By: Dustin Chapman

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• Selected Anthony Randolph 14th overall.

• Selected Richard Hendrix 49th overall.

Golden State got excellent value with each of their picks in this draft. To round out the action-packed lottery, Chris Mullin took a guy in Anthony Randolph who more than likely had the highest upside of all available players. He’s currently very raw, very thin, and will need time to develop (similar to last year’s first round pick, Brandan Wright), but he’s got a great deal of potential and has a chance to be an extremely versatile player in the NBA for a long time. As long as they’re patient with him, Randolph could develop into a big time combo forward with a little bit of seasoning.

In addition, Richard Hendrix may very well be one of the real steals of this draft. He’s not going to blow anybody away, but he’s just solid. The former Alabama bruiser has a great nose for the ball, a soft touch around the basket, and will outwork anybody in his area at all times. Think Leon Powe 2.0. Heck, Powe was even selected 49th himself in 2006. Imagine that?

Grade: B+

Janny Hu of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Warriors guard Kelenna Azubuike has elected to opt out of his contract, making him a restricted free agent.

Azubuike opts out: Guard Kelenna Azubuike has joined Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins in the restricted free-agent market after opting out of his contract. Azubuike, who would have made the league minimum of $797,581 next season, is in line to receive a modest salary bump after averaging 8.5 points and 4 rebounds.

“I think everybody would hope that it would get done early,” said Mike Higgins, who represents Azubuike and Watson. “But I don’t envy them, because they have a lot on their plate. Just like with any team, they only have a certain amount of dollars to spend, and a lot of guys to sign.”

With the way he has exceeded original expectations, it would have been foolish to believe that Azubuike would have done otherwise. This past season, the second-year guard produced career highs in scoring (8.5 PPG), rebounding (4.0 RPG), assists (0.9 APG), steals (0.6 SPG), blocks (0.4 BPG), and minutes (21.4) per game. In addition, he appeared in all but one game for the Warriors this past season, as opposed to only playing in 41 games throughout the 2006-2007 season.

It is uncertain as to what figure Azubuike and his agent will ask for, but it sure as heck is going to be well beyond the $797,581 he would have earned, had he picked up his option.

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Posted By: Dustin Chapman

ESPN reports that head coach Don Nelson has agreed to coach the Warriors through the 2008-2009 season.

There’s nothing quite like some downtime in Hawaii to brighten one’s outlook.

That’s how Don Nelson seemed to portray his recent decision to coach the Golden State Warriors for at least one more season.

“I got the chance to rest a little bit, think about it, and wanted to come back,” Nelson told the San Francisco Chronicle from the team’s practice facility in Oakland. “It wasn’t that hard. I just needed to get away for a few weeks. I’m ready for more action.”

The Press Democrat of Santa Ana, Calif., reported Nelson’s return on Sunday. The league’s second winningest coach of all time behind Lenny Wilkens, Nelson and the team set a June 1 deadline for the coach, who turned 68 in May, to make a decision.

Nelson, who lives in Hawaii in the offseason, has one year left on his contract at about $5 million. The Warriors exercised that option in March, when they were on a pace to win 52 games. They finished 48-34, missing what would have been their second consecutive playoff berth by two games.

“If they’re happy and I’m happy, we might do it more, you know?” Nelson told the Chronicle. “Larry Brown’s older than me and just took a four-year job” with the Charlotte Bobcats.

In other promising news, “Nellie” states that he is likely to become more committed to developing Golden State’s young talent next season.

“Last year, we were very single-minded in trying to make the playoffs. It’s what the organization wanted to do, to make the playoffs again, and we tried to do that and we failed,” he told the Chronicle. “Part of my job next year is to bring [players like 2007-08 rookies Brandan Wright and Marco Belinelli] along, and if it costs us some games, which it probably will, then that’s what it’ll do.

“I’ll have to prepare myself mentally for that, but I think it’s the right thing to do. They’re the future of the team.”

Posted By: Dustin Chapman

Alan Hahn reports:

There is little doubt that the Knicks will shop for a point guard this summer, but at least one has come shopping for them. According to a person with knowledge of the situation, the Warriors’ Baron Davis has made inquiries into the interest of certain teams around the league, including the Knicks.

Davis, 29, has an opt-out clause for this summer that could make him a free agent, but the Warriors don’t believe he would walk away from the final year and $17.8 million, which is money the dynamic but oft-injured guard likely wouldn’t make on the open market. So Davis’ only other play is to see if another team would pursue a sign-and-trade for him.

According to the source, his representation, after a preliminary discussion with the Warriors, has put out feelers to gauge the interest of teams in need of an upgrade at point guard.

With a new regime in place and plans for a major roster overhaul, Stephon Marbury’s Knicks future is tenuous. But team president Donnie Walsh won’t explore a trade or buyout of the final year and $21 million left on his contract unless he has a replacement in place.

Davis’ agent, Todd Ramasar, has said Davis would prefer to remain a Warrior, but initial discussions with executive Chris Mullin have not developed into extension talks. With only seven players under contract at $47 million (counting Davis’ salary), Mullin doesn’t have much cap space to use for his higher priorities: getting restricted free agents Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins signed to long-term deals.

Ellis, 22, also might look to explore other options when the July free-agency period begins. A league source told Newsday that the athletic combo guard, who has flourished in Don Nelson’s fast-break system, definitely has eyes for Mike D’Antoni’s up-tempo style.

