M-JAX

Wow – the Warriors ownership group IS different. All that talk, and given the opportunity in their first full offseason, they are actually walking the walk. Big things are coming for the ‘Dubs.

The NBA finals mark the beginning of summer normally, and the current state of the Warriors is analogous to that ubiquitous summer barbeque we are all so fond of – assuming summer ever hits the Bay Area this year. It sounds like a great idea. All the buddies get invited; there are some frosty beers, some snacks, grilled tri-tip, potato salad the whole works! It’s awesome!   The somewhere in the middle of it all, someone makes a beer run to replenish the stock so a game of strip beer pong can be played, and next thing you know it’s Monday morning, and you’re throwing up again.

Lacob and Guber have invited us all over to their barbeque, and despite feeling like we’ve been to this party before, Bay Area hoop fans seem to be RSVP-ing “yes.”   Why wouldn’t we? This bbq is at a real nice house (former Sony executive, duh). And they seem to have all the fixin’s in place. Jerry West is there in a high impact consultant role –which makes him like that dynamite seven layer dip that someone’s girlfriend makes, it’s the hit of the party. Bob Myers is there, which is like someone bringing the good beer – not the domestic swill sold that was bought at $18 for a 30 pack (the Rowell and Riley analogy). Lacob and Gruber seem to have put together a pretty decent party.

Then the talk about grilling begins. Keith Smart was the hamburger of the party. Everyone likes burgers, and we would have been happy with some grilled patties. The problem with burgers is the high maintenance, they need to be molded, and grilled, and placed in the bun, and dressed, and topped with lettuce, and tomato, and onion, etc. That’s not the way guys like Lacob and Guber do it. They can’t have burgers that still have trouble getting a team to rebound consistently. They want their party to be talked about. Do they go and get the blow some coin on some black label, wagyu beef tenderloins, like Jerry Sloan? Nope, they want something that NO ONE has ever had before – like the brisket cut from an African gnu – Mark Jackson.

They’ve set him up for success – Mike Malone is the tried and true marinade that apparently tenderizes everything. So now it’s up to the inherent flavor of the meat to shine through. The problem is, no one knows how to properly use it, and no one knows what it’s supposed to taste like. We just hope it tastes like an NBA title. Hell, a little hint of playoff in there would be nice.

Scotty Brooks in OKC, and Monty Williams in NO are great examples of what a young inexperienced coach can be – the Durantula, Westbrook, and CP3 will do that for a coach. Mark Jackson is a vibrant, outspoken personality. He is energetic, and was a bulldog as a player. He’s third on the all-time assists board. The first thing that comes to mind is that perhaps his tutelage will help Steph Curry enter into the upper echelon of PG’s. We just hope Curry doesn’t pick up the Jackson shimmy after every three – ‘cause that dude makes a lot of them…

His stated goal is to make the Warriors a defensive minded team that can utilize that to get out in transition. We’ve heard this before, but Jackson’s time running the floor on a tough physical Pacers team suggests he has the know-how to accomplish that. The Warriors showed a propensity to play good defense – it often was for naught; however, when they could not secure the ball off the glass.

From a big picture standpoint, this move signifies another shift in the NBA. As player salaries go up, the value of high priced coaches goes down. Jerry Sloan is gone, Don Nelson is gone, Phil Jackson let his team pinch out a bit stinky loaf and now he is gone. Rick Carlisle has been around a bit (and looks like Jim Carrey) but Eric Spoelstra is a young guy. The league is recognizing that X’s and O’s are not going to be re-invented any time soon.   These day’s it’s either the AND1 mix tape tour (*cough*Phoenix) or it’s setting as many screens consecutively as necessary to get your best player open to get a shot. The league is ENTIRELY talent driven. Is Eric Spoelstra a phenomenal coach? Who knows? Does it matter? NO, because he has D-wade and those other clowns (8 points in Game 4 LeBron? Really? Did you leave your talents in south Beach?). Mark Jackson may be a great player manager, he might have a few tricks up his sleeve, but in this talent driven league it won’t matter unless there is more movement this off season. Doc Rivers became a great coach when he got KG, and Ray Allen. Without a move towards beastly physicality on the front line, and some perimeter defense Jackson will join the ranks of Musselman, and Carlesimo, and Nelson, and Cowens, and Montgomery, and Smart, and Attles, and… *sigh*

Nene is out there, Marc Gasol is out there, Samuel Dalembert is out there, and there are some options via the draft. There has been some talk about a trade sending Monta to Philly for Iguadala, which certainly would confirm the shift towards defense.   So despite the well-chronicled salary cap woes of the Dub’s the Warriors appear to be setting themselves up to do it. Time will tell. The African gnu brisket is on the grill, and it’s starting to look pretty good. I just hope they don’t undercook it. Rare African Gnu brisket is terrible…

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