Assists       GSW        OPP

-------       ---        ---

10-14          4          0

15-19         17          8

20-24         25         27

25-29         11         14

30+            0          8

As you'd probably expect, the majority of the games fall in that 20-24 range. It fits right in with the averages.

The big difference is at the upper and lower ends, especially the extremes. The Warriors have had 21 games with 19 or fewer assists compared to 8 by the opposition. On the other hand, opponents have had 25 or more 22 times compared to only 11 by the Warriors.

It goes deeper than that.

Overall, after counting things up I found the Warriors have had almost exactly the same number of games above their average (28) as below (29). I didn't run the figures for the opponents, but I'm going to assume based on the overall breakdown it's going to be very close to above and below the 24 they allow.

Of the 28 games with 21 or more assists, 17 were at home (10-7 record) while 11 were on the road (1-10).

Of the 29 games with 20 or fewer assists, 10 were at home (5-5 record) while 19 were on the road (4-15).

They've actually got a better road record when they get fewer assists, which probably means they've limited the other team to fewer as well, pulled a couple wins out they probably shouldn't have had, or were carried by a big performance (Crawford's 50 in Charlotte came in a game where they only had 18 assists).

(NOTE: somewhere along the way it looks like I mistakenly put one home game into the road column, but I don't think it changes things all that much and it took too long for me to do this to go back through everything one by one and find it)

We can break things down a couple different ways: with and without Crawford and with and without Ellis.

Before the Crawford trade, the Warriors played 13 games and recorded 21 or more assists in just 3 of them. 2 of those 3 were at home. They actually won the only road game they had over 21 assists in, going 1-4 in the rest.

Since getting Crawford, they've done a better job of dishing out more assists, but as you'd probably expect they're likely giving up more as well. With him, they've recorded 21 or more assists 25 times, 20 or fewer 19 times. They've been at 21 or more about 75% of the time at home, just over 40% on the road.

Oddly, they've lost all 10 road games when getting 21 or more assists since trading for Crawford (3-11 when at 20 or fewer). Their winning percentage at home with Crawford is the same no matter how many assists they get (60%).

Without Ellis, they had a couple more games with 20 or fewer assists (23 to 21, counting last night's game) and were almost even at home, including a 9-9 record overall.

With him, they had 7 games of 21 or more, 6 games of 20 or fewer, and they were at 21 or more in 7 of their 9 home games (5-2 compared to 1-1), 0 of their 4 road games (0-4).

What does it all mean? Probably not a whole lot. We already know the Warriors have a lot of games where they play more selfishly than usual, lowlighted by those 4 games where they failed to top 15 assists, but I expected more high-assist games (30+) to balance out some of the mid-teens. Instead, they had none while allowing 6 and even gave up more in the 25-29 range.

For a team so good at scoring, they sure don't reflect it in the assist totals. I guess we can take some solace in the fact that with them last in points allowed, at least they allow a lot of assists as well. Or something.

In 57 games, who has had more assists?

Warriors: 11 (19%)
Opponents: 40 (70%)
Even: 6 (11%)

The Warriors had 20 assists 8 times, the most of any total. After that, they had 18 or 21 a total of 6 times, followed by 24 at 5 times. 29 in one game is their highest, done 3 times. They had 11 once, 13 twice, 14 once and 15 twice.

The opponents had 23 assists 8 times, followed by 20, 22, 24 or 26 a total of 6 times. They had 30 twice, 33 twice, 35 three times and 36 once. They had 15, 16, 17 and 18 only once.

Warriorsworld.net:  Is there a more inept Front office in the NBA? Maybe in all of professional sports? No clear cut person in charge, feels like different people taking turns making roster moves, who's to blame for this mess?

T.K:  I can't believe I'm the one saying it, and I know my great pal Robert Rowell won't believe it either when he reads this, but when I look at the Raiders, Detroit Lions, San Diego Padres and, yes, the LA Clippers, I see teams with front-office foolishness that at least equals and possibly surpasses this recent spate of Warriors idiocy.

