With the Warriors' prospects for 2008-09 growing bleaker by the game, it's only natural if the team's fans start turning their attention to next year's draft.
After their surprising 2007 playoff run, the Warriors didn't reach the postseason last spring, which played a role in star Baron Davis leaving the team in the offseason. Suddenly, the team is right back where it was in 1994, with little chance of making the playoffs and even less of a shot of getting a high pick. Coach Don Nelson, with a two-year contract extension in hand, has the luxury of enduring a losing season without losing his job. But, with his team 5-12 and already relegated to also-ran status in the mighty Western Conference, he has to recognize the future would look a lot brighter if the Warriors had a true star on hand.
Monta Ellis, Jamal Crawford, Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette and Andris Biedrins are good players. But imagine how good they'd be as complementary pieces to, say, Derrick Rose, the No. 1 overall pick of last June's draft.
Next summer's draft possibly will be the last in which one-year collegians will be available. It would be a great year to land one of the top picks.
With Golden State still seeking its first championship since 1975, you have to know Warriors fans wouldn't mind seeing the team improve its draft chances, even if it means a few more defeats.
KNICKS 138, WARRIORS 125: The Warriors struggled defensively on their Eastern trip even with top defender Stephen Jackson in the lineup. Without him Saturday, they might as well have carried red capes, because they were nothing more than matadors even against the lowly Knicks.
The worst part: Ex-Warrior Al Harrington torched them for 36 points, including an exclamation-point dunk in the final seconds of the romp.
It's hard to score 125 points and lose an NBA game by 13. But the Warriors accomplished the feat easily in New York, even outscoring the Knicks by five in the second half to produce a final score not totally reflective of the one-sidedness of the contest.
