How long until Monty get's canned???

[Zona Dave]

The Golden State Warriors are off to a stunning (sarcasm) 0-5 start. They looked close to okay against Dallas until they had a typical melt down in the 3rd and gave up a decent lead, and scored a combined 26 pts in quarters 1 and 4 against the Spurs last night. They signed Jason Richardson, Troy Murphy and Derrick Fisher to huge contracts. The only decent player on the team is Dunleavy Jr. On a scale 1- 10 for each position J-Rich is a 6 (still not consistant enough) Murphy is a 6 (sometimes he looks as if he has no clue) and Fisher is a 7 (at the most).

I dunno how much is Monty's fault. Players seem to like him but they will continue to lose (I see them winning 20-25 games) the consensus around the Bay Area was that they shoulda kept EM at the helm. I think they will keep him this year but, if they have a season like I expect them to this year and next, then he'll be gone by All-Star weekend next year.

[JMarkJohns]

I feel for Monty. It's not his fault. He went into the job thinking that the Warriors were going to have about 20+ million in CAP space to improve their team next offseason...

instead, Mullin (what the hell is he thinking?) spends every dollor imaginable to keep a 30 win team together for years to come. If Dunleavy Jr. and Richardson don't become dominant at their respective positions, Golden State is in a world of hurt for a very long time...unfortunately, or fortunately depending on you viewpoint, Monty won't be coaching the team past a few years.

He should get his feet wet with the Warriors, then try and latch on with a good system as an assistant to try and move up te chain...otherwise he'll be the goat for some very poor players and the very poor management decisions thatkept said players around.

[budd1e_lee]

two words Adonal Foyle..... Monty is gone by christmas next year

[JMarkJohns]

a few more...

six years, 35 million (Fisher)
six years, 60 million (Murphy)
six years, 70 million (Richarson)

Both Mullins and Monty are on the hot seat already

[AzDave]

I thought Muss was doing all he could with what he was given.

At 0-5 I think Monty is also doing all he can with what he's been given. In other words, he hasn't been given much of anything.

Muss was considered a COY candidate his first year for squeezing 37 wins out of a team that had considerably more talent, IMO, than what Monty is dealing with right now.

Honestly, I think the Warriors have some solid players but how on earth is anyone going to win with a starting lineup of Claxton (Fisher filling in while Speedy is out), Richardson, Dunleavy, Murphy and Foyle? The bench consists of Fisher, dinosaurs like Cliff Robinson and Dale Davis, and "effort" guys like Sesay and Najera. Pietrus looked pretty good in the latter stages of last season, so getting him healthy should help...but not that much.

Claxton/Fisher is a decent PG pair if you've got superstars at a couple other positions, but right now the Warriors have no superstars at all. Richardson is solid, but not someone who will lead a team to the promised land, likewise for Murph. Dunleavy has yet to show anything in his first 2 plus years other than inconsistent potential. He definitely has his moments, but a top 10 pick should be having more than just moments by his third year. Foyle is a guy I like a lot for his heart, hustle, and defense, but like Claxton and Fisher, if you're gonna start a guy like Foyle at one of the more important positions on the floor you need stars around him. As likeable as Foyle is, I feel they overpaid for him.

I feel for Monty too, JMJ. The Warriors are likeable in that they are comprised of a bunch of "good guys" who all seem to play very hard every game. The reality is that they just don't have a lot of talent and won't be able to compete for a playoff spot until they get at least one bona fide star (Richardson is close, but no cigar, IMO). Monty is not in a good position right now.

[JMarkJohns]

It was almost a lose-lose situation going in...more so after the rediculous contracts were handed out.

They have a good draft record, yet never seem to do anything with the talent they get.

I too thought Muss was a good coach (much like Bzdelik in Denver), but wasn't given enough time to do anything. I would have understood his firing more if they had some big-name coach in-line for the job, ubt they didn't.

