Chris Mullin big-picture Warriors Q & A: On Nelson, Baron, team needs and keeping Ellis and Biedrins
This is about as good and big picture at Chris Mullin gets, so I’m just dumping the whole thing in your lap.
Of particular interest:
* As pointed out earlier, Mullin said flat out that he will retain valued restricted free agents Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins, even if it takes matching large offer sheets.
This, of course, is a tactical statement no matter what. Just by saying that the Warriors are matching anything, they’ll scare off 99% of teams considering such a move–why make an offer to Ellis or Biedrins if you know Mullin’s matching, anyway?
So the Mullin statement is classic card playing but it has the added advantage of being totally true. (As opposed to his I-won’t-trade-J-Rich statement at this point last year.)
* Interesting when he was asked if this could be Monta’s team instead of Baron’s team next year, Mullin said the Warriors are better–present tense–when they’re not any singular player’s team. There’s meaning in that.
OK, here it is… CHRIS MULLIN season-wrap Q & A/
-Question: What’s your opinion of Baron sitting for the entire second half in Phoenix?
-MULLIN: Baron’s been a great player since the day he put on a Warriors uniform. And Nellie’s a Hall of Fame coach and has been great for us. I put them together to do great things and they have and I think they’ll continue to do great things for this franchise.
That’s all I really need to say.
-Q: What kind of year do you think Baron had?
-MULLIN: He’s had a great year. Can it do it again? Of course he can. And fortunately, he hasn’t gotten hit with some of the nagging injuries.
-Q: Last year you made sure to keep most of the core together. Will that also be a goal this summer?
-MULLIN: We’ve obviously improved, we’ve gotten younger, we’ve gotten better. Now how we move forward… there’s going to be a lot of discussions about that.
It’s not just how we continue to improve our team but how we compare to the other teams in this tough division. That also becomes a factor.
We’re in a good position. We had a good season. We’re going to finish with 48 or 49 wins. Since ‘67, the (franchise’s) fifth-best record. So that’s something that took effort from the players and coaches, no question about it.
Now we have to compete with these other teams… But the good thing is we’ve got good players, they play well together and we’ve got young guys coming up. Now how we situate the rest of the summer… that’s not going to be answered right now.
-Q: Would you say rebounding is your biggest need?
-MULLIN: I haven’t heard as much about rebounding this year. I really haven’t looked at those numbers, if they’ve diminished or stayed the same. Or we’ve become OK with it.
But I think we’ve played guys that we’ve used in different positions. In one area, that’s our strength-we put the onus on the other teams. Is it going to cost you? Yeah. But this year when we played pretty well, we’ve off-set that… you have to make the other team pay on the other end…
We’re always looking for improvement. Do we have that guy in place? We might. Brandan might be a guy that in my mind that’s always given us fits, that’s long, athletic forward that doesn’t necessarily have to play on the block, but can. Can also run, is going to get rebounds with his athleticism. That’s something that could be already in place.
-Q: But Nelson has shown that he doesn’t want to play Brandan with Biedrins…
-MULLIN: I think the one thing Brandan needs to be able to do is knock down his shot. Not necessarily the 3, but to be able to come away from the basket, just for his own development. That would help in that scenario and I think it’s going to help his game grow.
-Q: Do you need a post player since you guys shoot so many–maybe too many–3s?
-MULLIN: You look over the course of time, teams that have a low-post scorer do much better than teams that just rely on outside. That’s something you either acquire or you develop it. you establish it not just necessarily with a big player, but that’s something we’re going to need, of course.
-Q: You haven’t had a big man but you play a style where you guys have said you don’t really need one…
-MULLIN: I also said you can accomplish it a different way and/or is that person here, are we developing him?
-Q: Do you think it’s likely that you’ll use the $10M trade exception before it expires a few days after the draft?
-MULLIN: For the right player, yeah. For the right difference-maker.
-Q: Your coach is 67. You’ve just missed the playoffs. Does that make it a little more urgent to use a thing like a $10M exception to improve the team?
-MULLIN: I think it’s going to be important to step away and evaluate the team logically as opposed to emotionally. Separate the disappointment not participating in the playoffs, disappointment I have for the fans and all those things we experienced last year.
