Golden State defeated Phoenix at the Indian Wells tennis complex last night, a preseason victory achieved without the services of team captain Stephen Jackson (above. It seems Jackson used a combination of 5 fouls in 10 minutes against the Lakers Friday, plus an alleged curse-out of Don Nelson, to finally earn the suspension he’s been aching for (and perhaps, a subsequent trade to a contender). The San Jose Mercury News’ Tim Kawakami —- having chronicled Golden State’s mishandlingof the Monta Ellis Affair — insists this latest incident surprises, “precisely nobody in the universe except Warriors.”
They got into this mess by lying. By being afraid of the truth. By being weak (giving SJax the three-year extension that does not start until next year).
And by promoting falsehoods and expecting everybody“including Jackson“to play along and pretend that the lousiness was fake and that the fakery was real.
Turns out, Jackson could not do that. He can™t play for a losing team, which he probably should™ve realized before he signed the extension, but it™s really not up to him to protect the team from its own stupidity. He took the money. That was not dumb.
If Jackson is acting poorly, he deserves whatever happens. But he™s also proven he™s smarter than Rowell, so I™ll still bet on SJax ending up on a good team and Rowell screwing this up even further.
Once again, the Warriors were lying to everybody else, and almost assuredly, lying to themselves. That™s how you get a coach who™s only in it for the power and the money and a general manager who isn™t qualified to do the job.
Oh yeah, and an incompetent team president who has committed, at minimum, 25 fire-able, franchise-killing offenses in the last 18 months or so.
As we can see from the NBA’s most plagued franchises (i.e. New York), the problems start with whoever’s on top making the moves. Big Shot Jack hasn’t exactly been a saint as of late, but Golden State clearly mishandled the situation. Jackson can definitely play, and if he gets in the right situation I’m sure he’ll make the most of it. As for the Warriors, I feel sorry for guys like Stephen Curry for getting drafted into the black hole of basketball.