Where Are They Now, 2010; Part 31

I wasn't initially going to mention this, not until we got to Marko Tomas's entry at least. But, browbeaten/prompted by Jonathan Givony, I will relent and do it now.

An amusing scandal has broken out in the world of Croatian basketball. A team called Cibona Zagreb are perhaps the best team in the country; they were in the last 16 of the Euroleague just last month, and currently lead the powerhouse Adriatic league with a 19-5 record. Players on that team that you may have heard of include former Bulls centre Dalibor Bagaric (whose name was brutalised into Dalibor Ballagachayridge by inept English commentator Roy Birch last week), former Real Madrid sharpshooter Marko Tomas, Slovenian shooter Samo Udrih (Beno's brother and one time Maverick), and balding former Mississippi State guard Jamont Gordon (covered here earlier this week). It's a deep team that also houses upcoming draft prospect Bojan Bogdanovic (a tall wing player with a fine jumpshot, if not much else) and Leon Radosevic (a 19 year old big man who, in true Croatian style, cannot rebound). Cibona have long had a strong youth movement, and this continues today.

Cibona Zagreb's captain is 27 year old Croatian national team veteran forward Marin Rozic. Rozic is currently injured and has been out of action for the last three months, but this doesn't mean he hasn't been keeping himself busy. News reports out of Croatia claim that, in a homage to former England captain John Terry, Rozic has been knocking off Radosevic's woman on the side, despite the two being teammates. It was Radosevic himself who went to the press, and, via the awkward medium of Google Translate, here's the gist of the story:

- I went to training and left to record their conversation. A day later I am still shocked and listen - told 24 hours Radosevic and briefly recounted the contents of their conversation.

- Euphoric spoke as she went with him into the apartment, but apparently nothing happened because they did not have condoms. Only the love.

.......

When he discovered the affair, called the girl and brought the completed act.

- First denied and then I let her recording of the conversation. Picked up the items and left the flat.

The gist of that, confirmed by this English language version of the story, is that Radosevic's girlfriend told him that a (female) friend of hers was going to come over to their place while he was at practice. This prompted Radosevic to set up a covert recording of their liaison, as he claimed that he 'liked to hear girls talk.' When he returned from practice and replayed the tape, he found that his girlfriend's actual visitor that day was Rozic, with whom she had been making out on the couch. (Although, as you can see above, apparently they avoided bumping uglies due to a lack of penis wraps. So they're not animals.)

The seediness of Radosevic's actions - who seemingly was covertly recording his girlfriend with another woman just to add to his own personal spankbank - has been overlooked by the two reports that instead seem to focus on Rozic's moral disobedience and general douchebaggery, as well as the girlfriend's deviance and slagginess. This is, perhaps, fair enough. Yet I don't believe it should be overlooked that, if what I can gather from the various reports is correct, Radosevic was illicitly recording other people's conversations. If he did so because he suspected she was straying, that's one thing, but it doesn't look like he was. It looks like he was just being a bit of a deviant himself. And that's pretty weird, dude.

Radosevic has asked to be released at the end of the year; fortunately, with Rozic's injury keeping him away from the team, they should be able to avoid any conflict between now and then. If there's any justice, Rozic will be the one released, but he's the better player and that often counts for a lot. So we'll wait and see.

As for the girlfriend in question, this is her. She's 8 years older than Radosevic; in fact, she's even older than Rozic. She seems to be claiming that she and Radosevic had already broken up, and that her and Rozic are just friends. The tape would suggest otherwise. Rozic refuses to comment.

It's funny, yet it isn't.

And now for some red hot Where Are They Now action.


- Jeff Horner

Iowa product and D-League veteran Jeff Horner started the year in Belgium, which is only fitting because he's American. However, he was released by Aalstar after posting 0 points and 1 assist in 47 minutes, while still recovering from a twice-broken foot. He then took up coaching, starting at Des Moines area high school, moving to Grandview University, and has now joined Iowa University's player development program.

Horner was the first player acquired in the history of the Iowa Energy D-League franchise. This was for his local ties more than anything else.



