By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

Your (mostly) daily guided tour through the national and local media coverage of the always-entertaining Golden State Warriors.

WEB MEDIA

NBA.com (Geoff Lepper): Yes, it’s an absolute, bald-faced abuse of power in the interest of self-pimpage. And your point is what, exactly?

NBA FanHouse (Chris Tomasson): Even from across the country, Stephen Jackson keeps on bashing the Warriors’ commitment to winning. You’ve gotten out, Stephen. You won. Just let it go, man.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

I have to admit, I didn’t think much of all the praise being lavished upon the Warriors in the wake of their two “close” defeats in Cleveland and Boston earlier this week. I thought the only things missing from all the happy chatter were some freshly-sectioned oranges and homemade Rice Krispie treats, because it all had that air of youth-soccerdom: Good job, way to go, you tried hard and that’s what matters.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

Your daily guided tour through the national and local media coverage of the always-entertaining Golden State Warriors.

BLOGOSPHERE

Talking Points/San Jose Mercury News (Tim Kawakami): Setting the stage for Thursday’s potential showdown between Jeff Fried, Monta Ellis’ agent, and Warriors brass.

(Perhaps the NBA can hold a special “non-expansion dispersal” draft next summer to help the Warriors out after they sell off everything of value.)

Inside The Warriors/Contra Costa Times (Marcus Thompson II): This was from Monday, before Tim’s post, but now serves to amplify the depths of Ellis’ frustration.

Plus: Wrapup from the Cavaliers game.

Fast Break/San Jose Mercury News (Adam Lauridsen): Taking Ellis to task for not being willing to fill the void left behind by Stephen Jackson’s departure.

I don’t share his optimism, but Adam likes what he saw from the Jackson-less Warriors against Cleveland on Tuesday.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

I know it’s way late, but I did want to collate the collective analysis of the end of the Stephen Jackson Era in Oakland and have it in one handy place.

I never did get a chance to write any lengthy analysis, but I think, from listening to all of Larry Riley’s comments on Monday, that Jackson finally broke the Warriors’ back with his quotes after the Brandon Jennings Explosion™ on Saturday.

It was a bad enough look when Jack praised himself for not getting T’d up during the Clippers’ road beatdown of the Warriors, which made it clear that he cared not one iota for what happened to the team on the floor.

But in the aftermath of the Bucks’ 129-125 win, Jackson let loose with both barrels.

First up was coach Don Nelson’s decision at the end of the game to call a play that involved Anthony Morrow, Corey Maggette and Monta Ellis all as options as the Warriors looked to tie the score. It wasn’t flat-out insubordinate, but it was sure coming close: “All I know is that I’m one of the best scorers on the team, and I was taking the ball out. That’s all I know. My job was to pass the ball inbounds. When you’re in the huddle at the end of the game, you pay attention to what you’re supposed to do. You don’t want to be the one who messes up. My job was to get the ball inbounds, and I did a great job.”

Then came what was, IMHO, the final straw — throwing his teammates under the bus for Jennings’ double-nickel performance: “Nobody has ever given me 55 points, and I didn’t get 55 points scored on me,” Jackson said. “Somebody has got to man up and take that 55, and I’m not going to take it. I wasn’t guarding him.”

That quote had to be especially galling because the Warriors have spent the better part of the last two years preaching about rotations and second and third efforts and all those team principles that Nelson and Keith Smart feel a team needs to become a good defensive unit. And Jackson, knowing all of that, just hung the young kids out to dry.

To me, that was the breaking point.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

After a wait of 2½ months, the Warriors have finally acceded to Stephen Jackson’s trade demand, dealing the unhappy swingman to Charlotte along with guard Acie Law in exchange for guard Raja Bell and forward Vladimir Radmanovic and saving nearly $20 million in the process.

The deal brings an end to the stalemate between Jackson and the team, which went public in late August when the then-captain told a New York crowd that “I don’t think I’ll be a Warrior next year. I’m looking to leave.”

The deal gives the Warriors long-term financial freedom, although they will owe roughly $1.5 million in extra salary for the remainder of the season, the increase from the salaries of Jackson ($7.65M) and Law ($2.22M) to Radmanovic ($6.47M) and Bell ($5.25M).

However, Golden State is no longer on the hook for Jackson’s three-year, $27.8M contract extension. Bell’s deal expires at the end of this season, and Radmanovic has only one more year — a player option worth $6.88M.

The total savings will be worth roughly $19.5M over the life of the deals.

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