The Golden State Warriors have been one of the more exciting teams competing in Las Vegas at the NBA Summer League. Stephen Curry has already shown some special leadership qualities and his connection with Anthony Randolph is undeniable. Warriors GM Larry Riley is excited about the potential, but understands the need to add a proven winner.
"We're very pleased with our young core of players because Anthony Morrow and Anthony Randolph both got to play over a thousand minutes last year. We wanted to see progress from both of those guys this summer and they came to Oakland and started working out in May and have been in the gym ever since. Getting Stephen Curry to add to those two guys really makes our youth movement pretty solid. We also have some other young guys on the team, Brandan Wright, Marco Belinelli and even Andris Biedrins and Monta Ellis are still young. We've got a lot of youth and I think I need to add some stability. I'd like to find one veteran to put in our mix. . . .Something of a glue guy, an NBA veteran who understands what the game's all about and can help some of our young guys grow."
Youth can be painful, and to this point the Warriors have endured their share of pain. The loss of Baron Davis hurt, as did the injury to Ellis, which left the team without a floor leader for much of 2008-09. When Chris Mullin didn't get his contract renewed and Riley took over as general manager, he wanted to immediately establish a more hands-on approach to guiding his young team.
"We started that process at the end of last year. I called in every player, visited with them at the end of the year, spend some time talking about how to approach this summer and how to be ready for training camp in October. I've stayed in constant contact with our players throughout the summer, not every day, but every few days, either a text or a phone call or leave a message to try and encourage our guys toward preparation. Monta Ellis, of course, is very important to us, and we're challenging him to accept a leadership role which he says he's ready for. That's the kind of thing that we want. We can do that, and then the rest is up to the players and then we hope to stay injury-free."
If there was a disconnect between players and management, Reilly doesn't want to lay the blame for that on Mullin's shoulders. It's more a difference in management styles which Riley hopes will yield better results.
"I wouldn't lay that off on Chris at all, it's more the way I wanted to run the organization. I think it's important for me to have communication with players. I think it's important for me to communicate with everyone in the front office, meaning people in other jobs or even the ticket sales people. It's something that I wanted to see happen. I think Chris did an outstanding job and was a very personable guy; I just have a different philosophy."
Anthony Randolph has been one of the real stand-out players in the Las Vegas Summer League, dropping 42 points in one game and throwing down some highlight reel dunks. Riley likes the scoring, but wants to see a more well-rounded game from his seven-footer. He won't put up 40 points very often in the NBA's regular season.
"That's going to change when the NBA season starts. Candidly, we don't mind a guy getting 40 points, but that's not the objective. The objective is for him to be a good, rock-solid part of our team. He still has a lot to learn. He over-handles right now and I'd like him to be more consistent with his rebounding, because when you look at the number of rebounds he got (3) when he scored (42) points - OK, give me 10 rebounds every night. That's one of the things I'm looking for. But aside from that, he's exciting, he's talented, and we love the fact that he's a Golden State Warrior."
The youth and potential of the Warriors' roster is undeniable. Now they just need the right veteran leadership to get them to the next level.
Kobe Talks About Odom, Lakers
Free agency is an undeniable reality for all NBA teams - even the defending NBA champions. In the case of the Los Angeles Lakers, they've already lost Trevor Ariza and rumors have them losing Lamar Odom, too. Finals MVP Kobe Bryant was on The Herd with Colin Cowherd today and talked about his approach to talking to free agents.
"I have (talked to Lamar). How I handle this situation is, I communicate to them how much I care for them; our team in particular has grown extremely close, so we all have a very close bond. First and foremost, I want to look out for them as a person, so it's always important to me that they do what's best for them and their family. At the same time, it's important that they know how much I want them back, and how much I enjoy playing with them. And, I would love for us to come back and give another shot at this thing, but it's very important for me that they do what's right for them and what's right for their family as well."
A couple of years ago the Kobe took his fair share of criticism for shooting the ball too much, but he's quick to point out that during that time he had to shoulder more of the scoring load if the team was to be successful.
"Everything that I've was always done was predicated off of winning, and what's going to give us the best chance to win. A couple years ago, Phil and I both understood that in order for us to be competitive with the roster that we had, I had to shoulder the load scoring-wise to keep us competitive. We made a couple adjustments in our roster, bringing Derek back, obviously adding the big Spaniard, couple tweaks here and there, now I was able to step back and be more of a decoy more often than not and get other guys going, and I think that just made us a better team."
