MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Stephen Jackson. The Warriors thought so highly of Jackson's season, they signed him to a three-year, $28 million extension even though his contract wasn't due to expire until the end of next season. Shuffling between three different positions but often initiating the offense no matter where he was slotted, Jackson led the Warriors in scoring (20.7) and assists (6.5) while also finding time to be the club's fourth-leading rebounder (5.1) and best individual defender.
MOST DISAPPOINTING PLAYER: Monta Ellis. Shortly after losing Baron Davis to free agency, the Warriors rolled the dice a bit by giving Ellis a six-year, $66 million deal and anointing him the point guard of the future. The 23-year-old promptly went out and crashed his motorized scooter, resulting in ankle surgery, and basically took the Warriors out of the playoff picture even before the season started. He eventually played 25 games, during which he demonstrated he's best suited to be a shooting guard, leaving the Warriors once again without a point guard headed into the summer. FREE AGENT FOCUS: The Warriors have their top 10 players all under contract for next season, although Jamal Crawford can opt out of the final two years of his deal. That would mean throwing away a guaranteed $20 million, however, so chances are he'll be back.
PLAYER NEWS:
--G Anthony Morrow won the league's three-point shooting title, finishing at 46.7 percent (86 of 184). The undrafted rookie from Georgia Tech is the first Warrior ever to lead the league in three-point percentage.
--F Kelenna Azubuike, an NBA Developmental League graduate who joined the Warriors last season, finished fourth in the league in three-point field-goal percentage at 44.8. He also took advantage of the club's numerous injuries to establish himself as a rotation player for the future. In fact, he was arguably the team's best player at season's end, scoring in double-figures in 16 of the final 18 contests.
--C Ronny Turiaf finished third in the league in blocked shots at 2.2 per game. Only Orlando's Dwight Howard (2.9) and Denver's Chris Andersen (2.5) had a higher per-game rate than the first-year Warriors, who was signed away from the Lakers in the off-season.
MEDICAL WATCH:
--G Monta Ellis (ankle) missed the first 43 games of the season following surgery in August on his left ankle, which was injured in a motorized-scooter accident. He returned to play 25 games, then suffered inflammation in a bone bruise in the same ankle, unrelated to the surgery. He is expected to be at full speed for the start of training camp.
--G Jamal Crawford (back) was held out of games late in the season for a variety of reasons, including some with no injury at all. He missed 10 of the final 16 contests, the last four because of lower-back pain. He could have played at least the final two games had they been meaningful.
--G Marco Belinelli (ankle) sat out the final 13 games of the season because of a sprained ankle. He tried to convince team management that he could play in the final handful of games, but a decision was made to err on the side of being conservative.
--F Corey Maggette (head) suffered a concussion March 24 and then experienced post-concussion syndrome following another blow to the head on April 1, after which he sat out the final six games. He is expected to make a full recovery.
--G Stephen Jackson (toe) had surgery to remove bone fragments in his left foot March 31. He will have to take it easy most of the off-season, but he should be ready for the start of training camp.
--F Brandan Wright (shoulder) partially dislocated his left shoulder in January, missing 27 games, then reinjured the shoulder March 24 and sat out the remainder of the season. He is expected to make a full recovery this off-season.
--C Jermareo Davidson (foot) had surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot in March. He should be healthy for the start of training camp.