- Robert Horry

Horry last played two years ago, and he's not coming back now. In retirement, Horry has done a bit of TV work for ESPN, appeared in a reality tv show called "The Superstars" (which sounds like a tacky American imitation of the seminal British classic), and has opened a sports bar in Houston. He'll also appear at your club, for a fee.



- Daniel Horton

The last two years of the Daniel Horton Experience have not gone well. Last year, due to a combination of injuries and Pau Orthez's struggles, Horton played in only 4 games all year, averaging 11.3 points and 4.0 assists. And this year has been even worse; now with a different French team (Hyeres-Toulon), Horton played the first three games of the French league season before getting injured. He missed two months of action and only returned in the new year; since then he's played seven more games. Yet in these ten games, Horton is averaging only 3.4 points and 3.0 assists in 22 minutes per game. He is shooting 10-46 from the field; 8-33 from two point range and 2-13 from three. Toulon have now released Horton, who remains unsigned.

Another Hyeres-Toulon player is Pierre Pierce. Now into his second year with the team, the infamous former Iowa player is averaging 14.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game, albeit shooting only 39% from the field, 28% from three and 56% from the line. (The assists rank fourth in the league.) Pierce is more notorious for his criminal history, which is rather well-sculpted; he was released from prison in September 2006 after serving 11 months for assaulting his girlfriend, serving 332 days after pleading guilty to intent to commit sexual abuse, false imprisonment, third-degree burglary and criminal mischief. Pierce is to stay on probation until October 2010, and has to register as a sex offender wherever he goes, and while he played in summer league for the Warriors in 2007 - and playing rather well at that - in doing so he violated his probation and served 30 more days.

Pierre Pierce, everybody. Charge your glasses.



- Quinton Hosley

Fresno State product Hosley signed his first ever NBA contract this past October when he joined the Portland Trail Blazers for training camp. However, he was an early cut, never challenging for a roster spot. Rebounding from that didn't take long, as Hosley returned to Turkey and promptly began to beast. On the season for Aliaga Petkim, Hosley is averaging 18.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.9 steals per game. He's 5th in the league in PPG, 2nd in RPG, 1st in SPG, and only just outside the top ten in APG (Emir Preldzic is tenth with 4.0apg). He's arguably the best player in the country. But due to a lack of domestic support, Aliaga are 12th in the league with a 9-13 record.



- Allan Houston

Houston was never the compelling protagonist of his own amnesty clause, as was erroneously expected by a large contingent of the mainstream media. This is because he didn't need to be; the Knicks knew that they could get a retirement exemption thing on Houston's salary eventually, and they finally did so in October 2005.

Houston wasn't done, however; he launched two comeback attempts, both with the Knicks, who signed him for training camp in both 2007 and 2008. However, Houston made neither roster, and the comeback attempts appeared to be more in hope than expectation. (If he really wanted to get back in the NBA, he wouldn't have signed with the Knicks; the roster situation was always against him. Loyalties were a big factor.) It was, however, a more noble way to go out than before. Houston is now working for the Knicks as an assistant to team president and part time mafioso, Donnie Walsh. He also co-owns the clothing label UNK NBA, and is a prominent charity event organiser.



- Ron Howard

Valparaiso graduate Howard is again in the D-League, and again he's with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. This is his third consecutive season there, and he has improved every time. His first year, he averaged 11.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, rising to 18.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists last year. He has had training camp contracts after the conclusion of both seasons, first with the Bucks and then last year with the Knicks.

This year, Howard - best on the defensive end - has improved his numbers even further. He is averaging 20.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, shooting 46% from the field and 80% from the free throw line. Better still, he's now shooting threes. In his first two seasons with the team, Howard went 0-16 from three in 95 games and 3,073 minutes, but this year he's shooting 42-109 from out there, a 39% clip. Howard can't improve his age (27) or his height (6'5 small forward), and he hasn't improved his rebounding, but he has improved his jumpshot range. So now he's a 21ppg defensive specialist. Can't be bad.

