| | When I remember back to my first season covering the NBA, three
days after I took a job, Chris Webber got traded from the Golden State
Warriors to the Washington Bullets.
|  | | Dave Cowens comes to Oakland and may actually have a playoff team. |
Soon, I went back to the Oakland Coliseum to watch Bay Area fans spew
their venomous bile at Webber.
That was the game CWebb separated his shoulder. And even as he walked off
the court, boos and catcalls rained down from the stands. As he sat on the
bench, hunched over, with his arm in a sling, downtrodden, people yelled
things down that landed squarely on top of of his cranium, they waved
homemade placards in his face, one memorable one of Webber in diapers,
sucking on a baby bottle.
I thought it was unbelievable, but somewhat understandable since it was
reserved for the player who essentially tore apart the franchise.
But then the next year, the fans booed Tom Gugliotta. And a few years
after that, the fans booed Latrell Sprewell. And last year, the 713 fans who
bothered to show up simply booed Donyell Marshall and the rest of the lackeys
he had playing alongside him.
And pretty soon I realized that Bay Area fans like to boo stuff. Maybe
it's that pent-up frustration at seeing Al Davis in a white satin jump suit,
the same one he wore to the Super Bowl celebration party in 1980. Just Wash
It, Baby.
And hey, I really can't blame them. There has not been a lot to cheer
about, not since Don Nelson dismantled Run TMC and, even before that, not
since the eloquent Clifford Ray used to dart around the town saying, "Yo."
Lately, the most entertaining thing at a Warriors game is the two cats who
sit courtside in the corner across from the Warriors bench, heckling the
bejesus out of opposing players.
They're pretty funny, too, except they look like the black Frank and
Ernest of the NBA. One guy is tall, good looking, suave and has yet to see a
game because he never gets off his cell phone. And the other guy looks like
mini-Me -- except that he always has a box of popcorn or a stack of
hamburgers in his lap. I guess that he feels more secure with some
butter-laden snack or ketchup-drenched ground beef than with a hairless cat.
But have no fear, Warriors fans, what few there are of you left. Blunder
by the Bay is about to change. Those days of straining your ear to hear the
little black dude in the corner could be over.
Overshadowed by Miami and Orlando and Portland and now this latest
player-swap debacle by New York, Seattle and Los Angeles -- lately, I heard
the Knicks were trying to get the Yokohoma Blue Swallows involved as a fourth
team so they could get Glen Rice -- is the fact that the Warriors have
actually made themselves into a pretty fair team -- one that, with a few
things going right, could land them in the playoffs.
Don't look at me like that; I am not insane.
Think about it. There are six teams in the West who are almost assured of
spots: The Lakers, the Blazers, the Suns and Spurs, Seattle and Utah. The
other two spots went to Minnesota and Sacramento last season. But the Wolves
took a step back with the death of Malik Sealy, and the Kings arguably got
worse by losing Tony Delk and Corliss Williamson.
And that means Golden State, that's right, YOUR Golden State Warriors,
could swoop in and claim a berth.
Surprisingly, except for the Magic, there has been no team more active in
player movement then Warriors. They have six new guys on their roster this
season. And there probably has been no team more successful at swapping filth
for talent.
| |  | |
| Hughes |
Last season, the Warriors got Larry Hughes, a bona fide scorer and
possibly a future star, for John Starks. That's almost as good as getting the
Louisiana Purchase for $5.
They got Danny Fortson and Adam Keefe for Donyell Marshall, which is like
getting a backhoe in exchange for a shovel. Apparently, when Fortson came to
town to decide if he would agree to a sign-and-trade, the Warriors pulled the
old college trick of bringing him into the arena, lowering the lights,
putting his name all over the place and pumping in applause. Of course, the
tape of the applause could not have been Warrriors fans, because then they
would have had to pump in boos.
And Golden State got Bob Sura and Vinny Del Negro for the disappointing
Jason Caffey. If Sura can stay healthy, he can add a lot to a team in need of
outside shooting.
Not only that, Golden State also stole Chris Porter in the second round of
the draft. This was the guy who, at Auburn, was the preseason college player
of the year his junior season. Obviously, he slipped for a reason. But if he
pans out, the Warriors may have gotten the steal of the draft.
Throw those players in with Antawn Jamison, Mookie Blaylock and Erick
Dampier, and, well, it ain't exactly Run TMC, but it's not so bad, either.
This is all before mentioning Dave Cowens. For so many years, the
Warriors have been waiting for someone to come in and replace P.J.
Carlesimo. Now they have the guy, and he showed his skill at coaching in
Charlotte, where the owner is so cheap he doesn't want to pay himself.
Not only that, Clifford Ray was hired to coach the big men. So at the very
least, Dampier, Adonal Foyle and Fortson will know how to say, "Yo."
Frank Hughes covers the NBA for the Tacoma (Wash.) News-Tribune. He is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. | |
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