I think, if given the right surroundings, Monty could be a good coach. He's always been able to win with only decent talent and has always gotten the best from his players, but the NBA is strange. You can be a great coach and still be a bad one...I think you get my meaning...There are plenty of good coaches that never seem to win games. Unltimately, this will cost you your job and like you said, it prolly won't be long for Monty.

[AzDave]

I think I understand what you mean. The NBA seems to go more according to talent than coaching. I think Phil Jackson, for example, was a fine coach but given MJ/Pip and then Shaq/Kobe (plus decent supporting casts for both Chi. and LA) he should win. Give Phil this Warriors team and his coaching ability would likely make very little difference.

In college, a seemingly less talented team can come together, play their asses off and end up surprising people. In the NBA I think you certainly need at least one legit stud, likely two, to be any kind of threat.

That's the way I see it anyway...I really don't know. To be honest, for as much as I love basketball I follow the NBA less and less each year aside from trying to watch any game which features an ex-Cat.

[JMarkJohns]

You're like a lot of modern fans...

There just doesn't seem to be any attachment, there's just no love...

And for the most part, I can understand why.

Play's down, shooting is bad. Fundamentals are non-existant. You've got a crapload of horrible announcers...If it weren't for the Suns, I don't know how I'd feel about the spoiled punks that seemingly run the League...

However, I won't leave. I can't. I've devoted too much time to following it and the Suns in specific. I need a Championship.

I'm sure you'd understand if it was UofA.

[AzDave]

Oh, I understand. I'm certainly not ripping anyone for being an NBA fan. I love any basketball, and I still watch the ESPN games and what have you. I want to like the NBA because these are some of the most amazing athletes in the world. It's just so hard to care when every team has 5 or 6 new players from year to year, and the general attitude is so poor.

I know there are plenty of good guys in the NBA, but they get no love. It's "in" to be street, or thug. Instead of trying to win and please their fans (not to mention playing sound basketball), so many guys seem to just try to one up each other, and pose/taunt/get in each other's face. It's as though every play is the equivalent of Michael Irvin getting a first down and celebrating like he just won the Super Bowl. You made one good play!!!!! Make plays for the rest of the game/season/playoffs, THEN act like you've accomplished something!

I don't think I'll ever abandon the NBA either, but I don't have a devotion to any team in particular as you apparently do with the Suns. I root for the Warriors, which may partly explain my apathetic attitude toward the NBA.

I went to the Warriors/Clippers game last Sat. and I was bored to death. Someone gave me the tickets. In fact, that's the only way I will attend a game until the prices reflect the level of play. The face value of the tickets was $83!!! I wouldn't have paid $20 to see that awful game.

As you can see, I DO have a passion for the NBA...it just happens to be a very negative passion at the moment! :)

It's a great game...it's just not a particularly enjoyable time to be a fan of the game.

[JMarkJohns]

Luckily, I have never had to go through the drought of mediocrity that the Warriors have gone through.

I remember 94 with Webber, Tim Hardaway and Sprewell. That was a very good team. They just couldn't build upon that and then all of sudden, they have the longest streak of any team (including the Clips) of not making the postseason. It really is a shame, because unlike the Clips, they have actually tried by trade, draft or FA signings...

There was a time from 99 (after the lockout) to 2002 when I only followed the Suns. I didn't really care too much either way. I didn't like Kidd's type of play, KJ had retired and the Suns had no real direction...but I kept in touch and always wanted them to do well, even though they struggled.

College is great. It's very entertaining. Players seem to love the game and seem to remember that basketball is supposed to be fun. These are the two main things missing in the NBA right now. Attitudes of the pros don't help things, but there are plenty of brats, thugs, bums, etc... in college too.

I love anykind of basketball ('cept of course for the WNBA ;)...), so I enjoy watching both ASU and UofA play, though I lean towards the U since it gave me my first taste of a Championship.

The Suns and therefore the NBA are just soooo much a part of me, that there's really nothing that can be done.

[TopCat]

I think you guys are overestimating Golden State. They're a terrible franchise with a long history of ineptitude.