Golden State Warriors Preview/Review
By: Jeff K

After having not made the playoffs in 13 years, it finally happened for the Golden State Warriors. It all started when the Warriors signed Don Nelson which delighted all Warriors fans because their old coach was coming back. This was great news for the Warriors, but bad news for other teams. Everybody knew that Don Nelson was one of the best coaches ever and he was now returning to the Warriors. Don Nelson, also known as Nellie, signed with the Warriors hoping that his style of offense would be a better fit for them. Nellie runs a Suns-like type of offense which has been successful for teams in the past and the Warriors’ players were excited that they would be running this offense instead of the half court offense they usually run.

There is so much to talk about here for the Warriors and their great season. The Warriors struggled in the beginning of the year, which had many Warriors fans thinking not this again, we have waited so long and we will have to wait again. The Warriors led by Baron Davis and the front office had different ideas though. In January, the Warriors and the Indiana Pacers announced that a trade had been made. The Warriors sent Keith McLeod, Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, and Ike Diogu to the Pacers.In return, the Pacers sent Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington, Sarunas Jasikevicius, and Josh Powell. This was a great trade for the Warriors. They filled in the big pieces that they needed and now their team looked even more complete.

After the trade was completed, was when it really started for the Warriors though. Fans started to think believe that this could finally be the year for the Warriors. The Warriors became a better team and they had some confidence, which as you all know, helps out a young team. The Warriors, one of the youngest teams in the league was playing like they were veterans with a few exceptions of some stupid mistakes that showed how young the team really was. The Warriors and their leader Baron Davis were on top of the world in their minds, thinking about the playoffs.

Playoffs being right around the corner, the Warriors still found themselves fighting for a playoffs spot. It became clear to the Warriors that they were the ones who believed that they could get that last playoff spot and that they deserved it. With just a few games left until the season was over, the Warriors needed to win every game if they wanted to reach the playoffs for the first time in 13 years.

In Portland, the Warriors were playing the Trail Blazers. This game was a must win for the Warriors if they wanted to make the playoffs. Thousands and thousands of fans in Aurco Arena waited to see if their beloved team would finally make it. It finally happened when the Warriors beat the Trail Blazers and the Warriors broke the curse and were in the playoffs!!!

The Warriors had the eighth seed, but who cares, they had finally made the playoffs. For the first time in 13 years, the Warriors were going to be playing more than 82 games. But guess who is first up for the Warriors. Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks. Though the Warriors have had some great success against the Mavericks this year and in the past years, Dallas was going to be a hard team to beat.

The series started in Dallas, where the Warriors had high hopes. The Warriors came out winning Game One and at the same time, gained interest from other people and band wagoners as well. The Warriors became a fan favorite, and were watched all over the world.

When the series came back to Golden State, the Warriors proved that they aren’t just going to win one game and go home. The Warriors ended up winning the series, and moved on to play the Utah Jazz in the second round. This was a rough series for the Warriors though. They got ran over in a very quick series.

The Warriors are still a surprise team to everyone. A young team improving every day.

Recently, the Warriors traded Jason Richardson for Rookie Brandan Wright.

Watch out for the playoffs this coming year, they are going to keep getting stronger and stronger as the youth becomes older and learns more.

[img]http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070117/070117_wright_vmed_7p.widec.jpg[/img]

Nickname:None
Primary Position: Power Forward
Secondary Position: Center
Height: 6’10
Weight: 210 LBS.
College: North Carolina
Draft: 8th pick in the 2007 Draft by the Bobcats, but was later traded to the Warriors for Jason Richardson

Career Averages: Invalid(Do to being a rookie this year)

College Stats: 14.7 points per a game, 6.2 rebounds per game, 1.8 Blocks per Game, 1.0 Steals per a game.

Strengths:

Rebounding and Wingspan: Brandan Wright is a forceful rebounder. Wright already a 6-9 power forward gets some more help from his 7′3.75″. With the 7′3.75″ wingspan at power forward it helps out against other power forward’s because they are not able to have the wingspan that he has.

Athleticism: For Brandan Wright being 6-9 he is extremely athletic. He moves like a shooting guard with a power forward size. He is not the biggest guy on the court which can really help him at some times and will hurt him sometimes as well. This is one of the times it helps him out because when your 6-9 and you can move like a small guy it’s going to help you get to the dish a lot easier. He is able to slash a lot easier, drive, get into the lane, and fast break offenses.

Consistency: Brandon Wright is not one of those players who is just going to have a few good games and then he does have a good game for another week or so. Wright stays on top of his game at all times. He will get some games where he is not going to be what he can play at though, which happens to everyone.

Court Smarts: Wright knows what goes on throughout the game. He knows what’s happening, when it’s happening, and what his importance is. He has a very high basketball IQ and he is just going to be a rookie this year.

Weaknesses:

Readiness: We all know that Brandan Wright was a great player in college and that’s why he was drafted number eight, but I’m not sure if he is going to be ready to start right away. For some rookies they can just jump right into the NBA and they do great, but for some others it takes them some time. This is probably going to be the case for Wright.

Weight: Brandan Wright is a bit on the smaller side for a power forward. He will hopefully start to bulk up though not it’s going to be harder for the guys who were rebounding over him and powering through him. He is only 210, which might seem like a lot but he is very tall and skinny.

Bottom Line:

Brandan Wright is a great player and fits perfectly with the Warriors, but it’s going to take some time for him to get used to play. With his big wingspand, and his athletic ability Wright is going to be a great player in the pros someday, but it’s not going to be right away so give him some time, and he is going to be what you guys thought he would be, and should be.