The Warriors' problems, more than the other teams I mentioned, stem more from irrationality and neuroses, which is different. The Raiders are messed up by Al Davis' ego/loopiness, the Lions and Padres are flat-out incompetent and the Clippers are a whole other demented dimension.

But that doesn't really matter for Warriors fans and it shouldn't. They're seeing the product of a long series of Warriors miscalculations and desperation moves, all dating to the start of the Cohan ownership.

There are three constants for the last 15 years: The team hasn't won except for a quick recent blip, top players have either been traded or haven't wanted to come here, and Cohan has been the owner. I think the last item is the reason for all of it.

I don't think it's a very fair comparison of personnel talent, but the way they're treating Chris Mullin now is not dissimilar than the way Rowell and Cohan put Garry St. Jean in limbo for two years--he was the GM, but not really the GM, as they lined up Mullin for the job.

Mullin is 1,000 times the GM that St. Jean was, with some weaknesses, but now he's the one serving out his time in limbo, while Rowell and Cohan bide their time and destroy whatever momentum Mullin had built.

It's a pattern. Rowell and Cohan and neuroses and losing. That's the pattern.


Warriorsworld.net:  Is there any chance Cohan sells the team? Strips power from Rowell and allows a Basketball person make the basketball decisions rather than have power drunk Rowell play out his gm fantasies?

T.K:  There are always rumors that Cohan could sell the team, but I've never heard anything serious--if he didn't sell the team back in the early-2000s, I don't know what would get him to sell now. Unless the attendance falls off. That's the fourth constant of the Warriors: INCREDIBLE FAN SUPPORT. As long as the arena is packed, there's no reason for Cohan to even think about selling (or firing Rowell). Especially in this economy. But if the attendance falls...

Then I think Rowell could be in jeopardy, or Cohan could start to contemplate selling off a majority chunk of the team, possibly to the group of investors who bought in a few years ago.

Warriorsworld.net:  Does the Team feel the heat from having such a horrible series of moves since the "We Believe" playoff run or are they too oblivious to everything around them?

T.K:  The Warriors' brass feels the heat from the fans and the local and national media, there is absolutely zero question about that. That's the thing about the Warriors--they're supremely sensitive to criticism, which is both good and bad. Good, because you want them to care about their great fans, and I think Cohan and Rowell respond to it with things like the Maggette signing after Baron left and the hiring of Don Nelson, at no minimal cost to Cohan.

But it's also bad--and I'd say it's MORE bad than good--because that sensitivity leads them to desperate, knee-jerk moves that can easily backfire--e.g., Maggette, Don Nelson's extension. Bill Belichick doesn't give a damn about the reaction, he just wants to win. Parcells, Jerry West, Popovich, whoever you want to name.

They don't tend to think things out. I'm mostly talking about Rowell and his group of loyal lieutenants. They just put out brushfires, convince themselves that the team will be better in some uncertain future date, that the officials are screwing them, that there's a conspiracy against the Warriors... It's about trying to put themselves in the best PR light, and if they win, it's going to be by accident.

Warriorsworld.net:  Having one of the if not the most loyal fan bases in sports it seems that the team takes them for granted, what if anything can fans do to dictate or voice their displeasure? Does this franchise deserve such loyal fans?

T.K:  I've touched on my answer earlier and in earlier columns, which infuriated the Warriors front office, but it's the only way I see: If there is a serious hit to the season-ticket base next year, something serious will have to happen to turn back the financial tide for the Warriors, to get the general fan to believe in them again.

Tickets. It's all about tickets.

That's the Warriors' only truth now: If the arena is filled, the Warriors think everything is OK, or at least they'll lie to themselves and say that it is. Cohan, losing, filled arena... until the last link is broken, I think the first two pieces remain constant.

Warriorsworld.net:  Nellie recently voiced his displeasure with local media and bloggers, but aside from yourself and a handful of others, the bay area has relatively "soft" media, why don't we see more aggressive, critical or "harder" opinions vs the team or franchise in general?