Worse players than him have been called up before. Stick with it, Ron.

[EDIT; Howard left the Mad Ants two weeks ago to go and play in China.]



- Marcus Hubbard

Like Howard, Hubbard is in the D-League. Like Howard, Hubbard has had training camp contracts the last two seasons; with the Hawks in 2008 and the Bucks in 2009. But unlike Howard, Hubbard is on the cusp of nothing. In 37 games this season, 17 with the Reno Bighorns and 20 with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, Hubbard is averaging 8.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. But to get those numbers, he's shooting only .376% from the field, with 312 points on 314 shots. And that's a 6'9 forward. Hubbard is athletic, but all he really uses that for is to get elevation to take a lot of long twos. And that's not getting it done.



- Troy Hudson

Hudson last played with the Warriors in the 2007-08 season, when he appeared in only 9 games and shot 29%. He has not signed anywhere since. Hudson was trying to make a comeback as recently as August, when he sponsored and played for a team in the Howard Pulley Summer League. The Howard Pulley Summer League is a summer league (obviously) centred around former and current Minnesotans; also involved were Trenton Hassell, Quincy Lewis, Rich Melzer, Khalid El-Amin, and pretty much every member of the current Gopher squad (including Paul Carter, Al Nolen, Ralph Sampson and Damian Johnson). He also had workouts with multiple NBA teams in the summer, including Detroit. But nothing came of it.

The website for his record label no longer exists, and there's no word on whether his album's sales figures ever cracked the three figure mark. However, Hudson continues to pursue an entrepenurial dream. Hudson still has a website for his own musical endeavours, T-HudOnline.com (although it is remarkably out of date), and Nutty Boyz Entertainment has become Hudson Records, a subsidiary of Hudson's larger company, Troy E. Hudson Enterprises. Included in Hudson Enterprises are the record label, a sports management firm, and Undrafted Pros, a sports recruitment firm of sorts.

In addition to this dream, Hudson is still "in the streets in every city and hood" promoting his music>, and is also writing a book. More on that when it is known. Until such time, would you like to hear a Troy Hudson song? You would? All right. But make sure that you do before you play the following clip.



And if you'd like to see how that musical sensation was created, why not watch this mesmeric behind-the-scenes video?



That looks like my old bedroom. Or the bedroom of one of many thousands of other teenage boys with musical dreams around the world. Good luck though, Troy!



- DeeAndre Hulett

Raptors draft pick DeeAndre Hulett is a veteran of the Central American leagues, yet he had disappeared from the scene in December 2008 when he left his Mexican team, Potros. Over a year passed, but he eventually reappeared last month when he signed with the Domincan Republic team, Cupes De Los Pepines (which I think translates as "Cucumber Coupés"). Statistics are unavailable.

Somewhere, I read that this transaction also marks the end of Hulett's two year ban from Dominican Republic basketball. However, I can't find where I initially read this, and nor do I know what the ban was for. Any details welcomed.......but it seems unlikely that anyone cares enough.



- Ryan Humphrey

Humphrey is playing for Grupo Begar Leon in Spain's LEB Gold. He's averaging 15.3 points and 7.5 rebounds in 26 minutes per game, shooting 56& from the field and 62% from the line. The Magic may once have tried to turn him into a small forward/shooting guard, but it hasn't happened. And it's not going to, either.



- Brandon Hunter

Brandon Hunter is playing for Hapoel Jerusalem, where it has been my very great privilege to watch him quite a few times this season. For those wondering, he is still really really really strong, still bald, and still an out and out post player that can't (doesn't) shoot outside of the paint. And he's still awesome. On the year Hunter is averaging 7.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in the Israeli league, alongside 8.2 points and a surprisingly low 3.8 rebounds per game in the Eurocup.



Finally.....

- Jimmie Hunter

Snap has been in Spain since early 2006, and is currently in his second season with CB Granada. He is averaging 12.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in the ACB, but is shooting only 28% from three point range. As the one time CBA Three Point Shootout Champion, this is quite the drop off.

