The second Don Nelson Era in the Bay Area begins today and the biggest question left to answer is why?  What cosmic set of circumstances made Nellie and Cohan put aside their differences and do the right thing for the franchise?  Is Nellie just doing this for another payday or as a favor to old pal Chris Mullin?  Is Chris Cohan just trying to drum up some interest for ticket sales?  Maybe Nellie is just planning on putting in a half season of work knowing he will get banished back to Hawaii with a fat severence package? 

Hoepefully it's because Chris Mullin has convinced both men that if they truly want to win a championship they are going to have to put past differences aside and co-exist.  Is Nelson really convinced that the possibility of great things from the roster that Mully has put together exists?  If Nellie brings passion to the job there is no question that he will be successful, but if he is just going through the motions it could be another long season for Warriors fans.  It is easy to question the motivation of Nelson because he is 66 years old, recently retired and has had a previous relationship with the organization that did not end well.   

On the other hand, does it really even matter if Nelson is passionate about the job?  The worst that can come out of this would be one year of Nellie before ushering in the Mario Elie era.  Regardless of what happens from here forward, Mike Montgomery was the wrong guy to coach this team.  He was bad from the beginning and he got much worse when they acquired Baron Davis.  The bottom line in this league is that your head coach and your star players have to be on the same page or it can never work.  Mullin has assembled a deep and talented roster of players that are capable of playing multiple styles and positions.  The current version of the Warriors is much more talented from front to back than any of the RUN TMC squads.  If there was ever a coach that could turn this collection of talent into a cohesive unit it's Don Nelson.