The Golden State Warriors (+8000 to win the NBA's Western Conference title at BetUS) suck, and we have been treated to yet another reason why. Stephen Curry, the team's first-round draft choice (and +500 to win Rookie of the Year at BetUS), was being officially introduced to the press, and the team made the mistake of allowing Monta Ellis, a problem child, to attend the festivities.

"Us together, no. I can't. I just can't. I just can't," was Ellis' response to reporters who inquired as to whether he could find himself playing alongside the slick shooting rookie. Close you eyes for a minute and just imagine, say, Bill Sharman saying that about Bob Cousy.

He went on to say, "I just want to win. And you're not going to win that way." Let's stop for a moment to say that Ellis, in a sense, is not lying, if his point is that he and Curry are rather slight for an NBA backcourt these days, though perhaps somewhat appropriate for the finesse-oriented style of Don Nelson. The problem with Ellis isn't that he is being untrue with his statement; it's that he is saying it to the wrong people at the wrong time, in the wrong context and in the wrong atmosphere.

Ellis, of course, is a player the Warriors cannot ultimately win with, in my opinion. He didn't work out in a point guard role after he came back from an injury that was sustained when he got in an accident with his moped, and he is not the kind of player who can function all that well without the ball, which is kind of ironic because Curry is precisely the kind of player who CAN function without it. The league is full of the kind of selfish playground mentality Ellis displays; it just so happens that Golden State has more of it than most teams. This club is obviously best served by jettisoning Ellis, that is, if anyone would take him.

Sure, some of this is the fault of Nelson and Warrior management, because with Curry arriving, they could have anticipated being overloaded at the "small guard" position.

All of this is on the heels of Stephen Jackson, who has been envisioned as a shooting guard as well by Nelson, expressing publicly that he wants to be traded. At least Jackson is a guy who will play some defense, which is why that kind of thing hurts so much. Jackson just doesn't think this team has made any progress at all in the last year.

He's right, although it was a selfish thing to express it to anyone in the media.

What owner Chris Cohan really needs to do is closely examine the situation and make a clean sweep. That goes for Nelson (who has never won a title and never will) all the way down the line. The name of the game is to put together a winning combination, not just one that will build up fantasy stats, which appears to be what the Warriors have been trying to do. I'm not saying they're going to get all solid citizens like Curry, but you can't go very far with a bunch of selfish gunners who don't know anything about winning. They should take a page from the San Antonio Spurs' book in terms of building a little team chemistry, because it doesn't exist, then get a coach who emphasizes defense and rebounding and forget about the fast break freak show that has gotten the franchise to just one playoff appearance in the last fifteen years.

Speaking of choosing those words carefully, Steve Nash of the Suns (+3000 to win his third MVP award at BetUS) told a Phoenix radio station, "Of course, as a competitor I want to win a championship and it pains me to say right now, I am not sure if we are a championship-caliber team." Yeah, he's being honest about it, but that's not necessarily the message to be sending to teammates. After all, he is the leader, on and off the court. His team is 40/1 at BetUS to win the Western Conference.
Officials are being locked out because the NBA has failed to reach an agreement with them. That's too bad, but the league has announced that it will go with replacement referees in the pre-season, and will continue to do so until an accord is signed. Things are somewhat acrimonious, however, inasmuch as the league thought it has come to agreement on a two-year deal only to have it rejected unexpectedly by the National basketball Referees Association on Sunday.
Andrei Kirilenko of the Utah Jazz (+1000 to win the West at BetUS) thinks the whole league had better look out, now that LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal have been united with the Cleveland Cavaliers (+130 to win the East at BetUS). "That's the poison union," Kirilenko said. "I mean poison in a good way. They're going to poison the rest of us."
I'm not sure we mentioned this important bit of news, but Lamar Odom of the Los Angeles Lakers (-125 to win the West title at BetUS) got married to Khloe Kardashian last weekend. Or did he? Apparently though they went through all the motions, there is that small matter of a pre-nuptial agreement before the whole thing is official. Rashad McCants, another "boyfriend" of Khloe's, was turned down by the Houston Rockets, who rescinded his invitation to camp because of his injuries, so he is unemployed and therefore on "waivers" with her.


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