By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

OAKLAND — Don Nelson has already gone on record as saying that he wants to keep three point guards on his 15-man roster this season, and that’s not including the injured Monta Ellis.

Now he’s even claiming he might keep all four point guards that the Warriors have in camp.

The coach put forth that possibility Thursday after being asked if there wasn’t a one-on-one battle brewing between undrafted rookie DeMarcus Nelson, the prep scoring machine from Vallejo who has turned into a defensive specialist, and veteran newcomer Dan Dickau, who played briefly for Nelson in Dallas during 2004.

“I wouldn’t say it is an either-or (situation),” Don Nelson said. “I think we can do whatever’s best for our team.”

So you can see a situation in which keeping both of them would be best for your team?

“Absolutely.”

While that notion seems a little extreme, there’s no denying that DeMarcus Nelson has made what seemed like an afterthought into a legitimately difficult decision. To underscore his rising stock, Don Nelson had DeMarcus scrimmage Thursday with the first-string “blue” team, alternating much of the time with C.J. Watson.

“He’s gone from a guy that I didn’t think would have a chance to make our team when I brought him in this summer – I thought he’d need a year in the D-League – and he’s the coach’s favorite player right now. That must mean something.”

Although the coach considers DeMarcus Nelson’s shooting form to be inherently flawed, the Duke product can do something none of Ellis’ other would-be replacements can easily replicate: Beat his man off the dribble.

“He can get into the lane better than anybody that I have,” Don Nelson said. “And he’s now learning how to find people. He was pretty single-minded to score. That’s the first impulse everybody has when you get in there. But he’s now trying to open his vision up, see people, and he’s making good plays. His shot isn’t great, but he’s doing other things. He’s not living on that.”

With swingman Dion Dowell and center Justin Williams being placed on waivers Thursday by the Warriors, the team has 17 players in camp and must shed two more before Opening Night.

That would seem to leave two big guys — second-round selection Richard Hendrix, who has a guaranteed contract worth $442,114 and undrafted rookie Rob Kurz — fighting over one roster berth, while DeMarcus Nelson and Dickau battle with summer league…

[12:40 p.m. edit: A team spokesman confirmed that Dowell and Williams have been placed on waivers.]

There’s no official word from the team as of the moment (12:25 p.m.), but there are 16 players on the floor at practice right now for Golden State, and the only two healthy absences are Dion Dowell and Justin Williams. Warriors coach Don Nelson said Tuesday that his team would be making two cuts by Friday, and Dowell — who never could break through the logjam at swingman — and Williams — who reportedly was drawing interest from Maccabi Tel Aviv — were leading candidates to catch the axe.

Williams was on a make-good contract, but Dowell will receive $50,000 for his troubles.

The Warriors now have 17 players on their roster (including the injured Monta Ellis) and must cut two more by Oct. 27.

– Geoff

With only 12 players in camp holding guaranteed contracts — Kosta Perovic, we hardly knew ye — the Warriors’ roster competition is more wide-open than it’s been in years.

There are 11 players who are locks, including Kelenna Azubuike, Andris Biedrins, Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette, Anthony Randolph, Ronny Turiaf, Marcus Williams and Brandan Wright. Monta Ellis is also on that list, unless the Warriors take the radical step of trying to void his contract over his Quadrophenia homage. I thought Marco Belinelli might not make it, but I’ll take Nelson — who looked truly surprised when I brought this up — at his word when he said the team will be picking up his third-year option. No point in doing that if the guy isn’t 100 percent safe for this season.

Rookie Richard Hendrix is the other fully guaranteed player. He’s on a three-year deal (for purposes of retaining Bird rights if he is a diamond in the rough), but only this first season is guaranteed. At a cost of $442,114, I wouldn’t say he’s assured of a spot; remember, the Warriors ate significantly more (nearly $700,000) to rid themselves of Andre Owens and keep Matt Barnes two years ago.

That means we’re looking at eight players fighting for four roster spots before the season begins on Oct. 29. Here’s one observer’s tote board as of Sunday morning:

DeMarcus Nelson: 20-1. Great kid, solid defender, struggles with his shot. If you’re 7 feet tall, like Biedrins, you can get by with that skill set. Not if you’re 6-4, like Nelson.

Rob Kurz: 15-1. Dropped from 30-1 with Nelson’s recent lavishing of praise. Nellie’s right: Kurz’s game is not always the most elegant thing, but apparently it is effective, a la Barnes. He did drain the game-winning 3-pointer in Thursday’s evening scrimmage, a fact I thought would be the highlight of his stay as a Warrior. We’ll see if Nelson’s comments were just a job reference, or a harbinger of something else.

Dion Dowell: 10-1. Has a $50,000 partial guarantee, but is that enough of a reason to keep another 6-7 swingman?

Justin Williams: 8-1. Provides some heft and shot-blocking behind Biedrins and Turiaf, but third-string centers never play much under Nelson, who will probably use Al Harrington there for those minutes instead. It might come down to an individual battle against Richard Hendrix for one spot.

Anthony Morrow: 6-1. It’s tough to get a read here. With his range and accuracy,…