T.K:  I do wonder about that. If Nelson is so disgusted by the criticism he has received after undermining Mullin, his own former player, and leading the team to this terrible record, what would he be thinking if he was coaching a third year in New York or Boston and producing this dreck? He'd be fired, that's the answer.

The Bay Area is just not like New York, Boston or even LA. I grew up here and I respect the calmer attitude. Of course, I don't always (or ever) follow it, but oh well.

A great percentage of local sports fans just want to presume the best about their teams. The teams are used to that. They do take advantage of it. Right now, we're seeing the results.

Warriorsworld.net:  Do you ever get criticism or backlash from the Organization in regards to your articles/Blog entries? If So, how do you take them? Do they influence you in any way?

T.K:  Short answer: Yes, I get backlash. But that's not a terrible thing. It keeps me on my toes and I know people are going to mention the Monta Ellis-won't-ever-play-for-the-Warriors episode. That was something I said on the radio that did not turn out to be correct, though I am not going back down from the overview thought: The Ellis suspension/void possibility is a situation that could and maybe is likely to end up ugly.

I have to be ready to accept heat for that if I criticize a team. Don Nelson can go on and on about me on the radio. That's all fair. We're big boys here. If they want to say the Warriors are a wonderful happy place and that I'm a liar and a fool for saying it isn't quite so happy, then I'm fine with that.

Ask around the league. The people who know what's up aren't going agree with the Warriors, I'll tell you that.

Hey, if I'm a columnist following this team closely and Robert Rowell ISN'T mad at me and his ticket representatives aren't telling their customers to ignore me (which I guess they are), I think maybe I'm doing it wrong.

Warriorsworld.net:  Mullin on the outs, Nellie in his own world, Rowell playing fantasy basketball with the roster, what will it take to turn this franchise around? Cohan hires you tomorrow and gives you power, what do you do to get this thing going in the right direction?

T.K:  Well, first off, Cohan ain't hiring me and I ain't taking a job under Chris Cohan. Had to say that. OK, to the answer. In an ideal world, I'd say that Rowell and Nelson have to go: Wrong time for Nelson, who was tremendous for the first two years but cannot be trusted to develop a young power forward when the Warriors must develop a young power forward.

For a coach: Flip Saunders, Keith Smart or, if I wanted to go in a new direction, Jeff Van Gundy would intrigue me.

I was fairly obnoxiously campaigning for Mike D'Antoni right after he left Phoenix last season... Would you like him as your Warriors coach right now? Baron would've stayed, Harrington obviously, too, get some activity out of Randolph and Wright...

But never mind.

Oh, they need a point guard, too. I remember once talking to a Warriors exec years ago, a couple months before they got Baron Davis. He said that they had talent, but just needed a center and a point guard. "Of course," he said, "that's true about 99% of the teams in the league."

I'd say it's time to cut into that monster money commitment to Stephen Jackson, Andris Biedrins, Monta Ellis and, if he doesn't opt-out, Jamal Crawford. Don't know what's possible. But unless that is broken up, this team has a little shot at getting anywhere near the 50-win mark, and if you're in the NBA, that's what you have to shoot for.

The Warriors have talent. I always disagree when people say, look, NO TALENT! There is 35- to 38-win talent on this team, and if Randolph or Wright bloom, it could be 40- to 44-win talent in a year or two. But that's it.

And they're way too clogged up with those four guys I mentioned earlier to do much about manuevering above the 44-win plateau.

Warriorsworld.net:  Worst move, signing Maggette or giving Jackson an extension when he still has 2 years left on his current deal?

T.K:  Though Jackson is the Warriors' best player and I respect the hell out of him because he (usually) plays excelelnt defense, and though Maggette is a strange player, I think Jackson's extension was the poorer decision because there was NO reason to do it other than to stoke Rowell's ego as The Man. Jackson had two years left. Two years left.

If Jackson hadn't gotten that three-year extension, he'd be an incredibly valuable trade asset right now. With the new deal, his value is low, low, low.

Maggette can be a useful player. I don't particularly like his game, but defenses fear him. The Warriors paid way too much and for way too long, but they needed someone like him after Baron left. It's what happens when you get into trouble: You have to over-pay someone who doesn't actually make you that much better.

