Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Saltzman Says...Warriors making all the parts fit

When word first got out that the Warriors hired Bob Myers, nobody jumped up and down because nobody knew who he was.  They word spread that not only was he an agent, but that he had some of the best players in the NBA as clients.  More to the point, he was the right hand man for the best agent in basketball, Arn Tellem. 

Then, the Warriors impressed the NBA world when they decided to hire Jerry West to be a consultant on basketball decisions.  Joe Lacob gained immediate credibility for bringing in arguably the greatest basketball mind there is.

The next step was to finally replace Keith Smart, who was fired after the season, and in comes Mark Jackson.  Jackson, who was the most well known name available, was brought in to add more national attention to this afterthought of a franchise.  Despite capturing the NBA fan's imagination in 2007 with a rare post season run, the Warriors can be looked at as one of the worst run franchises in basketball.  Now that chris cohan is no longer the owner, and Joe Lacob has showed a commitment to spend on quality, perceptions can change.


The team is coming off a 10 game improvement from their dismal 2009-10 season, and they are certainly letting the league take notice of their actions.

The one side note that makes all of these moves very interesting is how these people are connected:  Both Myers and West have deep rooted connections to Arn Tellem.  However, it is also intriguing to note that Mark Jackson and Mike Malone have the same agent as well.  Despite being the top assistant in New Orleans, Mike Malone has been brought in to the same role in Golden State.  Very rarely do the Warriors outbid for someone, and even less often when they are sought after by more impressive franchises like the Los Angeles Lakers.  Malone coached for Mike Brown, the new Los Angeles Lakers head coach, but he also coahed Jackson, and more to the point, have the same agent.  Steven Kauffmann also represents current Warriors assistant Jerry Sichting, who is well known for his x's and o's as well. 

Former Golden State Warriors assistants Mario Elie and Sidney Moncrief are also represented by Kauffman

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