This one courtest of John C in the OC

I saw the first three games then had to fly to Montreal on business.

Marco is called "Nelli" by the players and coaches. Rest assured he is nothing like Brent Barry or Vinny Del Negro. More like a poor man's Kobe who has the quickest release on a shot I have ever seen. He has this unique ability to receive a pass and in one motion put the ball above his head and release it almost instantly. I've seen post guys do it up close but never someone from three feet behind the three point line. Amazing. He loves to shoot. One fan (or non-fan) yelled at him "shoot it, you are in the gym". He shot it. He is always close. Even when fading away with a hand in his face from long range you always expect it to go in. You could hear the surprise in the crowd when he missed. He is basically the opposite of JR. I loved JR but always felt like he played basketball as if he learned it from a book. Marco plays like an artist. He is very clever, always looking to be creative and never bothered by his mistakes. Once he puts his creativity into drawing fouls he is going to get to the line allot. In the games I saw he finished his drives with wild reverse lay ups, always trying to avoid contact rather than initiating it. Not a big problem. He will play point allot for Nelson. Especially when Baron is in the game and they want to get Baron the ball in a particular spot. He is perfect for Nelson. After every rebound, closes your eyes for two seconds, open them and you will find Marco at the three point line ready to shoot a three off the break. He does it every time.

The fans are going to love Marco. In his first game he had 24 points in the 1st half and made 4 or 5 three pointers in a row in the 2nd quarter. It was great to watch the Warrior bench stand up every time he shot one, anticipating high-fiving each other as the shots fell. Lots of fun.

To Pierce. I like him. He is fearless. But mostly he is huge. Very very strong. The guy goes to the hoop and 4's and 5's bounce off him. I never saw him lose his balance once on a drive to the basket. A strong and creative finisher. On defense he can guard 3's and certain 4's which makes him less of a defensive liability on the pick and roll. Is he a point guard? Hard to tell. He is built like a 6'4" Baron. If he is quick enough...??? If the Warriors don't sign him look for Phil Jackson to give him a look. I believe Phil likes linebackers for point guards.

Buki looked good. Although he cannot go to his left. The league has already figured this out and every defender he faced forced him to his left, where he seemd quite uncomfortable. Not a great passer either. Plays his butt off though. Will be a great 10 to 15 minute guy and leave him in if his three's are falling.

And finally to POB. A little story first. My son and I were walking into the third game when we saw Baron and Nelson sitting together. So of course we sat right behind them. A couple of comments my son and I picked up. Baron yelled out something to O'Bryant calling him PB. My son and I definately heard Nelson turn to Baron and say "PD" for Developmental League" Baron was hiding his head in his hands while he laughed. PD sucked. On a play when he took an offensive rebound and layed it back in, Nelson's comment was "blah blah would have dunked that". I could not hear the player he referred to. He was passive, weak, and mechanical. Rebounds slipped thru his hands and players knocked him off balance constantly. To the D-League for sure.
The center from Harvard is pretty interesting. Runs well, shoots it pretty well and is very slow laterally. But the total opposite of PB. Very aggressive. He will be in the league someday as I think coaches like 7 footers who have a bit of that football mantality.
No one else was worth mentioning.

Baron was cool. He was wearing a "property of the Warriors" t-shirt and was continually yelling encouragement to the team. Nelson's wife was right in front of me and Baron was very polite as they discussed golf, Las Vegas, and his recent trip to London.
Louis Williams was my favorite non Warrior player. Tough kid. Although when he stood next to Pierce he looked like a 5th grader. Durant is awesome but is going to get knocked on his rear end constantly. Unlike Pierce, whenever he drove into the lane he looked like a rag doll. One of my picks from last year, Jason Maxiell, looked very good as well.

Try to make it some time. It is allot of fun. I saw POB play in Anaheim last year and the summer league is definately a big notch up from the D-League.

From Ben in the main forum.

Was in Las Vegas this weekend for Summer League - was only able to catch W's-Sonics and Lakers-Pistons. Normally I'd provide a more comprehensive report, but with the webcasts I think everyone has a pretty good handle on what's going on. Instead, I'll just post a few general observations that I think might not be immediately obvious watching online.

- Belinelli was matched up with Durant nearly the entire game, which was fun. He had an awful, awful shooting night - he just could not hit a jumper. However, he did show the ability to beat Durant off the dribble more or less whenever he wanted. Belinelli's first step is good, not great, but his handle and command of hesitation moves are way above average, even at the NBA level.

- That being said, I felt that Belinelli settled for jumpers too often when it was obvious that he didn't have his touch. Of course, he's had some trouble finishing at the rim; he's big and athletic enough, but he doesn't draw a lot of contact, and it looks like he waits a little long to release his shot. This is an area he's going to have to improve on going forward, but I don't think it will necessarily be a problem for him in the long run. He just needs to adjust to the length and athleticism of NBA shot-blockers.

