Can Don Nelson Adapt to the Golden State Warriors' Transformation?

Don Nelson would never walk away from money. Who will, especially in the NBA? After all, Nelson had revamped a desperate team to become the Cinderella story of the 2007 playoff frame. 

Remember? It's when the Golden State Warriors' Hollywood friend mesmerized the fans when he threw a slam on AK47. Remember? It's when Stephen Jackson practically shot seven three pointers in a row while posing for the cameras. Remember the famous "Nellie Smokes Cubans"?

All these events should be shoved aside, forgotten (for now) and not be heavily relied on when Nelson abruptly emerges in a Warriors conversation. It's all about the present and the "future."

Last time I checked, the team's supposedly labeled "franchise player" admitted to lying about his severe injury, Jackson demands a new contract, Al Harrington wants to bolt out of Oak-Town, and the team hasn't acquired a replacement for the departure of our film-producing beard master.

The word "future" relentlessly resurfaces when fans, team officials, and squad players initiate their talk on the team's status. However, how many times have fans heard that word since the 2007 playoffs?

Of course, for a franchise that has just witnessed the man-of-the-show pack his belongings and fly to his hometown, "future" has the inclination to unintentionally materialize. But "future" does not solely connect to the players, it too involves the Warriors' head coach.

Will Nellie have the energy, commitment, and the vitality to teach the younger generation? In 2007, he had an experienced core to handle and guide out of a disoriented first half of the season.

Last season, which resulted in an unprecedented 48 wins for the run-'n-gun system, couldn't be labeled no less than a successful encounter. But again, that shaped around the Oakland big three (BD, SJax, the Mississippi Bullet).

With the main component landing in Los Angeles, and the other severely injured, can Nellie really hold it all together and "re-teach" his basketball philosophy all over again, especially with his rookie obscurity?

Nelson, as many acknowledge, suffers from rookie paranoia. In the introduction of the Warriors' draft picks in Oakland last June, Monte Poole from the Bay Area News Group hinted to Nelson's history of not playing rookies.

Nelson responded, "I'm getting this reputation and I really don't know why. When I've had rookies that were ready to play, I played them. Chris Webber, Tim Hardaway, Sidney Moncrief. I don't feel I am harder on rookies than any other coach."

Excuse me?

Brandan Wright, whom the organization traded for the heart and soul of the franchise, did not set foot on the hardwood except in garbage time. God forbid Nelson would have put Wright into games to get him ready.

God forbid Nelson would have prepared Wright for rough times. I won't even get hooked on Marco Belinelli, whom he praised during the summer league and training camp.

He praised Randolph this summer; will it be taking the same path?

True, the franchise has a different goal than last year, but an NBA roster is an NBA roster. You can't rely on a six-to-eight-man rotation the whole entire season, not while you own an 11-player bench.

Will Nelson have the ability to surmount his "anti-rookie bias?" Or will he play Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette, and Marcus Williams around 38-40 minutes a night—which occurred with the Warriors' big three last season and directly led to the empty-tank reaction fans witnessed at the end of the season.

He'll be forced to engage the rookies, due to the fact that half of his team will consist of blooming NBA products that include: Demarcus Nelson, Dion Dowell, Rob Kurz (another Austin Croshere?), C.J. Watson, Anthony Randolph, Richard Hendrix, and Anthony Morrow.

But again, you never know what you'll get with the Maui man. Will he continue to approach his phantom doors with caution?

Most importantly, can he ride the same ship the Warriors' front office is supposedly assuming?

The only real motive Nellie might continue this job, after engraving his name in NBA history, will be contained around the "winningest coach in NBA history" title. It might prove to be a far-fetched goal, but Warriors fans just never know.