Turn That Frown Upside Down

It is my intent that you will come to view this site as a valuable resource. Between the character issues thing, the NBA salaries section, the tracking of endless former and/or fringe NBA players, the general abundance of boring trivia, the occasional bad jokes and the hugely lengthy player database that no one really looks at, I serve to bring you information that you either can't get elsewhere on the internet, or to bring it better than other people do. I do this for reasons of self-gratification and (hopefully) career advancement, and even if you think I'm annoying and a bit of a twat, I hope you can at least respect the information that I collate on this website. That is my aim.

For now, though, we'll take a slight detour.

Yesterday afternoon, I was a bit bored, and decided to find out what Mike Bibby looked like if you turned his eyes back to front and his mouth upside down. We've all wondered that, of course, and yet yesterday was the day that I could wait no longer. I had to know. The results were as follows.



I quickly realised that this was my new favourite hobby. So here are some more NBA players with their smiles turned upside down.



























Contribute your own. It's kind of fun.

Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 25

- Little Jeff Horner - who is kind of like John Stockton, only with better rebounding - averages 8.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals for Antibes. Antibes play in the French second division (ProB), which undermines that Stockton comparison a bit. But still. Stockton didn't play much in his rookie year, either. Give Horner time. He's only 25 dammit. By the way, that bulge in my cheek is my tongue.

- Robert Horry is unofficially, but effectively, retired.

- Daniel Horton was released by Pau Orthez in December, after totalling 45 points on 49 shots, with 16 assists, in 4 games.

- Quinton Hosley is playing for Real Madrid, where he averages 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16 mpg in the Spanish league, and 9.1 ppg and 3.3 rpg in the same amount of time in the Euroleague. Other Real Madrid guards include former Michigan starlet and booster recipient Louis Bullock (one of the team's leading scorers), former NBA journeyman Pepe Sanchez (who is still painfully bad at scoring; on the season he has 48 assists to 20 points, on 6-28 shooting), Marko Tomas (who isn't playing any more than he was last time he was at Real), Raul Lopez (we'll come to him later), and my own personal favourite, Sergio Llull. Nothing says "YES!" more than a 21 year old 5'10 point guard with terrific athletic ability and three point range. I like this guy.

- Allan Houston is now a part of the Knicks front office, something which hopefully means no more comeback attempts. I know you don't like how it ended, Allan, but to be honest I can't see it ending any better even if you did make a mini comeback. You did fine, really. Plenty of money, an NBA Finals appearance, two All Star games.....yeah, you should totally be contented with that.

- Ron Howard is carrying basically the entire offense of his D-League team, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Howard averages 16.6 points and 4.8 rebounds a game, but hasn't hit a three all year, which is a valid concern when you're trying to consider the NBA prospects of a 26 year old 6'5 swingman.

- Marcus Hubbard is also in the D-League, averaging 9.0 points and 4.8 rebounds in 27 minutes a game for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Hubbard (often) starts at centre for the Vipers, and is a fairly strong and supremely athletic centre, in a league with an emphasis on pace and devoid of much size. And yet, he grabs less than 5 rebounds in 27 minutes a game. That's not good enough, hammer fred.

- Troy Hudson is unsigned, and recently asked Olympiakos if they would sign him. Olympiakos said no.

- DeeAndre Hulett is also unsigned, as he was recently released by his Mexican team, Potros ITSON, who currently rank last in the Mexican league with a 8-34 record. Here's a quick explanation of who DeeAndre Hulett is: DeeAndre Hulett was a second round draft pick of the Raptors back in 2000. He played one year of college ball, for the Division 3 school "College Of The Sequoias". (Yeah, that powerhouse.) Hulett left after one season and went to the IBL in a bid to raise his draft stock. (Yeah, that powerhouse.) After a season of averaging roughly 8/2, he declared for the draft, and was picked 46th, basically on account of his 48 inch vertical leap. Since then, Hulett has done the rounds, playing for at least 4 Domincan Republic teams, as well as stops in the CBA, USBL, NDBL [as it was], Italy, France, Germany, Finland and Iceland (yeah, that powerhouse), performing reasonably well against low standards of opposition.

