Nellie's Back

[stevew]

Oh noe.....here comes the return of the 6'7" center.....


ESPN - According to Marc Stein, Don Nelson will be named as the new coach of the Golden State Warriors this week.

Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com that things are "all lined up" for Nelson, 66, to return to the Warriors, who haven't been to the playoffs since 1994 when Nelson was still their coach.

In related news, the Warriors and Head Coach Mike Montgomery have mutually agreed to part ways, it was announced today by Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin in a press release.

“This is a very difficult day for me,” said Mullin. “Mike is a terrific basketball coach who has enjoyed a great deal of success throughout his career. His accomplishments in this game are well-documented and, in addition to his resume, you would be challenged to find a better person with more character. He has an impeccable reputation both on and off the court and I have the utmost respect for him. Based on this agreement, we will now focus our efforts in a different direction and do what we think is in the best interest for this team. We thank Mike for his contributions and certainly wish him well.”

[Groundhog]

I know the money is good, but damn, college coaches should just stick to college. I don't think anyone would argue that Montgomery is a bad coach - nor were Floyd, Pitino, etc. - but the sad fact is that NBA stars do not respect their coach unless they are either a former NBA player of recent years (and even this is rarely enough), or a guy like Phil Jackson. You'd consider Larry Brown to be in the later category but look at all the good that did him last season.

Montgomery couldn't get the Warriors to play basketball like he wanted them to, so a team that looked destined to return to the playoffs under-achieved once again. Hopefully Montgomery returns to the college game, and he'll be a big hiring for whichever school gets his services.

[st.cronin]

Wow, I honestly thought Don Nelson was dead.

[Easy Mac]

I thought they were making Country Grammar 2 or something

[The Afoci]

I thought they were making Country Grammar 2 or something

Or another reason to wear ear plugs at strip joints. Throw poop at police.

I got nothing.

[jbmagic]

The last Golden State Warriors team that Bay Area fans watched in the playoffs was way back in 1994, shortly after the Run TMC era of Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin. The coach who directed that wildly entertaining team, Don Nelson, will return to the sidelines in Oakland this season with hopes of restoring some of that old Warriors glory.

The move is surprising on the surface, given Nellie's age (66) and his connection to the Dallas Mavericks franchise. But with Avery Johnson firmly in place as the Mavs' coach and Nelson's son Donn handling the general manager duties in Dallas, Nelson was ready for another challenge. And with both Mullin and Richmond handling front-office duties for the Warriors, the link is an obvious one.

There are a couple of reasons why Mike Montgomery will be bought of his contract and Nellie will take over.

First, Mullin had to make a splash after a summer of failed trade possibilities. The Warriors GM had hoped at various times to deal Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy with the idea of landing Al Harrington, among others, but nothing has materialized.

If the Warriors had started next season without doing a thing, the Golden State faithful wouldn't have had much to be excited about. Hiring Nelson is a big deal because he's one of only a handful of coaches who can truly make an instant impact on a team. (In that regard, it is similar to the Lakers' re-hiring of Phil Jackson last summer.)

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Nelson will have the Warriors running, gunning and playing multiple lineups with the idea of creating mismatches across the board. Golden State has some good young talent and Nellie has the ability to develop it. He'll have an opportunity to turn the Warriors into a very entertaining outfit.

The second reason for bringing back Nelson is this: If anyone can make a connection with Baron Davis, it is Nellie.

By midseason Davis and Montgomery had almost no relationship whatsoever, according to Golden State insiders, and the situation severely hurt the team's chances for success. The Warriors had no chemistry or direction.

Nellie will come in with a resume that includes helping develop a couple of point guards (Tim Hardaway and Steve Nash) into NBA stars. Each became the leader of an up-tempo basketball team, and the opportunity changed both players' careers.

Davis is ultra-talented, but he has been both injury-prone and moody over the years. It is Nelson's job to turn Davis into the leader he can become. One thing is for sure: Davis will enjoy playing Nellie's style. The ball will be in his hands, and he will have full authority to run the club. Ultimately, the relationship between the two men will be the key to whether this union is a success. That and Davis' health.

If Davis comes to camp in shape and healthy, and if Nellie can convince him to run the club the way it needs to be run, the Warriors might be onto something. Jason Richardson has "All-Star" written all over him, Murphy and Dunleavy can be productive players and Monta Ellis showed flashes of brilliance last season.

Maybe the Warriors can put it all together. And then maybe they can make a run to the postseason and create a nickname of their own, like Run BNC – Baron, Nellie and Chris.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Great work on that article, jbmagic. I didn't know that you knew so much about the Warriors. Very impressive.

[Ksyrup]

The NBA recycles coaches a ridiculous amount. I assume Nellie will be adding Dick Motta and Kevin Lochery to his bench.

Mike & Mike this morning had a debate about whether someone in Montgomery's shoes should have stayed in college and become a legend at his school, or tried his hand at the NBA level. Greenie said there was no doubt he should have stayed; Golic said that what drives athletes and coaches is wanting to be successful on the highest level and he needed to try to prove he could coach in the NBA.

It is a fairly interesting topic. The easy answer is that Montgomery threw away likely legend status for the chance to make a quick $10 million. And in his situation, my feeling is that's just what he did. But I think you have to look at each situation on a case-by-case basis. With Steve Spurrier, for instance, I believe he was somewhat intrigued with whether his style would translate to the NFL, and he chose what should (or could) have been a good situation to make a go of it - owner willing to spend money, solid franchise, etc. It didn't work out, but theoretically, it could have.

With Montgomery, there's no conceivable way he could have thought he was going to win with Golden State. None. If you're going to do what he did, you have to make sure you're going to a good situation that will allow you the chance to be successful. The only possible thought he must have had is that if he somehow made this team a winner, he'd be considered one of the top coaches in the world. As it is, he ruined a great career at a school he would have become synonymous with for some extra cash. I haven't had that kind of money thrown at me, of course, so it's hard to say how I would react, but I don't think coaching for GS would have been in my thought process at all.

[miami_fan]

I know the money is good, but damn, college coaches should just stick to college. I don't think anyone would argue that Montgomery is a bad coach - nor were Floyd, Pitino, etc. - but the sad fact is that NBA stars do not respect their coach unless they are either a former NBA player of recent years (and even this is rarely enough), or a guy like Phil Jackson. You'd consider Larry Brown to be in the later category but look at all the good that did him last season.

Montgomery couldn't get the Warriors to play basketball like he wanted them to, so a team that looked destined to return to the playoffs under-achieved once again. Hopefully Montgomery returns to the college game, and he'll be a big hiring for whichever school gets his services.

I might have to argue the Tim Floyd point;)

[Pumpy Tudors]

I might have to argue the Tim Floyd point;)
As a UNO alumnus and basketball fan, I'd take Tim Floyd back in a second. Of course, I only say that because our coach just left and got replaced by some clown named Buzz. :(

[rkmsuf]

Head coaches in the NBA are approaching irrelavant status. They are glorified babysitters at this point.

[AgustusM]

Head coaches in the NBA are approaching irrelavant status. They are glorified babysitters at this point.

for losing teams yes, for teams that win the title - not so much.

the last 10+ nba champions have all been coached by "good" coaches that have gotten their teams to play team basketball. There will always be teams of spoiled millionaires that make sportscenter every night, but will never win anything.