents and win their share of games.
Don Nelson's First Run With The Warriors Goes Sour
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Don Nelson had transformed the Golden State Warriors from an also ran, into a very good team. It was a team that could never quite get over the hump and into a championship series, however.
In the 1993 draft, the Warriors made a draft day deal and got Chris Webber. Everything started out great. The Warriors went 50-32 in Webber's first season. Then everything went wrong.
Don Nelson and Chris Webber feuded about Webber's position, how he could best help the team, his practice habits and his attitude. The relationship soured and it had a devastating affect on the franchise.
Don Nelson wanted Webber to play a lot of center, where his quickness enabled him to take advantage of the bigger, but slower, centers in the league. Webber did not want to play center, he felt he was taking too much punishment and wanted to play forward.
Don Nelson is an old-school type of coach and when he said something, he expected it to be followed without any argument. Chris Webber was of a different mind and soon began to sulk and be a malcontent.
After their outstanding 1993-94 campaign, the Warriors were dismal the following year. Past the midway point in the season, with the Warriors posting a 14-31 record, Don Nelson was out as the Warrior coach.
Problems Don Nelson would have with his star player, would become a normal occurrence, as the years went on. This issue constantly surfaced and became one of the biggest thorns in his coaching career.
Don Nelson Returns As The Savior For The Warrior Franchise
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After Don Nelson left the Warriors, he spent part of one season with the NY Knicks, then eight very strong seasons with the Dallas Mavericks. Nelson transformed Dallas from a terrible team to a perennial playoff participant.
Nelson's Dallas teams were led by Dirk Nowitzki and reached the playoffs in four straight seasons, from 2000 through 2004. Nelson got along well with Nowitzki, but had problems with an even more important member of the Mavericks.
Nelson feuded with Mark Cuban, the young, loud, billionaire owner of the Mavericks. This would not end well, as Nelson left Dallas during the 2004-05 season. Lawsuits followed and the entire scenario became quite ugly.
After sitting out one full year, Don Nelson was brought aboard to resurrect the Golden State Warriors, by then GM Chris Mullin. In his first year with the Warriors this time around, Nelson amazingly guided this team to playoffs.
The Warriors had star point guard Baron Davis leading the way and also acquired forwards Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson in a mid season trade with Indiana. The team caught fire and there was excitement in Oakland once again.
Then, in an ironic twist, the Warriors faced Nelson's nemesis, Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks, in the first round of the playoffs. The eighth-seeded Warriors were a heavy underdog against the top seed Mavericks.
Don Nelson thoroughly outcoached Avery Johnson and the Warriors upset the highly favored Mavericks. Nelson revelled in this series victory, as if he was throwing salt into the eyes of Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
Although the Warriors would lose the next series against a big physical Utah squad, Don Nelson had successfully turned around this moribund franchise. All was bright for the Warriors. The high scoring, fun and exciting brand of basketball was back in Oakland.
The 2007-08 season would be more of the same. The Warriors finished with a 48-34 record and led the league in excitement. However, they were dealt a cruel twist of fate.
The western conference was so strong, that the Warriors became the only team in NBA history to win that many games and miss the playoffs.
Don Nelson's Warriors Unravel Again
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Signs that the Warriors were beginning to unravel manifested themselves toward the end of the 2007-08 season. Although the Warriors finished with 48 victories, star point guard Baron Davis seemed to be more committed to his birthday party and budding Hollywood film production endeavors.
Nelson bristled at Davis' lack of commitment to the team and this was the beginning of the end of that relationship. Chris Mullin tried to sign Davis, who was a free agent after the 2008 season.
Mullin thought he had a deal done, but was overruled by then Warrior president Robert Rowell. Davis left to join the Clippers.
Without Baron Davis and also due to a bad string of injuries, the Warriors fell to 29-53 in the 2008-09 season. This was also the year that Monta Ellis tore up his ankle prior to the season in a moped accident, then was caught lying about it.
Al Harrington was constantly in Nellie's doghouse and was eventually traded, early in the 08-09 season.
Stephen Jackson was signed by the Warriors to a costly contract extension, then decided that after he got his money, now he no longer wanted to play here.
