Five things the Warriors must do this summer
Contra Costa Times
Article Launched: 04/18/2008
# 1. BUILD A BENCH: This might just be Nos. 1 through 5 by itself. Baron
Davis, Stephen Jackson and Monta Ellis all enjoyed career years this
season,
and yet the team still couldn't finish among the top eight members of the
15-team Western Conference. That's because the sup****ting cast was either
injured (Austin Croshere, Troy Hudson), ineffective (Matt Barnes, Mickael
Pietrus) or inexperienced (Marco Belinelli, Brandan Wright). That must be
fixed, posthaste.
# 2. DETERMINE WHO'S COACHING: Don Nelson is slated to make $5.1 million
next season after the team picked up its option, but there's no guarantee
he'll be back. It's hard to see him demanding more cash, as he did last
summer, but if he wins his $6.6 million arbitration case against the
Dallas
Mavericks and owner Mark Cuban, it might give him the impetus to stay on
Maui rather than deal with hassles such as meeting the media three times
on
game days.
# 3. KEEP BARON HAPPY: That's not to say the Warriors have to accede to
his
thinly veiled demand to receive a fat extension before June 30, when he
can
opt out of the one year remaining on his existing deal. But the team needs
to find a compromise that pleases all parties, because a disgruntled Davis
can wreak havoc on a team -- just ask Hornets coach Byron Scott.
# 4. IS THIS THE YEAR?: The Warriors have a $10 million trade exception
that
expires two days after this season's draft. The question is, will they
cash
that chip in to get another live body
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-- even though that would almost certainly ensure that they'll be cra****ng
into luxury-tax territory -- figuring that the window of op****tunity to
contend for a title with this crew may be closing fast?
# 5: FIND AN INSIDE PRESENCE: This has been on the franchise's to-do list
since Chris Webber departed in 1994, and not even his return could solve
it.
With what will almost assuredly be the No. 14 pick in what is lining up to
be a very deep draft, might the Warriors be able to finally find their
shot-blocking, rebound-grabbing answer?
-- Geoff Lepper
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