But here's what I'm thinking: Hulett never signed a contract with the Raptors at any point. He went to their summer league a few times, but that doesn't count. As a result, the Raptors still own his draft rights. And right now, they need a swingman. And DeeAndre Hulett just left his Mexican team. Can you see where I'm going with this? It's basically inevitable. Basically.

- Big Comfy Ryan Humphrey is also in the D-League, averaging 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in 28 minutes per game for the Tulsa 66ers. He also averages 4.1 turnovers, a simply staggering amount, particularly in so few minutes a game, and when playing in the paint. By the way, out of all the stupid nicknames I had to invent for players for this site (after my initial genius of idea of "yeah! Let's list everyone's nicknames!" unravelled when it dawned on me that only about 1 in 4 players have them), Big Comfy Ryan Humphrey is the one I'm most proud of. It has it all - rhyming, a Bryant Reeves reference, an accurate description of the player in question (Ryan Humphrey has been know to be a tad fat, thus he's big and comfy).......yes, I'm proud of myself here. Less proud of the fact that this is what I do with my life, but justifiably proud at the sweet stench of unimportant success.

- Brandon Hunter is with Bread Mountain in Italy, averaging 14.9 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. Montegranaro are right in the middle of the table in Serie A, with an 8-8 record, despite Hunter's big numbers. It probably doesn't help that their team leader in assists is former Illinois, Magic and Kings point guard Kiwame Garris, who averages all of 2.4 assists per game.

- Jimmie "Snap" Hunter is the leading scorer (13.4ppg) on a CB Granada team that hangs a lot nearer to the bottom of the ACB than they would like.

- Finally, since it's becoming a habit now, here's some more Kenny Adeleke news, not obtained via his Facebook - he failed his medical with ALBA Berlin, thus nullifying the contract he had recently signed with them. Bugger!

Where Are They Now? Part 18

It has been brought to my attention that this series of posts is 'dull', 'uninformative' and 'gay'. This unholy trifecta is a bit upsetting - I figured I could lapse into at least one of the three by accident. But no, apparently that's all three strikes right there.

Still, if there's two things that I don't have, they are a willingness to accept negative criticism, and a social life. So a combination of the two will see this series continue in a slightly different way, that hopefully is more uplifting, more useful, and more heterosexual. (Also, regardless of whether other people like me doing it, I'M enjoying doing it. So nanny nanny boo boo, stick your head in doo doo.)

Rudimentary stats for all players will now be added, where applicable. The act of doing this will probably drive me to suicide, if I am not already slain by the inevitable carpal tunnel that will come with it. But this is what champions do. They give up their bodies. (No wait, that's what whores do.) They show grit, and lay it all out there every day, willing to risk injury and/or humiliation for the team's greater good. They play the game the way that it should be played. They are heroes.

I am David Eckstein. You are Joe Morgan. I have absolutely no idea what I'm saying any more. Let's do this.

---

Daniel Horton is playing for Hyeres-Toulon in France, which sounds more like a semi-successful lawnmoer manufacturer. He left the D-League in mid February to sign there. I have no stats for him.

Quinton Hosley is playing for Pinar Karsiyaka in Turkey. You can try and figure out whatever the hell his stats are by clicking here. Fun Quentin trivia: the only three players to have played in the NBA with some variant of the name Quentin - Quentin Richardson, Quinton Ross, Quintin Dailey - have all played for the Clippers. Fun fact that I can't be arsed to verify.

Troy Hudson hasn't played since being waived by Golden State earlier this year due to injury.

DeeAndre Hulett - Raptors draft choice from 2000 and occasional answer to the trivia question "Who the hell is DeeAndre Hulett?" - has finished his whistlestop tour of Latin America, and is now in Germany, playing for Walter Tigers Tuebingen. He is averaging roughly 6 points and 2 and a half rebounds. And this is in Germany, lest we forget.