Jackson was frustrated by the losing and also the departure of two of his closest friends on the team, Davis and Harrington.
Now, Stephen Jackson and Don Nelson were at odds. Believe me, an unhappy Stephen Jackson is not good for any team. Jackson pretty much forced the Warriors to trade him and he was dealt early in the 2009 season.
The new star on the team, Monta Ellis also had a very tenuous relationship with Nelson. Part of this was due to the moped incident, but a lot of the friction was because of how hard Nelson was on his young and somewhat immature star player.
Ellis did not like being the constant focus of Nelson's rants. Peaceful coexistence was the absolute best that could be described in this relationship.
The past is repeating itself, as Nelson turned around a bad team and made it a winner. Then things changed. Just how quickly things unraveled was amazing.
Nelson had two great years, then ran into problems with his best players: Baron Davis, Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson and Monta Ellis.
Don Nelson Gets More Out Of Last Season Than Anyone Could Expect
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The Golden State Warriors have a promising future with 2009 round one draft pick Stephen Curry leading the way. Embattled team owner Chris Cohan sold the Warriors to Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, and the new ownership has decided that this is the time for Don Nelson to step away.
While I am optimistic that the Warriors are on the right track, I also felt that Don Nelson did a tremendous coaching job in the 2009-10 season.
With a solid nucleus of Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, and David Lee, the Warriors could surprise in the upcoming season. Don Nelson will not be at the helm to see it.
Looking back at last year, the Warriors finished with a record of 26-56. Very poor indeed, but I would be remiss if I did not point out the incredible string of injuries Don Nelson had to deal with.
No other team in the NBA was hit harder with injuries than the Warriors. Missing extended periods of time were Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins, Corey Maggette, Rony Turiaf, Anthony Randolph, Kalenna Azubuile, Raja Bell, CJ Watson, Brandon Wright and Vladimir Radmanovic.
The Warriors were forced to play NBA Developmental League players and other tired old veterans. The Warriors not only played former D-Leaguers, they counted on them.
Reggie Williams, Anthony Tolliver, Anthony Morrow, C.J. Watson, and Chris Hunter were all former players out of the minor leagues who contributed for the Warriors.
The Warriors played an exciting brand of basketball, were competitive and rarely blown out, which was amazing. The fact that they found a way to actually win 26 games with this ragtag roster was truly incredible. This was a positive testament to Don Nelson's coaching ability.
The level of NBA talent on the roster last year was woefully subpar. When this Warriors team found a way to win and enable Don Nelson to surpass Lenny Wilkens as the all-time leader in NBA coaching victories, it was a surreal scene in Oakland.
The players were jumping up and down with their 69 year old coach, as if they had won the championship. There was an ecstatic celebration and a sense of accomplishment that this group of under appreciated players reveled in. Right in the middle of the jubilation was Don Nelson.
I saw a group of players that realized what an accomplishment this was, given their lack of proven NBA talent on the roster. I saw a coach that found love and admiration for this unlikely bunch.
The mutual appreciation conveyed from the players and Don Nelson showed that this group liked playing for the man and respected him. It also showed how much Don Nelson cared for them.
Don Nelson is a very good basketball coach and this moment with his players, this celebration, epitomized that.
Keith Smart Takes Over For Don Nelson
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Don Nelson will return to his island paradise of Maui and his former assistant, Keith Smart, will take over the head coaching duties for the Golden State Warriors. Smart was in charge of the defense for the Warriors and has put in his time in Oakland. He deserves the opportunity and I hope he does well.
While I understand the need for the new ownership to make this move now, it would have been very interesting to see what Nellie could have done with a healthy, NBA-caliber roster.
General Manager Larry Riley has done a good job bringing in NBA talent, such as David Lee, Dorell Wright, Rodney Carney, Charlie Bell and Louis Amundson.
They will combine with Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins in what should be a Warrior team on the rise.
I appreciate all that Don Nelson brought to the Warriors in his two coaching stints here. There were some very good and exciting times under his watch.
There were also plenty of situations and personal conflicts with top players that Don Nelson could have handled much better.
It is time to move on; the circle of life for Don Nelson's coaching career is now complete.