Warriorsworld.net:  Who misses who more, Baron misses what he had here or the Warriors miss what they had in Baron?

T.K:  I think it's equal. Baron is a declining player who got a necessary career boost from the perfect playing conditions he found here under Nelson and Mullin and beside Jackson, Harrington, Barnes, Ellis and Richardson (until J-Rich was traded). That situation will never be the same. For the Warriors or Baron

Warriorsworld.net:  Any words for warriorsworld.net readers?

T.K:  Nothing special or original other than: The passion. It's all about the passion. I salute the passion.

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Specal Thanks to Tim Kawakami for spending time with Warriorsworld.net, Discuss HERE

 How Long Have you been a warriors fan?

Well, I was born in San Jose and grew up in the Bay, so I've been a fan for as long as I can remember! I grew up on the NBA.

Fav. All Time Warrior? Why?

My favorite All Time Warrior has to be Chris Webber, because when he was drafted #1 in 1993 and they traded (Anfernee Hardaway) to get him...it brought so much fresh excitement (an promise) to Warriors basketball ... I just wish it would've worked out!

Fav. Moment?

There are so many, but I loved it when they had the Tim and Chris burger at McDonald's on in the mid-90's when the fans would get a free chalupa or pizza or something when the Warriors scored more than 120 at home...that was always funny to watch on TV. It's also fun when the Warriors come and play in Miami and I think..the Bay is in the bldg!

Worst moment as a Warriors fan?

Getting rid of CWebb over Don Nelson, only to fire Don Nelson right after...or The "strangling" incident...Latrell Spreewell and PJ Carlisimo

How would you like them to improve?

I think it's just a matter of consistently winning and being seen as "competitive" every time they play! I hate hearing the "oh it's just the Warriors" i.e. easy win in the eyes of other teams!

You can bring any current NBA player to the Warriors, who would it be?

Lebron James

Finish the sentence, When the warriors win the championship, I will.....?

Buy some fresh new Warrior gear and go out to eat at Crustacean!

 About Aubrey

Aubrey Aquino is a TV Host and Reporter. She's originally from the Bay Area, California, but her on-air TV career has moved her all over the country, from Oregon to Arizona and all the way east to Florida! She is the host and creator of "On The Flipside," and a regular contributor to Deco Drive (FOX-Miami). Aubrey's resume includes stints on E!, Fox Sports Net, ESPN and NBC and to date, she's interviewed many well-known Hollywood stars and sports celebrities. Aubrey is no stranger to sports entertainment, as a former dancer for the NBA and NFL (Sacto Kings, Oakland Raiderettes and AZ Cardinals), and she's been featured in the EA Sports NFL 2K video games series. She was also a cast member on ESPN's first-ever reality game show "Beg, Borrow and Deal." You can visit Aubrey's website and blog at http://aubreyaquino.com . And check out her new show at http://ontheflipsidetv.com

 Former Warriors Head Coach Eric Musselman sat down with Warriorsworld.net for a wide ranging interview.  

Audio is HERE

Warriorsworld.net: I'm here with Eric Musselman, who's agreed to do an interview with us today for Warriorsworld.net As the first question I wanted to ask you: aside from your active blog, what's been keeping you busy lately? Are you still with CSN California?

ERIC MUSSELMAN: Yes, James. I actually have two games: the Saint Mary's home game against the University of San Francisco then I have another game on Saturday, Saint Mary's at Santa Clara. I've really been enjoying working for CSN and it's been fun to work on the media side of this thing and I've really enjoyed working with Greg Papa.

Warriorsworld.net: What is it like working with Greg?

ERIC MUSSELMAN: This is the first time I've ever done TV games and obviously I've had fun doing it, I've enjoyed doing it, and I've gotten a lot of positive feedback and really, all of that is attributed in my mind to the guy that I'm working with, Greg, because I'm a rookie at this thing, learning on the job, and he has been so helpful and so willing, and he kind of is like a good point guard. He sets you up perfectly and makes it hard for you to fail. He's giving me layups with no defense on me.

