By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

Yahoo! Sports NBA writer Marc J. Spears, formerly of the Boston Globe and before that the Denver Post, is reporting via Twitter that Warriors forward Brandan Wright injured his left shoulder during Friday night’s practice – the last of Golden State’s two-a-day training camp sessions – (oops: they go twice today) and is scheduled for an MRI on Monday.

Assuming Spears’ report is correct (and there’s no reason to think otherwise), it could be a major setback for Wright. The third-year forward appeared in only 39 games last year because he missed more than two months after suffering a partial dislocation of the same shoulder against the Lakers on Jan. 7. Wright was injured after getting tangled up with Pau Gasol and immediately went to the locker room. The first diagnosis was that he would miss a minimum of three weeks, but it obviously ended up being considerably longer.

Wright had been playing some of his best ball of the season just before the injury, having started nine consecutive games. His absence allowed second-year forward Anthony Randolph to pass him on the Warriors’ depth chart; Wright was expected this season to be a backup to Randolph and potentially play alongside him.

If Wright is out for more than just a few practices, it would open the door for a return to the days of Corey Maggette at the 4, or for Mikki Moore or Devean George to step forward and claim a significant chunk of the backup minutes there.

BLOGOSPHERE

Talking Points (Tim Kawakami): First, Monta Ellis accurately assessed the defensive prospects for a potential pairing with Stephen Curry (poor). Now, Brandan Wright is spot on in his observation of what the Warriors need to do: “For us to be a successful team, we’ve got to rebound. I’ve never seen a successful team that didn’t rebound.” Can I get an “Amen”? More importantly, can I get any kind of agreement from the head coach?

Fast Break (Adam Lauridsen): Breaking down the Warriors big men, in minute detail. Lauridsen hopes that “(Mikki) Moore truly is a 12th man and injury insurance.” Based on Don Nelson’s usage of Wright in the past, I wouldn’t bet on it.

PRINT MEDIA

Contra Costa Times (Marcus Thompson II): Now that the Media Day kerfuffle has been successfully snuffed out, the Warriors are waxing rhapsodic on the prospects for Ellis’ season. Nelson says that “Monta, after this season, he’ll be a made man.” Hopefully, the NBA will let him slide on that whole murder requirement the Mafia has for the original made men.

Read the rest of this entry…

By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

STOCKTON — Prior to the NBA draft in June, the rumor mill was consistently churning out talk that Rider big man Jason Thompson would wind up playing an up-tempo style in Northern California.

But that was supposed to happen in Oakland, not Sacramento.

At 6-foot-11 and 250 pounds, Thompson had the size the Warriors lacked. And as a do-everything star for the Rider Broncos of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Thompson showed the versatility — and range on his jump shot — that seemed to make him a natural big man for Don Nelson’s system.

Except the Kings stepped in at No. 12 and snatched him up, two spots before the Warriors. The Warriors, who were giddy about the prospect of having LSU’s Anthony Randolph drop to them at No. 14, did nothing to dissuade the impression that their interest in Thompson was meant to drive up his value and help them acquire Randolph.

But even though the 19-year-old Randolph may be the better player when both their careers are done, there’s no doubt that Thompson, 22, is the one who will contribute immediately to his NBA team.

“He’s been very good,” Kings coach Reggie Theus said. “He’s learning a lot, he can play multiple positions. I think he’s exactly what we thought he would be.”

Thompson said he wasn’t fazed by all the pre-draft talk.

“There’s always going to be rumors, but I just stayed focused,” Thompson said. “It would have been a great opportunity anywhere I went. I kind of had that up and down style, and people said I would fit in (with the Warriors), but we do the same thing here. Once we get the rebound, we’re out.”

This is a drastic change for a Kings team that had long been dominated by half-court specialists such as Mike Bibby and then Ron Artest. But with Bibby in Atlanta, Artest in Houston and a remaining roster devoid of significant post-up threats, Theus decided to dip back into his own history as a player, as chronicled by the Sacramento Bee, and speed things up a notch or three.

There were elements on display Wednesday against the Clippers that would be familiar to any Warriors fan: Fast breaks after made buckets by the opposition, big men dribbling the ball upcourt, a constant search for runners leaking out ahead of the defense for easy points.

“It’s a way I like to play, but it’s more (about) personnel,” Theus…