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