Warriorsworld.net: At the same time it's probably giving you a bit of a different look from this side of it compared to just coaching, right?

ERIC MUSSELMAN: I've loved it, I really have. I've liked being around the game, love being in the gym. It's interesting to see the different ways that coaches deal with the media. Some guys have been really really up front, overly helpful, giving insight prior to the game on what to look for on defensive and offensive strategies, and then other coaches, very much, it's almost like they don't want to give away any secrets prior to the game. So to me it's been interesting and usually the teams that are forthcoming and like to give information and be helpful are usually the good teams. Probably, there's a reason that some of the teams struggle, because those are usually the guys that think they have secrets but in reality there's really not a secret out there.

Warriorsworld.net: That sounds good. Over the past couple years your name's been mentioned a few times when various vacancies have opened up in college. Is that something that you're still looking to do at some point or are you kind of happy with what you're doing right now?

ERIC MUSSELMAN: Well James, I want to get back into coaching. I miss coaching. It's been my whole life. But having said that, obviously being in the right place at the right time is important. Having gotten two great opportunities to be a head coach in Golden State and Sacramento, I look forward to getting back whether it be an assistant coach in the NBA, a head coach at the NBA level, or at the collegiate level, but again I think the most important thing is to be in the right situation at the right time.

Warriorsworld.net: Right, definitely. You played at the University of San Diego and you did so under Jim Brovelli and Hank Egan at different points. What did you learn the most from them?

ERIC MUSSELMAN: Both Coach Brovelli and Hank Egan, phenomenal X and O coaches. I learned so much I don't even know where to begin from both of them. But Jim Brovelli was a guy - he actually is in my opinion the first guy to come up with the point forward position. There was a player that played at the University of San Diego by the name of Mike Whitmarsh. Mike was an Olympic volleyball player and he was a 6-foot-7 small forward but actually, my freshman year, which was Mike's senior year, he was runner-up for the WCC player of the year to John Stockton and Mike played the point forward. Coach Brovelli doesn't get enough credit for being in the forefront of having that position be a key.

With Coach Egan, he was just a phenomenal X and O defensive coach and I learned so much on how to break down the game. Instead of it being a 5-on-5 defensive game he broke it down in drill situations and simplified everything and really took things from a part and turned them into a whole. So I learned a tremendous amount at the defensive side of the court from Coach Egan.

Warriorsworld.net: It sounds like one gave you a good look at some offense and the other gave you a much better look at defense at the same time.

ERIC MUSSELMAN: Both of them were great coaches on both sides of the ball but as time passes and you look back and say "What did I learn from this particular coach?" I thought Coach Brovelli was really innovative in his offensive mind and again Coach Egan was so sound defensively. So yes, you're right James, that's probably what I took away from each of those two guys.

Warriorsworld.net: Sounds good, definitely. Now, Keith Smart played for you in your first year as the head coach at Rapid City of the CBA then again a few years later in Florida. What impressions did you have of him back then, how close do you think he is to a head coaching job somewhere now, and what will he bring to the table in that position if he happens to get it?

ERIC MUSSELMAN: Well Keith, not only did he play for me for two different teams, we worked together with Golden State. He's a premier, in my mind, one of the best assistant coaches I've ever seen in my life. He's an unbelievable communicator with people. He was great for me. He could come into the office, close the door and say "You know, hey Coach, I don't agree with this" or "I do agree with this" or "You need to go put your arm around this player."

I know that I definitely, definitely missed Keith in Sacramento. I thought he was a vital part to whatever success we had in Golden State. I missed him, I wished that I would have had him on our staff in Sacramento. Having said that, I don't think there's any question Keith should be a head coach at some point and when he gets his next opportunity I think he'll be extremely successful.

Warriorsworld.net: I'll definitely be looking forward to seeing what he does. Now, I'd also seen that Manute Bol played for you at some point in Florida, even though he was well past his prime of course and coming off some injuries. What was it like having him on that team?

