--The Warriors brought closure to the Monta Ellis moped accident, suspending him for 30 games without pay, including the first 26 contests of the regular season.
Ellis suffered a torn deltoid ligament in his left ankle in August in an incident he initially reported to the Warriors was basketball-related. But after the Warriors sent their athletic trainer, Tom Abdenour, to Ellis' hometown of Jackson, Miss., to check up on him, the fourth-year guard admitted he'd had an accident on a moped, which is an unauthorized mode of transportation in his contract. Despite Chris Mullin suggesting the Warriors go easy on Ellis in terms of a penalty, team president Robert Rowell announced a 30-game suspension, which runs through Dec. 17.
"We made a commitment to Monta for $66 million to be a great basketball player," Rowell reasoned. "We're in a situation where he is now not with us. We're going to do everything possible that we can, obviously, to get him back and to help him rehab and get back on the basketball floor. But right now we felt that it (the suspension) was an appropriate consequence."
The suspension will cost Ellis nearly $3 million of his $11 million salary this season.
--Halfway through the preseason, the Warriors were still auditioning candidates to replace Monta Ellis as the team's starting point guard.
Early on, coach Don Nelson praised the play of C.J. Watson, saying the NBA Developmental League graduate had outplayed off-season acquisition Marcus Williams and had earned first-team status.
But soon thereafter, the Warriors acquired veteran Dan Dickau and immediately thrust him into the competition. By mid-October, however, all three had been so lackluster, undrafted rookie DeMarcus Nelson had thrown his sneakers into the race. The Duke product, a former California prep standout, earned Nelson's praise as the best defender among the four.
In the end, the team might keep all four on the roster... at least until Ellis returns in December or January.
MAIN REASON WARRIORS CAN WIN: The Warriors won 48 games last season despite having only one dependable big man, C Andris Biedrins. Having signed F Ronny Turiaf away from the Lakers and drafted F Anthony Randolph of LSU over the summer, and seen the development of second-year F Brandan Wright, the club now has many options to exhaust against big men who have haunted them in the past.
MAIN REASON WARRIORS CAN LOSE: Baron Davis was the heart and soul of the Warriors' revival the last two seasons. When you lose your heart, you usually die.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Chris Mullin made it perfectly clear to both Mr. (Chris) Cohan and myself that he didn't think this was a big deal at the beginning. And we happen to think it's a very big deal." -- Warriors president Robert Rowell, disclosing why the team elected to suspend G Monta Ellis 30 games despite Mullin's recommendation to be lenient.