Signing Monte was a stroke of genius. There's no reason to think the Warriors' management has any intention of putting a winning team on the floor. But with local favorite Montgomery trying to make a go of it, management can "give him a shot" for a couple of years, or more, without having any intentions of doing what's necessary to put a good team together.

Just take the revenue sharing on the TV contracts and hope that enough people in the Bay Area will spend the money to see their real teams when the visit to play the Warriors.


Has anyone else noticed that the only excitement generated about the Warriors was for one season when Gilbert made that team worth watching?

[muffley]

Can't mention the Suns without bringing up Sir Charles:

<img src="http://www.nba.com/media/suns/barkley_220_feature.jpg">

[JMarkJohns]

Team ownership is a major problem. Getting rid of St. Jean was the stroke of genius. The guy was a horrible GM.

The franchise has a very good draft record. They've gotton some very good picks from the lottory to the second round. Problem is, they then overpay to keep the players or let them go.

Monty was a very good signing. I think everybody on this board agrees. Problem is, mediocrity with little chance for improvement will get coaches fired. The contracts given out by the new GM rival those of the old GM, thus they are making very little headway. I give him a few years, but if the players (Richardson, Dunleavy Jr., Pietrus and the like) don't develope into stars, then someone will have to take the fall.

The players with their contracts are almost untradable.
Mullens is more a legand with the Warriors than Monty is in the area.
You can't fire an owner.

Therefore, the only logical choice is Monty.

I say he'll get at least two full seasons.

[JMarkJohns]

aww, the "Round Mound of Rebound"

The "Chuckster"

The last "Star" the Suns have had...until recently.

They never got full value in the Barkley trade, therefore, setting back the franchise for about eight years.

They frittered away picks, both trading them unnecassarily or trading the players unnecassarily. Trading both Cassell and Finley to get Kidd was devastating. Then trading Kidd for even less returned talent was enough to kill the team.

But they made up for it.

They swindled Orlando into giving back the Suns 1st rounder in 2002...(Outlaw, 1st for Buchler and Del Negro)

They robbed Boston by trading Fatman Rodney Rodgers and Tony freakin Delk for the raw Joe Johnson and the pick that turned into Casey J.

Then they practically raped New York, getting rid of every awful contract, while getting immediate CAP space, 1st round picks and prospects...

Then they convinced the Bulls into trading a mid-lotto pick in a weak draft for a future, relatively unprotected lotto pick in stronger drafts.

For all he's put me through, throughout the years, there still isn't a GM in the League that can put a trade together like JC...

The Suns, until they signed Outlaw, were the youngest team in the League. They now have the luxery of both developing future talent and competing for the playoffs. A luxery not many teams have (I.E., Golden State).

No Titles, but 100% of my trust...maybe I'm too easy ;)

[Zona Dave]

Jerry should send this with the guys he trades away...

[Class of 1990]

Warr ior s ... Come out to play ............... Warr ior s ... Come out to play

[JMarkJohns]

Warriors don't even break 70 tonight against the Grizz, losing 96-67.

They really shouldn't have this much trouble scoring. I would have figured this to be the teams strength heading into the season.

Fisher, Richardson, Dunleavy, Murphy...all should average 15+ a night...if they can't get another 30+ from the rest of their roster, it'll be a long season.

[muffley]

Warr ior s ... Come out to play ............... Warr ior s ... Come out to play

Rep for the best unrealistic gang movie ever!

[barringer97]

Warr ior s ... Come out to play ............... Warr ior s ... Come out to play


You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Class of 1990 again.

[Chicat]

Congrats to Monty on winning his first game. Let's hope it isn't his last win too. :rolleyes:

[JMarkJohns]

I bet he was glad to see the expansion Bobcats on the schedule...too bad he only gets to play them twice.

[azcat34]

This debacle isn't Monty's fault. Look at that team and how terrible it is.

Chris Mullin has to be the dumbest General Manager in all of the NBA. His moves make no logical sense and the Warriors don't have any cap room and still have no talent. Its just a long going debacle that is the Warriors.

Mullin has sent them on the road to mediocrity for another 5 years. It's pathetic.

S.O.