Separate that from the decisions that have to be made and do the right thing for the organization, not only for next season but going forward, I think that’s really important.
And that includes a host of those factors, be it the age of our coach… all those things have to be considered, but not emotionally reacted to.
-Q: Could this team be more Monta’s team than Baron’s team next season?
-MULLIN: When we play together as a team, we’re successful. If it’s someone’s team, not quite as successful. The development of our young guys is just going to add to the success of our team.
It’s not a team that’s carried by one person.
-Q: Could you see Monta at point guard next season?
-MULLIN: I think his game has developed another year. He’s improved this year and he had a heckuva season last year. I think he’s making point-guard type of plays.
I think he’s best when he’s out there playing. Not just a point guard. Even in the half-court when he’s making the drives and drawing people and making controlled plays, making assists to the corner or making reads on the baseline.
I’ve seen maturation and development there. But I also feel the combination of Baron and Monta, they help each other. It’s a good combination. I think it’s going well. They’ve done well together.
-Q: Would you be disappointed if Baron opted out?
-MULLIN: That’s something we’ll have to wait and see what happens. I’m not really anticipating one or the other… I expect him to be back but I’m not going to anticipate what he’s…
-Q: Would you talk about an extension before the opt-out date (May June 30)?
-MULLIN: Not before, no.
-Q: If he opts out, would the Warriors be a bidder for him?
-MULLIN: Yes. Anything with the ifs, though, I’m going to defer… if-if… that’s something I’d wait on, you know?
-Q: You could easily go into the luxury tax if Baron comes back and you give extensions to Monta and Andris… Is going over the luxury tax workable for next season?
-MULLIN: That’s kind of a question for down the line. There are a few more aspects than just the players and market… that’s obviously something we’re going to have to…
-Q: Is that part of the process–you decide whether to keep them and how that works for luxury tax?
-MULLIN: We’ll keep them, nd other decisions will be made.
-Q: You’ll keep them no matter what?
-MULLIN: We’ll keep them.
-Q: You’ll match all offers for them?
-MULLIN: Yes.
-Q: Can you assess Biedrins’ value–he’s obviously not a high scorer…
-MULLIN: Statistics are a small… in my view… I don’t base everything on stats. Everyone has a value. Some has to do with the market. Some has to do with how you value him on your own team. That’s something that will be figured out…
I think Andris has had two solid seasons and I think we love the way he plays for us. We love the way he fits in our system. With his youth, I think he’ll continue to develop. He plays a really good role for us.
-Q: So what’s his value on the market?
-MULLIN: That question hasn’t been answered yet.
-Q: If he comes back next season, are you assuming that it’s Nellie’s final season?
-MULLIN: With Nellie, you know, I think he’s earned the right, he’s coached so long, coached so well, he’s a Hall of Fame coach, I think he’s earned the right to kind of have that freedom to dictate how long he wants to do it. he’s earned that.
If he wanted to coach beyond that, he’s feeling good, his energy is there…
-Q: Have you made any firm plans for a successor? Is it Keith Smart for sure?
-MULLIN: For after next season? Not right now.
-Q: Point guard is such an important position. Yet 30 years old is kind of the dividing line, and Baron is 29. Is he someone you can afford to give big long-term money?
-MULLIN: It depends what you consider… He’s an important part. You look at the teams that are doing well, they have lead guards, almost every team. How that shakes out, with his deal, with what Monta wants, and Andris… Those are obviously things that are going to all take place in the next few months.
-Q: Do you think the Richardson trade, just for this season, cost you some victories?
-MULLIN: No. If it did, I would take full responsibility for that. But sitting at 48 and with the additions that we’ve made, I feel really good about our team this year and moving forward. I couldn’t think of a better situation to be in.
If in fact someone does feel that, I would take full responsibility if there were a few wins that we could’ve got. I would gladly shoulder that burden and take the young guys and move into the offseason.
-Q: Do you think signing Webber cost you 1 or 2 victories? (MY NOTE: Not my question, amazingly.)
-MULLIN: No.
-Q: Not even Chicago?
