The Effects of Professional Managment

"It all starts from the Top." A famous and almost classic quote about business. But it seems the Warriors have taken this quote to heart, with the addition of new owner Joe Lacob and basketball genius Jerry West. The Warriors have managed to sign solid veteran players to fill holes on both sides of the ball. The Warriors signed swingman Brandon Rush and a solid post presence in Carl Landry; both have been able to contribute effectively throughout their NBA careers. But as a lifelong Warriors fan the biggest change has to be the Draft strategy. The Warriors made not just one, but in my opinion, 3 great draft picks this year. We drafted to fill roles and create a cohesive basketball team, rather than draft any player who can sell tickets.  In the past the Warriors just drafted based on the hype of individual players, whether the player was a great scorer or great shooter rather than base their judgement on the "completeness" of a players game. By "completeness", i mean the players ability to score and defend.  Having Jerry West as our Manager of basketball operations, has added to the Warriors organization stability and championship experience; and is the single most effective management move in Warriors history.

Jeremy Lin = over-rated

Ive never identified myself as a hater, but I just can't stand this whole "lin-sanity" bullsh*t. I was born and raised in the cupertino area, and thus played basketball against Jeremy Lin ever since 5th grade. We played against each other in Club, AAU, high school, and Chinese league. And to my defense we never lost a championship game to him.  Even at a young age he was a great point guard,  but in my eyes he was never anything special. My teammates dad still has video of us killing his squad by 20 in a championship game. And although part of my hate may stem from my jealousy of not being able to play in the NBA, I still cant help but hate on the homie. I was in Taiwan the day that he was first signed to the warriors, and he was front page news from that day until present. He has his own column in the newspaper that keeps his Asian fans up to date with anything and everything they can find about him. My biggest problem with the whole linsanity situation is that this would never happen if he were black or white, he gets  all this media love because hes Asian. Although he was putting up decent numbers for a 2 week span, you have to realize it was literally against the 5 worst teams in the NBA. Yes, hes got enough talent to be able to hang with NBA caliber players, but the first time he played against a good team (Miami Heat), he got lite up by Mario Chalmers; who is an average scorer at best. He has the highest turnover:assist ratio for any starting point guard in the league, but everyone still praises him as if hes the second coming of John Stockton. Guaranteed because China gets to vote in all-star voting, that Jeremy Lin will be voted into the all-star game this coming season; and if so I will be vomiting violently.  Get the plastic bags ready.

Summer League Wrap-up

The Warriors have officially ended summer league play, and to everyone's surprise it ended with a win to finish the summer league undefeated at 5-0! This only adds to the anticipation of the upcoming season. Although the summer league is filled with mostly back up players, it still offers a high level of NBA caliber competition. As a fan, what makes me the most excited is that our first 3 draft picks all played great basketball; both offensively and defensively.  Second round pick Festus Ezeli, is looking like a solid basketball player who will be able to contribute immediately with great rebounding and defense.  Our second round draft pick Draymond Green looked impressive on the court as the 6'8'' power forward was hitting three point shots with ease. He is quickly looking like the steal of the draft. Heres a quick video for those who have never had the pleasure of watching Draymond hoop. Although he lacks elite level athleticism, he is a great leader who knows how to contribute on a basketball court in every facet of the game. He may have been the most well rounded player in the entire summer league.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW7JHr3DdT8

But the most exciting player was without a doubt our lottery pick Harrison Barnes, who already looks like he is strong and skilled enough to get major minutes when the regular season begins. Barnes was hitting shots with ease and taking good care of the basketball. He still has plenty of room to improve, but watching him play against other NBA ready players reassured many Warriors fans of whether or not he deserved to be a lottery pick. The anticipation for the regular season is begin to be palpable.

The Foundation

With so much attention put on the rookies, I thought i would take a minute to post about the players who form the foundation of the team.  Of course, we got to start off with Stephen Curry, the foundation and future of the warriors continues to rehab and prepare physically for the grind of the upcoming season.  Still not 100% from his most recent ankle injury, Curry has been on the road to recovery for several months now.  With Curry's weak ankles, the organization was smart enough to add veteran point guard, Jarret Jack, to the roster.  Even though he has yet to suit up for the Warriors, Andrew Bogut, has the weight of warriors nation on his shoulders.  Giving up former franchise player, Monta Ellis, was a tough pill for many warriors fans to swallow. But if Bogut can contribute and play at his former all-star level, the warriors will have a great chance of making the playoffs. With an all-star caliber point guard and center, the warriors have a strong foundation, with holes that can hopefully be filled with young talent.

New players, same expectations.

Being born and raised in the Bay Area, I have always been a diehard warriors fan.  Having said that its safe to say that the team has seen its fair share of struggles throughout the last decade, many NBA fans still view the Warriors as an above average D-League team rather than a legitimate threat to win the Western Conference; and who can blame them.  On several occasions time last season, the warriors starting line-up was predominantly filled with rookies. Most NBA teams send their rookies to D-league or the end of the bench for most of their rookie season, but not the warriors; dually noted the warriors also have a rookie coach.  But with the addition of Harrison Barnes, a star from UNC and a certified lottery pick even a year ago, will be sure to add some excitement to the warriors fan base. Another notable addition is Draymond Green from Michigan State, the 2 year captain was both a strong scorer and rebounder before receiving his diploma after 4 years on the team.  Finally a late second round draft pick, Festus Ezeli of Vanderbilt, a 3 year starter who lacks any type of offensive game will hopefully become a strong defensive role player for the team. Like all teams after the draft, there is alot of excitement and anticipation as to the real abilities of our new rookies, but if these rookies can contribute in any way like last years rookie clay thompson, the warriors should be in for a strong season with playoff implications.