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This year, the Golden State Warriors go into their new season with even
greater expectations than before. It's hard not to hope for more on the
heels of their most successful season since 1991, capped off by a
stunning first round upset of the top seeded Dallas Mavericks.
The offseason saw comings and goings. Notable losses include Jason
Richardson, Adonal Foyle and Sarunas Jasikevicius, while the team
sought to replace them with draft picks Brandan Wright, Marco Belinelli
and Stephane Lasme. In addition to them, Austin Croshere and Troy
Hudson were brought in. While the main core of the team remains intact,
the newcomers will make up a solid third of the roster.
Monday, October 1st, was Media Day at the practice facility the
Warriors have in downtown Oakland. They were nice enough to invite
Warriorsworld to come be a part of it and I ended up being the one
fortunate enough to experience it. Using BART, getting to the practice
facility couldn't be easier.
There was a quick sign-in process and I picked up a preseason media
guide along with the player schedule for the day. Although I have a
little experience in journalism dating back to college, photography has
become my main interest over the last few years. Fortunately, Warriors
Executive Director of Public Relations Raymond Ridder gave me
permission to shoot the events as long as I adhered to certain
guidelines. Not a problem.
If you've never been to the practice facility, don't worry. You're not
alone. Trust me when I say it's large and immediately obvious which
team it's for. The walls are covered with painted on jerseys and logos
through the years, dating back to Philadelphia. The near wall lists
Warriors who have been in the All-Star Game or participated in All-Star
Weekend, and they honor the players whose numbers have been retired
along with acknowledging the championship the team won in the 1970s. In
there, it's impossible to ignore the history of the franchise.
The gym was grouped off into different sections. Taking up half of one
practice court were six tables where the player interviews were held.
Beyond that, photo stations. Not far away, there were tables where
radio promos were cut. On the opposite end, a large green screen. In
the back corner, more room for promo photos and a video area for player
bumps during telecasts. Media Day lasted two hours, but when the
players weren't being interviewed they had their time loaded with other
responsibilities. This is where and when all the media magic happens.
In a way it was pure, organized chaos.
Before the players even came out to sit through the dozens of questions
they'd be asked, Don Nelson was seen roaming the floor. At one point he
stopped to answer a few questions by an 8-year old on a stepladder.
He'd later be seen doing the same with Stephen Jackson and Andris
Biedrins in between taking Matt Barnes off the dribble. I'm pretty sure
Barnes wasn't going full speed.
The morning's first group consisted of Al Harrington, Austin Croshere,
Brandan Wright, Troy Hudson and training camp invitees Pat Burke and
Carlos Powell. I started out sitting in on a few questions asked of
Wright before moving on to listen to Hudson and Croshere talk about
coming to a new team. Both were articulate and well-spoken in
explaining just what drew them here. No simple one-line answers from
them. I mixed in a little time listening to Harrington, sandwiched
around asking Wright a few questions of my own.
Next up was Stephen Jackson, Matt Barnes, Kelenna Azubuike and Patrick
O'Bryant. Jackson got the lion's share of the attention for this
session by far, which gave me an opportunity to sit down with the
others for a few more questions. O'Bryant was soft-spoken and seemed to
fluctuate between sounding like he had a chip on his shoulder and not
really caring what the average person thinks about his development
because they don't know what it's like. Barnes gave a good interview
while Jackson was in the process of showing off his new tattoos to the
reporters and columnists gathered around. Mickael Pietrus was initially
supposed to be part of this group but he wasn't in town with his
contract status still up in the air. While seated with Barnes, Geoff
Lepper relayed the information that Nelson said Pietrus was signing
Golden State's offer.
After wrapping up with Barnes, I ended up at the table Baron Davis was
due at next. The moment he sat down, all but a couple people
immediately moved to circle around us. That gave Jackson the chance to
wander off to take care of some of his other obligations while Davis
held court. He said all the right things, including stating he would
not be opting out at the end of the season after the Warriors decided
not to extend his contract now, essentially claiming he didn't mean it
when a Boston newspaper quoted him that way. Listening to him, the
motivation he has for the upcoming season is clear.
Seeing Stephane Lasme alone with another reporter, I opted to head over
there next. Just about that time, all the players were rounded up for
group shots at the large green screen, so most of us with cameras ended
up over in that area as well. Yes, we know where the action is. It was
the first chance to get all of them together as a team, and the players
joked around between shots and looked like they were having a generally
good time. I noticed the ex-Pacers (Jackson, Harrington & Croshere)
were lined up side by side, whether it was by choice or not.
That done, I ended up sitting in on the interview with Andris Biedrins,
who was the only other player scheduled opposite Davis. Biedrins got a
number of chuckles from some of the answers he gave. Clearly, he likes
to have fun. Along the way, Davis came up from behind and messed with
his hair.
I slipped off again to catch Lasme for a few quick questions before
sitting down with the group talking to Monta Ellis, and the impression
I got from his answers was that he's not completely clear on the role
the team wants him to play and he probably isn't too keen on being a
point guard. He said the right things about doing whatever he can to
help the team, but all of the answers I heard related to the point
guard position and his upcoming contract situation generated the
shortest, most evasive answers I heard all day. Davis did come by again
while I was asking Ellis a question, sticking a magazine cover in his
face. None of us could see what it was, but Ellis laughed pretty hard
for a few seconds. Nobody asked about it.
My own rounds wrapped up with Marco Belinelli and Kosta Perovic, but I
missed the majority of the good stuff with Belinelli because by the
time I got there people were asking him about Italian food. There were
a couple questions I wanted to ask but he seemed in a hurry to get on
to other things so I got a couple average questions answered by Perovic.
There were lots of little things going on, such as the international
players posing for a photo draped in the flags of their countries,
Harrington sharing a moment of witty banter with Coach Nelson, Davis
messing around with Biedrins and Ellis, Barnes dribbling the ball with
the kid that did the interviews on top of the stepladder, Biedrins
playing the part of a photographer, and so on. I don't know how it is
with other teams, but seeing these players around each other and
listening to the way they talk about each other in interviews, you can
see they're a close-knit bunch that are going to do everything they can
not to let contract issues or playing time concerns throw a wrench into
their plans. They know they have the chance to follow up on last
season's accomplishments by taking things a step further, and they know
they're playing for a coach who can take them there. You can only hope
they get the chance to see it to completion.
The two hours came and went quickly and it often felt like there was
little time to catch my breath in between sitting in on the interviews
and snapping the occasional photo, but all in all I had the relaxing
part. I wasn't there to be asked the same questions multiple times. I
didn't have a deadline to meet or a flight to catch to training camp in
Hawaii - not that I'd complain about that. I was there because the
Warriors threw a bone to a couple fan sites out there and I was lucky
enough to be the one to get to go. That I was able to come home with
comments from nearly every player along with photographs of the event
made it even better, and Raymond Ridder was good about reminding us to
make sure we had some of the catered lunch in the hallway before we
left. Can't beat free food and Nelson was already in a Hawaiian shirt
as he ate outside. Can't beat a couple hours around the players you
like to watch, the reporters and columnists you read, and the team you
grew up loving. Now let's see what they can do out on the court.
(Note: Interviews will follow after this. They're in transcript form
including questions asked by various reporters. A few are my own. Most
are not. Many of them are joined in progress.)
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