-MULLIN: No. I think we may have won the Boston game, actually. I thought he did a good job in that game. Thought he played well. Baron made that incredible shot, but I thought his defense, he helped us win that.
-Q: What are your main priorities this off-season?
-MULLIN: Rebounding is always… I think it’s always an item.
I would say rebounding is up there. I thought overall we played pretty good… Uou talk about interior defense… I thought we did OK. I thought we played OK this year defensively. I didn’t feel like we got as exposed. Thought we did a good job there. Just overall improvement.
You know, when you finish with 48, 49 wins, you haven’t had a horrible season. Do you need to improve? Of course you do. But I do think it is fair to take a little time to evaluate that.
-Q: Don mentioned you guys could use a shot-blocker… and he said it wasn’t Andris…
-MULLIN: That’s part of defense. A lot of those guys are defensive-rebound type guys, they protect the basket, be around the basket. I’d say Andris, he does a pretty good job. A lot of times he doesn’t get blocks. He helps a lot of guys out, either with showing, with his quickness.
Again, Brandan could be a guy, with his length, he has the ability to play a little bit bigger than his actual height. He has a pretty good feel for when to go after shots.
-Q: Are you satisfied with the way the bench players were developed this season?
-MULLIN: I think our young guys, I’m really happy with the way they’ve developed. I think the coaches have done a great job working with them. And I think in turn, I’m really encouraged by the way they’ve developed despite not getting a lot of playing time.
Not only physically, where I can see the improvement, but also the way they’ve handled the rigors of mentally adjusting to that, not getting down, not being discouraged, not giving in.
Because let’s face it, there’s an opportunity there to feel discouraged, to give up, and they haven’t. I’ve seen a mindset in those guys, Brandan, Marco, all our young guys, to maintain, to work through that.
That is important in this league, your mindset. Do you have the mind to deal with disappointment and things not going your way? And I’ve seen that in them. The guys who have that, that have the talent and they work hard and they have that combination will lead them to success.
-Q: How long will the window of opportunity for this core group be open to be a championship team?
-MULLIN: Well, I don’t see us as a championship team right now.
I think we have a really good core group of players. We’ve got young guys coming up. But obviously we didn’t make the playoffs this year…
-Q: Do you think you can build around the Baron-Monta-Jackson core, do you just need to add-on instead of bringing in a player as good or better than they are?
-MULLIN: Yeah, of course. That’s possible. Now finding that player… If you put the right player, an impact player around those guys…
But factually speaking, a team that’s not in the playoffs, to say, oh yeah, we’re a championship team, I think that would be ludicrous.
-Q: But you can build on those three guys and add underneath?
-MULLIN: Depending on who that fourth guy is. We’ve proven, we’ve played with the best teams in the league. But unfortunately we’ve lost to some of the lower teams.
But those guys, they’ve proven to be upper-echelon guys, have competed with some of the best players at their position. I think it’s proven. I don’t think that’s really much of a question.
Sounds like were going into luxury tax next season if mullin keeps his word about keeping m8 and dre. we should trade al. Hes not consistent with what we need from him, spreading the floor. when he doesnt make his shots, we dont get anything from him. We need a solid post presence.
Baron’s opt out date is “May 30th”??? are you sure about that, Timmy?
andris should definitely be kept and sign to long term. 10/11 mil is the going rate for even a decent big man. so no problem with that.
monta, should probably proceed with more caution. 6-8 mil a year, you can live with. barbosa got 5 yr/33mil, so anything more would be seriously overpaying for an undersized 2 guard. and really, how many think ellis can develop his PG and playmaking skills? he wont even be the next arenas, let along AI.
making w’s monta’s team would be the same mistake that w’s made by making jamison the centerpiece. neither is a franchise player.
geoff lepper mentions that memphis may go after ellis, hard. maybe mullin should consider a sign and trade deal depending on how the numbers work. ellis for mike miller, rudy gay, and kyle lowry. throw in another player or use the trade exception to make it work. will memphis part with gay? who knows, maybe they love ellis that much.
davis, jackson, gay, PF(wright? or al) and andris. with miller,lowry, and pssibly pietrus off the bench. think about that.
certainly a much more traditonal team, add more length to the perimeter, yet loses very little in the up tempo game. this also helps baron as he’ll be guarding opposing PG rather than SG.
may be a pipe dream but it certainly improve the team than signing ellis to a mega deal.
