I’m not in Las Vegas, so I haven’t seen him yet. But the praise coming out of Sin City is encouraging. I keep hearing that Marco Belinellie can ball. It wasn’t so much the 37 he dropped, but how he got it. Believe it or not people, the Warriors actually have a shooter now. Not someone who can get hot. Not someone with a nice spot-up stroke. But a real deal shooter. Someone who can shoot jump shots and set shots, off the screen and pulling up, after dribbling to his left and to his right, from midrage and from deep.
That’s going to be a welcome sight.

P.J. Carlesimo is easily one of my favorite interviews. He’s got great humor, he’s honest, he’s blunt and he’s open. Those are great qualities for dealing with the media, but they don’t fly over too well with spoiled athletes.
Carlesimo, hired as Seattle’s new head coach, is now on his third go-round. You would think he knows better by now. After five years under Gregg Popovich, he should’ve learned some things. But you can’t teach an old playa new pick-up lines.
P.J. is a great assistant, by all accounts. But if he hasn’t changed, he’s sure to wear out his welcome with his outspoken nature and unabashed delivery.
So, the question on the tip of everyone’s tongue is (and obviously I’m poking fun) which Sonic will go Latrell Sprewell on P.J.?

Here are the candidates:

Kevin Durant – He can’t bench 185 pounds, but those are some long fingers. My guess is P.J. is strong enough to break free from Durant’s grasp, though.

Chris Wilcox – P.J. would be in some serious trouble if Wilcox snapped and went for the jugular. Dude is strong and quick, so P.J. wouldn’t stand a chance. Wilcox looks like he has some snap in him, too.

Danny Fortson – He’s a free agent, and in all likelihood won’t be back with the Sonics. But it’s funny just thinking about Danny fighting through teammates to get to P.J. Can you imagine Kevin Durant holding Fortson back? Better yet, can you imagine Carlesimo’s face with only Durant standing between him and a charging Fortson?

Luke Ridnour – Don’t sleep on Luke. Dude is tired of his fourth-quarter minutes going to Earl Watson. Those reserved unassuming types are the craziest. P.J.’s going to yank Ridnour on one too many occasions. He’s going to spew some sarcastic remark about Ridnour’s poor defense at the wrong time.

Seriously, I don’t understand the move of hiring Carlesimo, though I would rather him than Billy Donovan. Certainly, Carlesimo knows his hoop, and the now-young Sonics will need some teaching. But that’s what assistant coaches are for. Head coaches need to be motivators, managers of personalities, problem solvers as well as strategists. That’s a serious risk they’re taking. What if P.J. hasn’t changed his dart-throwing ways? What happens in February when Seattle is 10 games out, on a six game skid and they can’t take his riding anymore?
It seems P.J. is a better fit for a veteran team, one with players who won’t lose confidence when the coach chews them out, one that only needs him for his in-game adjustments, defensive principles and timely half-time tirades.
Putting the growth of Durant, Jeff Green, Robert Swift, Johan Petro, Mickael Gelabale, etc., under the watch of a reputed smart mouth may come back to haunt the Sonics. They better hope some of Pop rubbed off on P.J. Because if they mess around and ruin Durant, one of the most heralded rookies ever, turning him into some unhappy, unsure, underachiever, someone else we know will be doing the choking …
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Earlier in the draft, I wouldn’t have minded the Warriors moving up to get Yi. He looks like he’s got some game. But I’ve always had my reservations.
Do the Warriors need another soft big man? How far is he away from making a significant contribution? Is he worth whatever they would have to give up to get high enough to get him?
Now that Yi is in Milwaukee trying like crazy to get out, many Warriors fans are wanting/expecting the Warriors to make the trade to get Yi to the Bay Area, or as my man E-40 says, the Yay Area.

Nevermind his weak upper body strength, his perimeter-dwelling nature, or the patience he would require. What really turns me off about Yi is that the Warriors WERE NOT desperate to have him. He seems like just the kind of player this management has drooled over in the pass. Tall and can dribble. Skilled but soft. Athletic but not a spectacular athlete. Promising but a project. Then you add the major boost it would’ve meant to the gate, and the national attention it would’ve brought the franchise, Yi seemed like the perfect fit. But the fact that the Warriors don’t want him, in my eyes, is an indictment on him. Clearly there’s something about him they didn’t like, something they obviously saw in Wright. Add that fact with my aforementioned reservations, and I can’t help but think the Warriors are best with Yi residing elsewhere. Keep in mind, I haven’t seen him play, I am formulating my opinion totally based on scouting reports and highlight clips. But unless they can get him for cheap, my gut is telling me to keep Yi out of the Yay.