Finally, despite being a Laker for his entire professional career, Kobe admits there's still something special about putting on that uniform and representing one of the best organizations in the history of the NBA.
"There's something magical about playing in Staples Center and putting on a Laker uniform and running out before a game. It's just special; you're playing for an organization that so rich in history and tradition, and, you feel that. And, to be a part of that, it's really special, man. I remember getting goosebumps before middle school games, and high school games, and here at the professional level is no different."
Listen to Kobe Bryant's entire interview by linking here!
Devean George Talks Raptors
Devean George took a few minutes to check in with the Toronto Raptors' brain trust as they took in a summer league game in Las Vegas, and he couldn't help but beam at the opportunity ahead of him now that he's a member of the Raptors.
"I always look at every situation that happens as an opportunity and look at the positive in it. I think there are positives to this move, even though I loved being in Dallas," George told HOOPSWORLD. "There was a logjam at my position there, so there's more of an opportunity to play in Toronto. I did love Dallas. I loved the locker room, loved the guys, and loved the organization, but when it comes down to it, this is about my future. I'm going somewhere where I have a chance to play, and that's good for me."
One thing George is bracing for is the frigid winters, something he didn't have to deal with in Los Angeles or Dallas.
"I grew up and lived for 20 years in freezing cold weather, worse than Toronto, so I'll get used to it. I haven't had bad weather, really, my whole career, playing in LA for seven years and then Dallas, but that's not really a winter in Dallas compared to what I'm used to. You get used to it, and then we're on the road a lot during the winter, too, so it won't be too bad."
George never quite had the anticipated impact on the Dallas Mavericks that many thought he might. Both Avery Johnson and Rick Carlisle ran more structured offensive sets, and George had injury issues, as well. Now, playing in a system that's a little more free-flowing, George is optimistic that he can find his groove.
"It's definitely a different system in Toronto. They're trying to run more and do the draw-and-kick, so there might be more shots for me with more guys driving and then kicking it out to the perimeter. I'm eager to get started. I have to continue to rehab my knee and get it right, but then I look forward to getting started with Toronto. I like Jay Triano's system so far. It's seems like there's a lot more freedom, more pushing the ball, and that's what all ball players want to play in. You love to get out in the open floor without as much structure - just playing. We're just going to be running, shooting, and defending, so we'll see how it works out. I'm looking forward to it."
Much is riding on this season for the Raptors. They've already added one of the top names in the summer's free agent class in Hedo Turkoglu, but the real question is whether or not they've made enough moves to assure Chris Bosh stays in town next summer. George is hesitant to guess how far his new team might go, but is confident that they'll make some noise in postseason.
"Hard to say how good we can be right now. I think we're definitely a playoff team - how far in the playoffs . . .who knows? Plus, Bryan Colangelo might not be done dealing, so we might not even know exactly who's going to be on the opening day roster. But we're a playoff team for sure."
The Raptors are hoping they're much more than that, and that Devean George can be a part of a very successful season.
Blair Gets Four Years
One of the question marks here in Las Vegas has been whether or not the San Antonio Spurs would be able to get business taken care of with draft pick DeJuan Blair. Blair dropped a double-double in limited minutes in the Spurs' first summer league game and then sat out their second. Jonathan Givony of Draft Express has reported that the team is close to signing Blair to a three-year guaranteed contract worth $2.7 million and HOOPSWORLD has learned that it will likely be four years with a team option for the fourth year. The total value of the deal will likely be greater than the reported $2.7 million.
It's a smart move for the Spurs, who won't have to give Blair a radical increase should he prove that his rumored knee issues really aren't a problem. The deal puts him on par with a low first round pick, which is where he was projected to go originally. The Spurs will use part of their remaining MLE to make the deal happen.
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The 2009 NBA Draft is in the books, now free agency is upon us, as well as HOOPSWORLD's unmatched coverage of NBA Summer League. You can follow HOOPSWORLD by going here: twitter.com/hoopsworld, and now you can follow me by going here: twitter.com/TheRocketGuy. Enjoy!