ERIC MUSSELMAN: You know Manute loved to shoot the 3 for his size, which in the CBA to have a center shoot the 3-ball was a little bit abnormal. The players absolutely loved playing with him. He was a true character off the floor with a loving personality and our guys liked playing with him, and then he really kind of turned every road game into a circus atmosphere because with the opposing crowds, he'd bring out extra attendance and people really enjoyed watching him play.

Warriorsworld.net: Especially me growing up back watching the "Run TMC" teams from the 80s and early 90s, we were very familiar seeing him taking those 3s from the top of the key. That was kind of a fun thing but at the same time he was making a lot of them.

ERIC MUSSELMAN: He was. He was a very effective player and really when you have a guy who can block shots at one end and come down to the other end and be a 3-point threat, that's pretty hard to find.

Warriorsworld.net: Playing General Manager for a moment, if you're putting together a team from scratch, what's the position you'd build around first and why?

ERIC MUSSELMAN: You know, I really think, James, as you think about that question there's so much that goes into it. Number one, I think the obvious thing is people always talk about you need a center and a point guard. The 1 and 5 are the two positions that are the most important. I think the point guard position is a direct reflection of the coach on the floor. You look at all those smaller point guards in today's game that have such a huge impact, the Chris Pauls, the Steve Nashes, the Tony Parkers.

But having said that, it's so hard to find a dominant big man, and by that I mean a big man like Dwight Howard, who can change the whole complexion of an organization that teams can build around that centerpiece.

But not just the position, I think the hardest thing to get is a superstar and once you get a superstar, regardless of the position, and you have a premier player meaning one of the top five to six, seven players in the league regardless of position, because LeBron James is not a point guard. LeBron James is not a center. Kobe Bryant is not a point guard, he's not a center. But yet those two guys in my mind have the biggest impact of one player on a team and those guys are 2/3 swingmen so to me it's too hard to say what position, it's really the quality of the player because if you look back in history, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird are two other guys that come to mind that were not at the point guard or the center, but some of the greatest players of all time.

Warriorsworld.net: Yeah, and then you take a look at a guy like Jordan being what he was, it's just a matter of building around him, such as having Pippen or Paxson, or even Craig Hodges and then Bill Cartwright filling that out, definitely.

ERIC MUSSELMAN: I think the hard thing is to find that superstar and you see how Orlando and Otis Smith have done such a good job of surrounding pieces around Howard and then you see the same thing that takes place with these other teams. Obviously the Bulls using guys like Steve Kerr and Paxson, and Brad Sellers and you can go on and on and on how bit players, once surrounded by superstars, their game is elevated.

Warriorsworld.net: Definitely. Moving on to the current season, the trade deadline is coming up fairly soon. Are there any big names that you expect to be moving to a different team before that deadline?

ERIC MUSSELMAN: I really think, James, that the teams in the middle sometimes are the teams that don't make trades. A lot of times there's teams that are trying to get to that championship and will try to do anything they can to get them over the hump and then there's the teams that are at the lower end, the lottery-level teams that are looking for the future. And so those teams might be willing to give up a player that can help today or tomorrow because obviously some of those other teams that are trying to build for the future, trying to get younger pieces.

So I don't think there's any doubt that because of the parity this year, and there's no clear-cut, you know, there's three teams in the East probably that think they can win the championship, that being Orlando, Cleveland and Boston, and you have the Lakers in the West who think they can and San Antonio is always right there in the West. So I think you have a group of teams that will do anything they can if they see the right piece coming back to them and then you have the other teams that are again, looking to accumulate draft picks and young players and those are the teams that are out of the playoff picture.

Warriorsworld.net: Now you just mentioned those five teams and of course they are the cream of the crop right now. Do you see the Finals teams basically coming from those five? Do you see anybody else possibly sneaking in?

ERIC MUSSELMAN: No, I think those are the five teams, barring injury. You know the Lakers, they lose Bynum, a key figure, but yet I still believe that they have enough in the Western Conference where they can come out and represent the West. But you never know because it's still a long season, we're not even at the All-Star Break yet, and injuries are really going to play a key role and which teams or which coaches can keep their players both mentally and physically fresh after the 82-game season headed into the playoffs.