Ryan Humphrey spent the second half of last season with APOEL Nicosia in Cyprus, with whom he went to the giddying heights of the Cypriot finals. However, he has not played this season.

Brick Shithouse Brandon Hunter is playing for Angelico Biella in Italy. Whoever Angelico Biella is, she sounds hot. Hunter is averaging just over 12 points and just under 9 rebounds a game.

Jimmie "Snap" Hunter is playing for Polaris World Murcia in Spain. He is averaging 13.4 points and 1.9 assists a game.

Mile Ilic is playing for Bilbao of Spain, where he averages 6.8 points and 4.8 rebounds a game. No word on whether Nets fans still think he's the future or not.

Ersan Ilyasova is playing for Barcelona, whom you probably already know to be one of the world's better teams. Milwaukee still owns Ilyasova's rights. Ersan averages only 5.1 points and 2.8 rebounds a game.

Luke Jackson is playing for the Idaho Stampede of the D-League, averaging 13.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

Marc Jackson was playing for Olympiakos in Greece, before they decided to release him due to his unwillingness to play defense. In his place, they signed Qyntel Woods, and also brought back from Sofoklis Schortsanitis from a health spa. But more on him later.

Jim Jackson is done.

30 teams in 36 or so days: Golden State

Golden State

Players acquired via free agency or trade:

Austin Croshere (one year minimum)
Troy Hudson (one year minimum)
Kosta Perovic (previous draft pick, 3 years, $5.832 million)




Players acquired via draft:

First round: Brandon Wright (8th overall), Marco Belinelli (18th overall)
Second round: Stephane Lasme (46th overall)



Players retained:

Matt Barnes (re-signed, 1 year, $3 million), Kelenna Azubuike (re-signed, 2 year minimum)




Players departed:

Sarunas Jasikevicius (bought out, to sign in Europe), Adonal Foyle (bought out, signed with Orlando), Mickael Pietrus (unsigned, restricted, will probably re-sign but I didn't know which category to put it in), Zarko Cabarkapa (left unrestricted, unsigned), Josh Powell (left unrestricted, signed with Clippers), Jason Richardson (traded to Charlotte)





Bobbins:

I would like to extend a hearty apology to Golden State Warriors Vice President of Basketball Operations, Chris Mullin. In the early part of his time as GM (I'm not typing "Vice President of Basketball Operations" every time, "GM" will do), I ragged on the bastard somewhat mercilessly for his personel moves. And it seemed justified. Inheriting a pretty poor team. Mullin did not do much to improve that, but did spend over a quarter of a billion dollars on re-signing his core players. In an 18 month period from his hiring in April 2004 to October 2005, Mullin gave out enormous contracts to Mike Dunleavy Jr, Jason Richardson, Troy Murphy, Adonal Foyle and Derek Fisher, contracts which totalled a mindboggling $261 million for only 5 players (two of whom came off the bench). The only surprise was that he didn't give a similarly insane contract to Erick Dampier, a free agent who did get an oversized contract, but with Dallas.

Mullin's excessive spending forced him to then cut some salary, making moves such as having to deal a first round pick along with Eduardo Najera to Denver for next to nothing, just to be able to avoid the tax threshold. He pigeon-holed himself into a corner, having to sacrifice assets to keep within budget, all for a late lottery team. Things were looking bleak, and some people questioned (rather harshly) whether Chris had gotten back on the drink. Those people will go to hell, partly for their poor ethics, but also for just not being funny.

But Chris Mullin and the Golden State Warriors will not go to hell. Somehow - and this surprises no one more than it does me - Mullin has turned the situation around. The contracts of all of the above players have been gotten rid of (while Foyle is still being paid for three more years, his buyout leaves the Warriors paying a not-too-excessive amount to him, and the 30%-ish savings make the buyout an entirely worthwhile venture), and the only questionable contracts remaining are those of Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington and Baron Davis. And in even, in all three instances there, a case could be made that each player is receiving market value, or only a small amount above it.

