Storms Are Circling

A few weeks ago, Stephen Jackson was in NY to help his Al Harrington out. He made some comments that obviously hurt the Warriors fans, and everyone from the management to fans, believed he was, “Jack being Jack. Flash Forward and you know that the NBA season is about to start when teams are attending their own Media Day. Although he was fined by the NBA, using the media as an outlet to demand a trade, reporters still insist on him clarifying what he said in New York. Although they don’t receive a solid yes or no answer, it’s clear that Jackson stands behind his comments he made in NY.

For almost a second, you saw a flash of brilliance, leadership and the qualities that would attract more players to the Bay Area, but in reality, Captain Jacks seems just like any other decent Warrior player. The moment you can get out of town, you get out of town. Can you blame Baron Davis for such a crime now? At least he didn’t sign an extension and then weeks after demand a trade. Let’s give him credit for that. But to me, this seems like Jackson is a selfish and immature player. Although he has grown up on the court and off from the Detroit vs. Indiana scuffle, Jackson still remains a player who is unwillingly to take the bad with the good. He feels like he has suffered long enough at the hands of watching everyone else play in the playoffs and now he feels like he needs to get out of the Bay Area and prove to everyone that he is good enough to play somewhere else. Problem is, is that good? On a team like the Warriors, where we don’t have a star like a Lebron, Kobe or D-Wade, it’s obvious that the responsibility of the games fall on Jackson’s shoulder. But if he such a good player, why isn’t any other teams wanting him so bad? Why isn’t other big time aging stars willingly to sacrifice their game so that they can have another “1” scorer on their team to help them get to the next level? I haven’t heard of many teams wanting to get Jackson’s services of late and even if teams are willingly, most likely he’ll go near the trade deadline to a team that is bound to make playoffs because they need that extra punch. So he goes to contending team and if they don’t win, are they going to re-sign him, or will he feel like he didn’t get the ball as much and needs the rock to be productive?

In my opinion, Jackson is demanding a trade because he believes his value is much higher than what it is. I think that once he gets traded, he’ll understand what a superstar he was as a Warrior and how he’ll have to learn to be a role player with a championship-caliber team. I hope this doesn’t cause tension with his teammates and have them lose focus only to further enhance his cry for out. He’s got to take the good with the bad.

If the whole Jackson’s demand for a trade wasn’t enough drama for the Warrior, word is, Monte Ellis is furious with the idea that he and Stephen Curry can share the back court at the same time. He’s quoted saying, “‘You can’t put two small guys out there and try to play (point guard) and (shooting guard) when you’ve got big (shooting) guards in the league. You just can’t do it. OK, yes, we’re going to move up and down fast, but eventually the game is going to slow down. You can’t do it.'” – Marcus Thompson II, The Oakland Tribune

We’ll see where that comment will land in rookie’s Stephen Curry’s head. If things looked upbeat for the Warriors during the offseason, they sure look like something drastic is about to happen. This is almost like a combat war zone waiting for the big bombs to fall. I’m excited about the NBA season starting, minus the replacement refs), excited to see where Jack is going to land or if he stays and how he’ll produce, excited to see how this whole Monte not like drafting Curry (cause mostly I think Monte didn’t work on his game and doesn’t have a pure shot like Curry so he’s nervous) works out and see if it is a ‘healthy, friendly’ competition and basically see how the Warriors rebound from a disappointing year.

Stay tune, I’m sure there are more storms to come.