Thanks for sharing the Q&A
Rudy Gay, MM and Lowry all for Ellis? I thought you didn’t think that much of him?
Kevin Martin got something in the 5/$50M range, and that has to be the lower end of what Monta will be asking for.
How can we get a power forward. I would love to trade for Brand. Is he available? What would it take? Harrington plus BW and Bellinelli?
Do we have to give up Baron for Brand? I think Baron may want to live in LA so he can work on movies.
I don’t want it to be Monta’s team, but I do want him to be the primary scorer (as any guard who shots 50+% from the field ought to be). There’s no justifiable reason for Jax and Baron to be taking more shots than Ellis night in and out. Baron the PG has to channel his inner Magic and learn to use Ellis better, to score through him (just like Obi Wan would).
Both Andris and Ellis are looking at about the $10 mil/yr level (over 5-6 seasons), I’m guessing. Both are very good, with upside still, but neither projects into a truly franchise player (maybe Monta if he learns how to defend much better and can start hitting 3’s at a decent clip).
Almost no way Brand is leaving the Clips; he seems genuinely content there (he’s got a production business so it helps to be in LA).
Marion is a bigger question mark; he’s said he wants to stay in MIA but I don’t know how well that works for everybody. Wade and Marion would be crazy expensive to keep, and it didn’t seem like it was much worth it in a limited trial run. The Heat have extensive problems; Wade looks like a genius for signing that shorter contract now. Even when his game is off, his business acumen is on.
Marion would be a great fit for the dubs style, but working a sign and trade, though possible, still would mean getting Cohan to go deep into the luxury tax.
Still he’s the player that I think can most help the dubs immediately with front court scoring and defense. Wouldn’t be cheap though, pretty unlikely…
I don’t know why anyone would want Marion on the Warriors. He gave up the chance to play with Nash and win a championship in Phoenix just so he could be more of “the man” in Miami. That “me first” attitude will not win a championship in Oakland. (And this is coming from someone who always tries to draft Marion for his fantasy NBA teams)
marion wants out not because he wants to be “the man.” he wants out because the suns just did not want to pay him. he doesnt mind staying in phx and play alongside nash and amare. but kerr basically said we dont want to pay you.
Monta deserves Kevin Martin type money. There about the same skill level. Kevin can shoot the lights out, Monta can drive on anybody. They both struggle on defense. If he gets more than Martin I would be surprised!! With how good he is, there are a number of things he needs to address with his game (left hand handle, defense, closing games at PG, B-Ball IQ). He was a high school guy to begin with.
I think AH would do better if he had a “must never play center” clause in his contract and played as 6th man or 3. He did better all year when he wasn’t hurt (thumb) or playing center.
If he was used correctly, he could be a big help at a reasonable price. He would have size advantage at 3 or 6. That could be put to use. Since he now has all that experience at 4 & 5, he would probably dominate in “smaller” positions.
I also thought it was interesting that Mullins thought we did pretty well on defense. He said “we weren’t exposed.” Hmmm….
Face the facts. It’s all about the end result, which means entertain but have long term goals that realistically work the seasons to achieve the championship. Otherwise you’re the clippers. Missing the playoffs this year is no big deal, since the competition is way too good to advance, and we’re definately in the second or third phase of rebuilding from nothing, so a lottery pick may help. Because of this, this year was a learning year for the too-young but tremendous potentials of Wright, Belinelli, and Perovic, and it was good that they were forced to come to grips with the mandate to either develop and get smart or there will be no future. The incentive here guarantees that these guys will get good enough to win by next year, and with the Nellie-staff they know that if they improve they will play; no free tickets. No clipper-tude. Mullin, likewise, saves a lot of money by not signing people too early, and the team realizes that in the long run, this is good for those players that are the chosen ones. This straight forward thinking is what built the Mavs, and it will be what builds the W’s. All’s good.