Coach Musselman crucial to Warriors' success in 2005
THE THROWBACK
Ian Ross
Spartan Daily Sports Editor
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Barry Bonds is on another torrid home-run binge, the A's are off to a promising start and the Sharks are battling the Colorado Avalanche in the second round of the playoffs.
The 49ers and Raiders are preparing (hopefully) to draft their next big stars this weekend as well.
Which one of our favorite Bay Area teams is now getting lost in the shuffle?
The Golden State Warriors arguably have more questions and are at the most crucial crossroads of any local pro team.
Center Erick Dampier seems determined to test the free-agent market and bolt after enjoying a career season this year. The team also has questions to answer about who will start at the guard positions next year.
On top of that, their coach is reportedly in the hot seat.
It's unfathomable that head coach Eric Musselman's job could be on the line despite the surprising turnaround that began when he was hired.
First of all, raise your hand if you thought the Warriors would even win 20 games this season after waving goodbye to two of their top young players - point guard Gilbert Arenas and forward Antawn Jamison.
Despite those departures and the return of Golden State's near-annual injury problems, the Warriors closed out the season on a 12-5 tear, beating both the Dallas Mavericks and the Sacramento Kings in the season's final week.
The end result - the Warriors posted a 37-45 record, just one win shy of their break through total of 38 wins in 2002-03, thanks to a great coaching job by Musselman.
So why does the current buzz surrounding Golden State say that Musselman will be shown the door sometime over the summer?
Musselman turned around one of the NBA's worst franchises around in a single season, making Golden State the most improved NBA team of the 2002-03 season.
Instead of trying to improve the team in the off-season and make a run for the playoffs, team management opted to dump salary and make trades based on cap space down the line.
There's nothing wrong with that strategy for the long term. It certainly worked out nicely for the Denver Nuggets, who made the playoffs this season for the first time in almost a decade after slashing salary for the past couple of seasons.
However, immediate improvement the following season is never part of that equation. Factor in major injuries to point guards Nick Van Exel and Speedy Claxton, plus power forward Troy Murphy and it was impossible to expect the Warriors to compete in the brutal Western Conference.
The injuries and the pursuit of the playoffs often left the Warriors tired and depleted.
On Thursday, the Warriors named Chris Mullin as executive vice president of basketball operations.
Mullin has spent the past couple of seasons being groomed for the position, studying his new craft under the tutelage of current general manager Garry St. Jean.
When the Warriors select a player in June's NB A draft, Mullin will take a big step toward putting his own stamp on the team.
I will never question Mullin's ability as a player, but learning from the man who has failed to turn the Warriors around for the past five years or so doesn't exactly give me a lot of confidence.
Naturally, Mullin wants to bring in his own guy to assume the role of head coach. However, changing coaches simply for the sake of changing coaches is not the way to go.
Ask the Seattle Sonics for starters. A few seasons ago, team owner Wally Walker complained that head coach George Karl hadn't won him an NBA Championship.
Karl had taken the Sonics to the 1996 NBA finals, where they lost to arguably the greatest team of all time, the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls, who posted an NBA record 72 wins that season.
Under Karl, the Sonics were perennial contenders in the West. Home court advantage for at least the first round of the playoffs was almost a given.
Since firing Karl, the Sonics have made exactly one postseason appearance in five years, hardly the results Walker was hoping for.
So now the Warriors have a coach that seems capable of taking them to the playoffs for the first time since the 1993-94 season and they plan to get rid of him?
Any long-time fan of the team can only shake their heads and say "Only the Warriors..."
I wonder if the 49ers regret letting Steve Mariucci go when there was no better replacement on the market. Musselman needs to be retained.
Beyond who coaches the team next season, there are questions to be answered about the starting lineup.
Is shooting guard Jason Richardson worth signing to a long-term contract over the summer, or should the team let him walk and allow defensive demon Mickael Pietrus to take his spot?
Should the Mike Dunleavy experiment at point guard continue or should Speedy Claxton start, allowing Dunleavy to play his natural position, small forward?
Also, how can the Warriors convince center Erick Dampier, who was quoted in ESPN Magazine saying that it's weird to play for a team that you know you won't be with next year, to stick around for a few more seasons now that he has finally realized his potential?
This is a make-or-break off-season for the Warriors and how they answer those questions will determine whether they are next season's surprise playoff team or if they'll spend another season waiting for lottery balls to determine their future for them.
In case you're wondering, Dampier will bolt for big money in the Eastern Conference and Claxton should start at point guard.
Don't be surprised if Richardson is playing elsewhere next season. He's a talented young player but, like Arenas last year, some other team will be willing to pay him more than Golden State will.
Ian Ross is the Spartan Daily sports editor.
"The Throwback" appears every other Friday.
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