I had a long conversation with Jason Richardson on Tuesday. I talked to him on Thursday, but he said he needed time to get his head together. I’ll tell you what, he was shaken up by this trade, totally blindsided. We’ve talked about trade rumors involving him before, and in the past he’d acknowledged that he might be the odd man out. Still, this came as a total stunner. He was pretty broken up about leaving the Bay. He kept saying the fans deserved more and he wanted to give it to them.
You can read all about it in today’s Times. (http://www.contracostatimes.com/sports/ci_6293697) But here are some quotes and topics I didn’t get in:

*He said he wanted the Bobcats to re-sign Gerald Wallace, who is a free agent. Though they somewhat share positions, Richardson said he thinks Charlotte will be better if they lock down the SG and SF positions. That would mean Adam Morrison is coming off the bench. If Wallace signs elsewhere, I think Morrison starts at SF.
“I hope we get Gerald back,” Richardson said. “Two athletic guys from the wing who play hard, that’s going to be crazy.”

*Richardson loves the underdog role. And he heard everyone who said the Warriors did good by getting rid of him. He especially heard Stephen A. Smith, who, let’s just say, has an adversary from Saginaw, Mich. with his criticism of Charlotte in making the deal.
“All that is another opportunity to silence my critics. I’ve always been a critic buster,” Richardson said. “When they came into the league, they said I couldn’t shoot. I learned to shoot. Then they said I couldn’t play defense. I worked on my defense and learned to play defense. They said I couldn’t dribble. I improved my dribbling.”

*At first, he did not want to go to Charlotte. Seriously. After getting a taste of winning last season, he wanted to go to a contender. Chicago, Dallas, Orlando, San Antonio, Cleveland — any playoff team that needed a shooting guard. I don’t think Charlotte is that bad. They regularly have one of the worst records in the East, which is pretty bad. But they aren’t that far off. They have some nice young pieces. Richardson’s one gripe is that he didn’t want to start over and try to take a young team into the playoffs. He wanted to help a veteran team get go deeper into the playoffs. But the one saving grace to him, he said, was that he has some guys who are going to play with him. One of Richardson’s problems in the past was that some of his teammates didn’t play hard. He doesn’t expect to have that problem in Charlotte.
“I play hard just like the rest of them on both ends of the floor. My thing is do whatever it takes to get this team to the playoffs. This team is just a piece away. It can happen fast. They were only five games outside of the playoffs. They’re young, but they have some guys who can play. All they need is some leadership and experience. I hope I can bring both.”

*Another bright spot is that he has a much better chance of getting the All-Star nod out East. With the Warriors, he wasn’t going to beat out Baron for the last remaining guard spot behind Kobe, Nash, Tracy McGrady and Tony Parker. In the East, Dwyane Wade is the obvious starter. For the second two-guard spot, Richardson just has Vince Carter, Richard Hamilton, and now Ray Allen as his competition for the second two-guard spot. Vince and Rip made it this year because there was no one else to consider. If Richardson has a year like he did in 2005-06, he’s almost a lock.
“There’s a chance,” Richardson said. “There’s always a chance. With the West, it was always loaded with guards. It’s a tough conference. Not that the East is a pushover conference, but this is another opportunity for me to prove myself — again.”

Anyway, I certainly am going to miss JR, though I think it was a smart move by Mullin. J-Rich was my guy, as the other media members liked to say. I was the butt of so many of his practical jokes. He never got too big headed. He was always down to earth. He never shunned us, no matter how bad he played or the team played. He was there to talk to us, win or lose. Plus, you could always go to him and just chop it up about anything. You can’t do that with Baron, or most stars in the league.
I’ll certainly miss JR’s locker room presence. With J-Rich and Troy Murphy gone, the Warriors locker room just won’t be the same. Thankfully, we still have Stephen Jackson.

“I know you prefer blog questions at your work address: mthompson2@cctimes.com, but related to your post about Wright being able to defend Durant given time; but,in your opinion, do you think Wright will start this coming season as a Warrior or be part of a trade for KG or Yi?” – commish

Even if the Warriors were to get KG, I don’t think he’d be included. The Warriors really like Wright, even more than Yi. Any deal involving a player of any significant value will likely include Monta or Andris. Giving up Wright, too, would leave the Warriors with little in the form of young talent. But mostly, they really like Wright. If Minnesota absolutely has to have him, then maybe Mullin coughs him up. Otherwise, I think Wright is sticking around.

“Would you go after either rashard lewis or gerald wallace at the right price? i like wallace. he fits in well with w’s game and he fills a need in the rebounding, blocks, and defense dept. he also likes to drive which is a nice change of pace from the 3s. but i dont think he’s worth 10mil a year. lewis is probably more expensive because he is polished. he can be the reliable deep threat that w’s need. but both are very injured-prone. so would you go after them at the right price if you were mullin?” – manhattanproh

Neither would be my second choice. If not Kevin Garnett, I’d rather go out and get Marion (who Brandan Right kind of models after) or Lamar Odom or Marcus Camby. But if I’m down to those two as candidates, I’d take Lewis over Wallace. Lewis fits the Warriors style better because he can shoot. Plus he’s bigger (6-10, 230) than Wallace (6-7, 215).
Wallace is the ultimate slasher who gives you all the intangibles. But he’s a poor outside shooter, and that’s the last thing the Warriors need is a poor shooter. I’d rather re-sign Barnes, maybe even Pietrus, both of whom would be cheaper than Wallace and get Lewis. Rashard can hit the 3 (39 percent last season), make free throws (84 percent) and he can post.