Warriorsworld.net: Again, mentioning that we are before the break it may be a little premature, but do you have any favorites so far for Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Sixth Man, Most Improved Player and Coach of the Year?

ERIC MUSSELMAN: I think because it's pre-All Star, I think a lot of that stuff is going to be determined. Obviously you look at MVP and you have to talk about Bryant, you have to talk about LeBron James, and the guy that I feel's not talked about enough even is Dwight Howard.

I think that when you talk about the Rookie of the Year, Beasley's having a solid season. I think Derrick Rose is the guy and if it's not Rose, Mayo because Mayo's putting up numbers although not on a team that even has a chance at the playoffs. But Mayo and Rose are the two guys in my mind from the rookie standpoint that have really had a great season. Beasley's going to get an opportunity, probably, to play in the playoffs, one of the few rookies that will be a key piece, if Miami makes the playoffs, to get substantial minutes.

It'll be interesting how it plays out and I think when you look at the Coach of the Year, in my eyes this year it's Stan Van Gundy. I think he's done a phenomenal job with that Orlando basketball team in only a year and a half, because that's really all he's been there thus far.

Warriorsworld.net: Not too bad for him after the way things went in Miami, is it?

ERIC MUSSELMAN: No, and I think the people who coached against Stan when he was in Miami always felt that his teams executed well, played hard, and amongst his peers I think everyone knew that he could really coach.

Warriorsworld.net: Now, we've seen a few pretty solid players go undrafted. Speaking of which, Avery Johnson is one, we've seen Raja Bell, Brad Miller and even Ben Wallace. Good players also come out of the D-League like Matt Barnes, Brandon Bass and Kelenna Azubuike. What do you think of the role the D-League plays today in how various teams use it, including the Warriors especially, and how do some of these players fall through the cracks?

ERIC MUSSELMAN: That's a great question. I'm partial to the minor leagues, having spent time in the USBL and the CBA and obviously the D-League is doing a great job as well. It's amazing when you look at a player like a Morrow, you know, Anthony does not get drafted and yet he's a phenomenal, phenomenal shooter. You look at his stats at Georgia Tech and you say "How could he not average more?" and then he can go and play in an NBA game and have an impact. He's got a great ability to stretch the defense out.

But sometimes things like that just happen where a guy doesn't get drafted for whatever reason and then when a guy goes through the minor leagues, whether it's the D-League or the CBA or whatever, when they go down there and they produce and help their team win, in my eyes those guys, all of them, whoever they may be, are worthy of being looked at for the next level and I think given the opportunity there's a handful of guys that could come in and help.

Having said that, I think that the D-League's future is going to continue to grow. There are now teams like the Los Angeles Lakers who own and control the Los Angeles Defenders and I think that's the route that it's going to go. I think Golden State, the coach that they have an affiliation with down in Bakersfield, Scott Roth, does a phenomenal job and that's a great place to send a younger player that you want developed and it especially makes it worthwhile for an NBA team to send a player to the D-League if they know that the D-League coach is a qualified guy who can help develop the guy and I think that's very, very important and the Warriors are lucky that they have a great D-League coach/affiliate type relationship with Scott Roth.

Warriorsworld.net: Definitely. Now going back to Morrow since he is somebody who's been assisting the Warriors with that outside shot in particular, what do you see as his ceiling so far? Is he going to be a role-player, could he be a reliable scorer on the right team, or does he even have the ability to be more than that?

ERIC MUSSELMAN: Again I think that he's kind of come out of nowhere and it'll be interesting to see. It's always up to the player - and the circumstance he's in - but it's up to the player to see how high that ceiling is and how far they can go based on their work ethic in the off-season, their work ethic pre-game, post-practice.