- Defensively, Belinelli is a real mixed bag. He played excellent man defense on Durant, staying in front of him consistently and challenging his jumpers. Even more impressively, he was able to keep Durant out of the post completely, bodying him up very physically and pushing him off the block. On the other hand, the guy can just be lazy as hell. He doesn't react to screens very well, not looking to be very interested in fighting through; he usually ends up just going behind the pick and taking a swipe at the ball. In fact, his general approach to defense is to just gamble for the steal. To his credit, he plays the passing lanes very well and had quick hands, and will likely be around two steals per game in the NBA. Still, his off-ball defensive technique and effort leave a lot to be desired right now. I'm hopeful that this is just a function of summer league boredom, and that Nellie will be able to whip him into shape come training camp. The good news is that Belinelli is a very solid defender when he wants to be, he just needs to develop more discipline.

- As far as I'm concerned, the most exciting part of Belinelli's game is his passing. He made three or four silly passes for turnovers over the course of the entire summer league, but he probably made twenty or thirty excellent dishes that should have been assists as well. The bottom line is that he has excellent vision and "feel" for passing the ball: when he runs the pick and roll, he's able to effectively find the open man. On the drive and dish, he's very good at setting up big men for dunks when the help defense rotates. These are very, very encouraging signs for a player like him; he's going to beat his man off the dribble, but if finishing is going to be an issue he MUST be able to pass on the move effectively. That appears to be a strength in his game right now, and it should be a huge boon for him in Nellie's offense.

- Finally, a few quick observations from the other game. I love Arron Afflalo, and he is a supremely hard worker, but he WILL NOT be able to score in the NBA. He lacks the size and explosiveness to get anything going inside, so he'll have to clean up his jumper and extend his range to be a factor on that end. Great energy on defense, though. Rodney Stuckey is an interesting player; he's noticeably small, but very quick, very explosive, and very skilled. He's very adept at drawing contact around the rim, and he appears to have a pretty solid outside shot. I'm concerned about his lack of size, but he could end up as a Flip Murray with a jumpshot - and that really isn't all that bad.

Finally, I was extremely impressed by Javaris Crittenton, who appears to be a steal where he was drafted. He's got great size, an unbelievable handle, a nice jumper, and outstanding finishing ability. He really can get wherever he wants on the court, and he is absolutely a shot-maker. Is he a true point guard? I'm not quite sure, but at this point he reminds me a lot of Gilbert Arenas. I'd watch out for this kid, because he's really got an NBA skillset.

When the Warriors selected Marco Belinelli in the 2007 NBA draft it received mixed reactions from fans and so called "experts".  Warrior fans wondered if he could handle the ball, drive to the hoop and play some defense, while the experts questioned his ability to get his shot off in the NBA.  For one day Belinelli put those questions to rest.  Starting at Small Forward in the Warriors 1st summer league game Belinelli put on a show.  Belinelli put on a shooting display that had the crowd"ohhing" and "ahhing" at his every shot attempt. 

Belinelli totaled 37 points for the game in which he shot 12 for 17 from the field including 5 for 7 from the 3pt. line. There was Belinelli coming off a screen and shooting a long jumper, pulling up on a fast break ala Sjax for a 3 pt. shot, nailing numerous shots with defenders in his face and the shot clock winding down and even showing off his hops on a few dunks and proving white men can jump.

Belinelli as hot as he was didn't force the action, he passed out of doublt teams, made the extra pass and didn't force tough shots.  He also showed he can handle the ball which will come as a relief to warrior fans who haven't seen a Sg who can dribble and penetrate for a while. 

 On defense, Belinelli for the most part was able to stay in front of his man and putting to rest the doubts of him having the foot speed and quickness to play defense.  He was beaten a few times but that is to expected as summer league games are not known for their defense.

Something that many fans may not have witnessed or payed much attention to was Belinelli's leadership on the court and in the huddle.  Numerous times he was telling teammates where to be on a certain set and was very vocal on defense always calling out the screens and in the huddle he kept encouraging the big men especially Patrick O'Bryant to rebound and run the floor.  

Besides Belinelli, Kelanna Azubuike was the other Warrior who had an excellent game.  Azubuike ended up with 29 and along with Belinelli formed a good 1-2 combination to defeat the Hornets.  Azubuike hopes to continue his good play in order to receive a multi-year contract which his agent and the Warriors have been working on.  Azubuike looks to be the prime canidate to replace Mickael Pietrus.   Patrick O'Bryant last year's #1 pick had a decent game, he used his length to block and contest shots all day and grabbed 10 rebounds.  O'Bryant however didn't do much on the ofensive end but that is to be expected as the Warriors do not run post plays for their big men rather they like to pick and roll or pick and pop with their big men.  O'Bryant looked in much better shape than in any point last year, he looked leaner and stronger while not possessing the baby fat he had last season.

Here are a few notes from Vegas:

Got a chance to say Hello to Coach Nelson and told him if he come back, drinks are on me.  Coach Nelson said he like Belinelli and Azubuike's performance but he still couldnt pronounce Azubuike correctly but did say that both will be part of the rotation this season.

