| Which Direction are the Warriors Going In? Authored by Payam Jahromi - February 14, 2006 - 3:54 am
Fifty-one games into the season, I have no idea which direction the Warriors (23-28) are going in.
Their record is better than it’s been in the past, yet it’s been a disappointing season so far.
Unless the Warriors go 20-11 or close to that, they will miss the playoffs, which was clearly their goal this year. Then what?
I don’t have a clear indication of where this team is headed. Are they a young, up-and-coming team, or are they overpaid and underachieving?
At this point, I have no idea. With most of the young core signed to long-term contracts, I don’t know if I should be excited about the future or depressed about it.
Perhaps the expectations were too high after last season’s 18-10 finish. But they did go 18-10 – against real NBA teams – and the expectations were real and warranted.
And make no mistake about it, Chris Mullin built this team to win now as much as for the future. He has identified a core and he’s building around it.
Last season they acquired Baron Davis, who makes about $16 million per year. They gave big contracts to Jason Richardson, Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy, Adonal Foyle and Derek Fisher.
With all those moves, Mullin has made one thing clear: this team isn’t structured to be in rebuilding mode. They don’t have the salary cap room to sign a big free agent. They have their young core and, for now at least, they expect to win with them.
One problem. They’re not winning, and that raises more questions.
Is this core good enough? Has Mullin overestimated his players?
The fact that the Warriors are three games out of the final playoff spot is disturbing, make no mistake about it. It would be one thing if they were over .500 in a tough conference. But that’s not the case. They started off 12-6 and have been 11-22 since. Yuk.
Maybe I need some perspective. The Warriors were 34-48 last season, so unless they collapse in the final 31 games, they will end up improving from a year ago. That’s the good news.
But the goal was the playoffs, and if they don’t make it, the season will be a failure.
As Warriors fans, we’re used to failure. That’s not the big issue for me right now. Figuring out how good this team actually is or can be is the bigger question.
And it doesn’t end with only the players. What about Mike Montgomery? Will he be here next year if the Warriors don’t make the playoffs? My guess is no (even though Mullin has publicly backed him).
And finally, there is the trade deadline. With nine days remaining (they also have a trade exception that expires today), the rumors will be in full force. Does Mullin have another Baron Davis-type trade in him? Or will he sit tight and hope the team turns it around?
Right now, there are more questions than answers.
If you can question or comment, you can reach me at pjahromi@sbcglobal.net |