But he does have an A-NBA-definable skill, and when a player has the definable skill and then that skill is in the upper echelon of the league, which thus far he's proven he's in the upper echelon of the 3-point shooter, he's got a definable skill, any team that has a low-post scorer needs 3-point shooting. So you could argue that if a guy like Anthony played on a team like Orlando where teams are double-teaming the low post of Dwight Howard, how valuable does a guy come who can shoot the ball like that? Well they're extremely valuable so I think that he's a guy that the rest of the league recognizes who has the ability to play at the NBA level and will continue to get better and better.

Warriorsworld.net: No question about that. Going back to the draft, there seems to be a group of people out there these days who think that if a player stays in college all four years, he might not necessarily be good enough for the NBA because he didn't leave early. Could there be anything to that mentality or do you think it says more about the kids who do come out for maybe the money and the fame before their games are fully developed?

ERIC MUSSELMAN: I think that there's somewhere in between lies the truth. I think that there's the positive of when a player goes to college and plays four years then when he comes out for the NBA he's a little bit more mature, his growth has taken the proper path, he's not been rushed into things.

But having said that, for most of the cases, when these younger guys come out and go highly, go very early in the lottery, for the most part those guys can really play. They have a great skill, a great gift, and I do think that while you're playing 30-some games in college, there's an 82-game NBA season, I think that you can develop properly even at a very young age if you're in the NBA. So I don't think there's any right or wrong path.

I think the bottom line is players need to make sure that you're coming out at the right time for you both mentally and physically because it doesn't do a player or a team any good for some of these kids to come out a year or two before their body can handle the NBA season or even their maturity level. I think they're much better off staying in school and developing at the college level.

Warriorsworld.net: Definitely some good points. I've got one more question for you, Coach. It's been a few years since you coached the Warriors and the roster is completely different than the one you had. If you watch any of the games is it easier to just do it as a fan or do you find yourself playing kind of "armchair coach," thinking of how you'd try to handle things yourself?

ERIC MUSSELMAN: I think really that depends on what team I'm watching. If I'm watching a team that I'm friends with from another coach, then I'm kind of rooting for him. Or if it's a former player, he's injured now but when Arenas was playing last year my sons and I would turn on the game and watch it as a fan, wanting Gilbert to have a great game. Whether the team he was on won or lost was not as important as maybe the performance of that individual player because at that point we were tuning on to NBATV that night specifically to maybe watch Gilbert.

But when one of your friends is coaching or on a staff, I know last year when Flip Saunders was coaching I would watch the game from the X and O standpoint because he's a friend and someone that I admire as a coach so I'd watch the game a little differently when his teams were playing. So for me personally it all depends on who's playing and who's coaching in the game for how I watch it, but I can tell you that no matter what game or who's on, I think NBA basketball from a fan standpoint, I don't think there's anything better.

Warriorsworld.net:Definitely have to agree with you there. That wraps up what I've got today for you, Coach. I'd like to thank you very much for coming in and spending some time with us out of your busy schedule, and just so everybody knows you do have a website, it's http://emuss.blogspot.com, correct?

ERIC MUSSELMAN: Yes, that's it. We do a little leadership, motivational blog. We have a really nice group of people that are reading it, a group of high school coaches from all over the country in all different sports, whether basketball, baseball or football, and there's a lot of college coaches that partake in it as well as some NFL coaches and a lot of NBA coaches and management people read it as well. So it's been really fun and I've met a lot of nice people through the blog and continue to try to learn something new each day and then when I learn it I like to put it out there on the blog and share it with other coaches and other leaders.

Warriorsworld.net: Sounds like a great network to have out there. Again Coach, thanks once more, and again for spending some time with Warriorsworld. Have a nice day.

ERIC MUSSELMAN: Thanks, James. I appreciate it.

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Special Thanks To Coach Musselman for spending time with Warriorsworld.net

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The Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz were in trade talks which would have sent Monta Ellis to Utah in exchange for Carlos Boozer.  Sources say the deal fell apart after Boozer's camp wouldn't guarantee that they would exercise his player option for next season. 

The deal would have included other players as Utah was pushing extremely hard for Marco Belinelli to be included in the deal.  The Warriors insisted on Marcus Williams being thrown in rather than having to deal Belinelli.