 Greg Oden had a woeful start to his NBA career, 10 fouls in his debut makes me wonder if he hired Adonal Foyle as his personal trainer.

 LaMarcus Aldridge was a beast and together with Oden will form a great frontcourt.  One thing to ay attention to is if Aldridge and Oden can co-exist on the block, if Aldridge is the main post player will this force Oden to play a bit farther from the lane which could hinder his effectiveness.  Oden while not playing many minutes in his debut was constantly in dialogue with coaches throughout the game as he wanted to know everything.

 Rudy Gay welcomed Yi Jianlian to the NBA the only he knows how and that was to throwdown a sick 2 hand dunk in Yi's face.

Summer league is great for fans because it gets you in an intimate setting with great young playerswho are more willing and interested in interacting with fans such as Oden, Hawes, Durant etc.. all who signed autographs before and after thier games.  Not to mention you never know who might be sitting in the bleachers from coaches, GM's, scouts, players etc.. Much like spring training in baseball it is a great oppurtunity for fans to come out and have fun.

Some people look at the Richardson trade and talk about how it breaks up the chemistry the team had the last quarter of the season into the playoffs, when they played so well together.

That may be, but there are two key reasons why things went the way they did:

* they played like every game was their last
* they usually went with a shorter rotation

We all saw what they did to Dallas, but we also saw how the Warriors not only couldn't match up with Utah in the second round, they also couldn't maintain their own level of play. Credit Utah to an extent, but also understand that the Warriors ran out of gas. Why?

Because they used it all up to get to the playoffs and beat Dallas.

Coming into this season, if the Warriors kept their core they'd still be a good team. They'd probably win 40+ games, but with the way other teams are improving there's no guarantee that group of players would be a playoff team again.

There's also no way that team gets through a whole season without breaking down if forced to rely on a rotation of seven or eight guys. That's part of why you need a deeper bench to spell your best players here and there. That's why you're going to lose a few games in the regular season that maybe you win if you really have to but you understand it's a marathon, not a sprint. This is in addition to the occasional stinker any good team is bound to put up once in a while.

The point is that the Warriors couldn't afford to go into 2007-08 happy with what they did last year, content with what they had built. They may very well not make the playoffs this year, but it's clear they're trying to set themselves up to be a threat for a number of years, if not for the long term.

This is part of what building a successful franchise is all about. We're used to losing so we want to hold on to exactly what we've got when we finally make the playoffs, but that's not good enough.

Sometimes you have to take a risk to get better. This is a good risk. Jason Richardson was a fan favorite and he was the heart of the team, but anyone being honest could tell you he did not reach the level someone of his ability should have here. You can probably point directly to his free throw shooting as the reason why he drove to the basket less and less, content to shoot jumpers from outside. He got better at that part of his game, but it turned him into a more singular threat. His inability to handle the basketball consistently was another major factor in that. He was not a creator. Monta Ellis has already shown he has that ability in him. Keeping Ellis is probably the correct move.

For once the Warriors dealt from a position of strength and now we get to see what Brandan Wright develops into, assuming he stays. Belinelli? I've got a good feeling about him.

Don't get down on this team. Something tells me the people making the decisions finally have a clue. They're building a team that shouldn't have to rely on an amazing run just to make the playoffs.

NBA.com summer league page

JRich traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for Brandan Wright. Apparently confirmed by the guy who runs JRich's website. The Warriors make a move for an athletic big man, and reduce their glut at the guard position, and get some of the cap relief they will need to resign Biedrins and Ellis.

More moves could be coming as the Warriors try to get bigger while maintaining the athleticism that got them into the second round of the playoffs last year.

All of us here at warriorsworld would like to thank JRich for giving us something to cheer for all these years. He came to play every night, worked on his game, and carried the team for years. Even though his game has changed over the past 2 years due to injuries, he has managed to adapt and still contribute at an all star level.

Unknowns; what about Pietrus, does he now stay? Does Ellis move to SG his natural position or do we continue to play him some at the point. What will Barron's reaction be to see his buddy leave town? Unlikely that the Warriors are finished.

Update: Apparently JRich was pretty pissed off at the trade when he talked to Mullin. Even though Mullin said Rod and MJ wanted JRich bad. Jrich wanted to come back and try to get into the playoffs again and get further with the W's.

"he said he wanted to be with the team and shoot for another playoff year..."

Ouch. Hopefully JRich will calm down a bit. The move puts a lot of pressure on Wright to perform, JRich is the most beloved Warrior since Mullin, and in the eyes of Warriors fans, anything less than a second round appearance in 07-08 will be blamed on this trade.

TRADE OFFICAL: Announced during the draft. Wright on TV saying he hasn't heard anything from either Charlotte or Golden State. He thinks he will fit in great in the up tempo game. The final trade was JRich and the Warriors 36th pick Davidson for Wright.

He's gone, the final piece from that great draft class that brought us Arenas, Murphy and JRich. 2 all stars and a guy with a huge nose.

The official thanks for working hard and being a true Warrior thread.