The Warriors front office has reached panic mode.  Tickets are not selling and the excitement that was sweeping the bay area during last off-season is a distant memory.  Baron Davis did not live up to the hype that was generated after the late season run in 2004.  Chris Mullin has been unable to land a big name talent in a trade despite having the most tradable assets the organization has had in years.  Time for Captain Cohan to step in and spin the coaching carousel one more time and try to generate some excitement in Warriorland. 

A recent Warriorsworld rumor has speculated that the Mike Montgomery experiment is coming to an end and that the team will be announcing a new coach as soon as this week.  To make it even more interesting, we are led to believe that the new coach will be a figure that is familiar to Warrior fans. 

Let the speculation begin! 

The first name that comes to mind is beloved former coach and offensive mastermind Don Nelson.  A Nellie return to the Bay would certainly generate some excitement for Warriors basketball.  Nellie would sell tickets and more importantly we would instantly be a playoff team.  Nelson has a soft spot in his heart for Chris Mullin, and he does have the ability to get the most out of every player on his roster, and let's be honest this is a Nellie roster...Dominant guards and a ton of unathletic but skilled big men.  Nellie might consider coming back to coaching if he felt like he could make a run at a championship in the next three to five years.

Why it won't happen: 

Nellie is retired and enjoying living a relaxed lifestyle in Hawaii.  The Warriors are nowhere close to being a championship team even with Nelson stalking the sidelines.  He would need more control over personel decisions and would want to bring his own people into the organization despite his relationship with Mullin, Higgins and company.  Perhaps the biggest factor is that he doesn't have any respect for Chris Cohan as an owner and he would command a huge compensation package to even consider working for him again.

Another familiar name that would sell tickets is Rick Barry.  Rick is the greatest living Warrior and the best player on the last championship team.  He has been outspoken about his desire to be a head coach in the NBA and he does possess a clear understanding of the fundamentals of basketball and he clearly has the ability to motivate and develop players.  All of his sons have played the game at a high level and even his young grandson has a better grasp of the game than anyone currently on the Warriors roster.  Barry would have the respect and admiration of the players due to his championship ring and the fact that he is one of the top 50 all time NBA players.  He would have a commitment to playing solid fundamental team basketball with an emphasis on defense.

Why it won't happen:

Barry is quite simply too big of a personality.  His ego has tamed over the years, but he is still a competitive and headstrong individual that simply can't play the political games that you need to play to acquire a head coaching job.  He has burned too many bridges around the league and his rigid almost perfectionist approach to the game probably wouldn't fly with today's players.  Great players tend to not be the best coaches simply because they expect too much out of players that simply don't have the ability that they did.  The game comes easy to Rick Barry, he sees things that most players don't see and those are not things that you can teach.  If Barry was going to be the coach of the Warriors it would have happened a long time ago.

Other names that could be thrown into the ring would be former coaches Rick Adelman, and P.J. Carlesimo.  Both men had big time success everywhere else they have been and both are available.  Neither will be hired due to the fact that both men have such a negative public image in the Bay Area that the effect on ticket sales would be minimal, and selling tickets is what this is really about.  The other name out there that could put some butts in the seats is former Knicks head coach Larry Brown.  Brown has been a successful coach in the league for a long time and is famous for turning around wayward franchises.  The problem with Brown to the warriors is that he would need total control and without it he is completely ineffective; (see the 2006 NY Knicks).

The bottom line:

It has been a disastrous off-season for the Warriors.  This was Mullins big summer to shine and all he has to show for his efforts is a salary dump and another project Center.  The optimism of the Baron Davis era is gone and the only thing Warriors fans can agree upon is that Mike Montgomery is the worst possible coach for this team.  In over a decade of futility the current ownership group has never once attempted to simply leave the roster and coaching staff intact and rely on internal development.  Maybe that is the problem.  Perhaps we should just stick with what we have and allow Montgomery one more chance to put together a game plan that utilizes the talents of the players we already have on our roster.  Perhaps Montgomery in time can put together a Stanford like system that runs on precise timing and execution of plays run by intelligent players who understand fundamentals and team concepts...Who are we kidding...that's not going to sell tickets!