In the wake of the Baron Davis era, the Warriors' future now has a face. In fact, it has seven of them.
The Warriors announced Monday they have given Stephen Jackson a three-year contract extension, locking him up through the 2012-13 season. The move, coupled with about $170 million of free-agent contracts given to Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette and Andris Biedrins over the off-season, gives the Warriors a four-man nucleus locked into place for at least the next five seasons.
A point guard, two swingmen and a center. If the franchise only had a power forward...
Alas, the Warriors also have three of them etched in stone for at least the next three years, having signed Ronny Turiaf to a four-year pact over the summer to complement 2007 (Brandan Wright) and '08 (Anthony Randolph) lottery picks.
The Jackson deal is not only the latest, but arguably the most controversial. He was given the maximum extension allowable by rule -- three years totaling a reported $28 million that will kick in following the final two seasons ($7.1 million and $7.7 million) of his previously existing contract.
Jackson has cleaned up his image since joining Golden State two years ago shortly after a gun-toting incident that prompted a seven-game suspension. But re-upping with him at this point clearly was anything but a no-brainer in the Warriors' front office.
In fact, team president Bob Rowell and vice president Chris Mullin reportedly disagreed over the approach the team should take toward Jackson. Rowell, the right-hand man to owner Chris Cohan, carries the bigger hammer, however, and he negotiated directly with Jackson, who represented himself, on the extension.
WARRIORS 111, TRAIL BLAZERS 106: Anthony Morrow's 37-point explosion in Los Angeles against the Clippers on Saturday afternoon was nothing more than a rumor to Warriors fans, who didn't get a chance to witness the non-televised feat. So they came to see first-hand if it were possibly true Tuesday night, and he did not disappoint. The rookie thrilled his new home fans with three second-quarter three-pointers, 11 third-quarter points and 25 overall to provide the highlight of the win over the Trail Blazers. The slick-shooting Georgia Tech product sealed the deal with three free throws with 5.6 seconds left, extending a two-point advantage to the final margin.