The Warriors now have the league's 29th highest payroll (not counting Pietrus), which, when phrased more sensibly, means that they have the second lowest payroll around. Players such as Andris Biedrins and Monta Ellis still have big pay days yet to come, but Golden State is now in a position where they can pay the players that deserve big pay days, because they have freed themselves of the players that didn't.

Not just shedding payroll, Mullin has continued to bring in quality players, making very good draft selections such as Biedrins and Ellis to go along with minimum salary finds such as Matt Barnes and Big Lenny Sambuca. He has cleaned out the crap that previously permeated his roster, and continued to pack it with prospects.

And it all began with the can't-miss Baron Davis deal, in which Mullin traded Speedy Claxton and Dale Davis's expiring contract to New Orleans for Davis, who has since had a rebirth of sorts under new Warriors head coach Don Nelson. Despite the occasional slip-up (drafting Patrick O'Bryant and the Mike Montgomery era to name but two), it's been relatively all gravy since then, and the Warriors boast a young and

So well played, Mr Mullin sir. You join an elite group of GM's who can undo previous mistakes without making future ones, and therefore now have distinct seperation between yourself and the McHale/Thomas's of this world. Congratulations.


Now that all that bumlicking is out of the way, let's use less general terms and stick to this past offseason. A relatively tame one given the venom with which it began, Mullin added to his young talent on draft night by obtaining Brandan Wright, Marco Belinelli and Stephane Lasme, all of whom have joined the Warriors straight away. The big savings opened up by moving the salary of Jason Richardson - who was becoming largely expendable away - allow the Warriors more of the previously mentioned financial flexibility that they now enjoy. And as a result, the Warriors can boast a young core that rivals or surpasses that of most other teams in the NBA. They have at least one young talent at every position - often two - with a team crafted to be playoff calbire now, yet even better in the future.

Most importantly, they retained Don Nelson. A frowned-upon signing at the time, Nelson gave the young Warriors team something that they never had before - an identity. They quickly became a fast paced team with a flowing offensive system, not entirely unlike the system previously employed by Nelson during his time at Dallas. This team became one of the better stories in the NBA last year, and scored an upset for ages when they beat Dallas in round one, becoming the first #8 seed to beat a #1 seed in a seven-game series. Which was fun. Where I live, we have an expression for that: "f'in creamed the bastards".

It came apart in the second round, but it still marked a successful season for the franchise, the first for a hell of a long time.

This offseason was of building upon that, to decent effect. The Kevin Garnett whispers came to nothing, but then, that was somewhat expected. You could say that it's something of a disappointment as a fan to hear that Kevin Garnett might be coming to town, yet you wind up with Austin Croshere instead. It's a fair point. But the Warriors have not disappointed in any way, improving their roster slightly and upgrading for the future, while keeping the coach that made last season one to remember.

And what's more, they signed Troy Hudson. I mean, WOW!

(OK, so now I'm taking the piss. But the rest stands.)



Next season:

There is no real reason to suggest that the strategy that got the Warriors to the playoffs last season would not be successful once again. And with only one significant change in the rotation taking place, the Warriors have good continuity going into next season, not least from the return of Nelson. The loss of Jason Richardson should be reasonably offset by the continued improvement of Monta Ellis, the addition of Marco Belinelli (and no I'm not making the obvious surname comparison between him and Don Nelson), and the re-positioning of Stephen Jackson.

Whether the Warriors have the multi-dimensionalness to beat most teams in the playoffs is another question. The addition of Brandan Wright should help their rebounding problem (the Warriors sported the worst rebounding deficiency in the NBA last season, at -5.0), but they remain a poor rebounding and defensive team, once again relying too much upon Andris Biedrins's foul situation to win games. And as any old fart will tell you, these things count double in the playoffs.

Still, win lose or draw, the Warriors and Nellieball will be as entertaining as ever. They won't replicate the storybook nature of last season, but they figure to have a similar level of success, Still outgunned and outsized in the stronger West, the Warriors aren't a home court advantage team, but they're in a better situation for the future than most of their peers.

And it's mainly down to Chris Mullin. Jesus. That's something I'd never thought I would say.