Don Nelson is relinquishing some of his authority. The 68-year-old coach, saying he's getting "soft as I get older," gave additional power to two of his assistants but vowed to stick around as the head coach.
After the Warriors' 115-99 loss to the Hawks, Nelson announced Keith Smart as his "defensive coordinator" and Sidney Moncrief an "assistant defensive coordinator." Starting with Friday's game, Smart was in charge of defensive game plans and could alter defensive alignments on the spot without running it past Nelson.
"I'm still the head coach, but we'll make decisions together," said Nelson, who has two more full seasons on his contract. "I've decided to identify one of my weaknesses at this point in my life. I'm not tough enough anymore. I'm soft as I get older. I feel like I haven't done a very good job defensively this year."
Asked if this was a precursor to handing the head-coaching duties over to one of his assistants, Nelson said, "That's not my decision. I have two more years. I wouldn't worry about that at this point. That's got nothing to do with anything. This is identifying a problem we need to work on."
Nelson's announcement came on a day ESPN reported that he had confronted 19-year-old rookie Anthony Randolph and told him, "You should start having your agent look into trades because this isn't working out."
After the game, Nelson admitted to speaking with Randolph about his agent, but not to suggest Randolph ought to relocate. Rather, to work on things to improve his game.
"I do want to talk to his agent. I did say his agent, and I need to sit down and talk. (Randolph's) got to make adjustments," said Nelson, calling the report untrue. "I talked to (Randolph) about sitting down with his agent because he's got to work at practice, do some things to get better."
No player appears immune from Nelson's displeasure. League sources added Nelson recently called out team captain Stephen Jackson about how his subpar play was hurting the team. Jackson sat out Friday and won't play the final three games of the trip because of a sore left hand.
Randolph, the 13th pick in last year's draft, also missed Friday's game, and he didn't deny the ESPN report, saying, "I'm not going to say there was ... or there wasn't" a discussion with Nelson about moving elsewhere.
Regarding his limited playing time, Randolph said, "I think everybody feels he should be playing more minutes. I feel if I'm given the opportunity, I can be a more consistent player to show I can do things in certain situations.
"None of us on the team like losing. I think there are certain things I can do to change the outcome of some games. But I've got to keep on working."
Randolph's agent, former NBA player B.J. Armstrong, declined to directly address the ESPN report and tried to downplay any thought of tension between Nelson and Randolph.
"Let's keep everything in perspective," Armstrong said. "For him, it's very simple. He loves his team, loves his teammates."
Loves his coach?
"Loves his coach," Armstrong said. "... Professionally, on and off the floor, what is he? Twenty games into the season? He's a young man that is concerned about making an adjustment on and off the floor right now.
"He's just thrilled to have the opportunity to be in the best basketball league in the world and live in one of the greatest cities in the world. What else is there to say?"
Randolph didn't exactly second that emotion. Asked to characterize his relationship with Nelson, he said, "I prefer not to comment on that."
While Randolph never got off the bench, another coveted young player, Brandan Wright, played 30 minutes and had a career-high 19 points. The lack of consistent playing time hasn't gone unnoticed by NBA executives, who have stepped up inquiries over the players' availability.
The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer reported the Warriors have had interest in trading for guard Raymond Felton of the Bobcats, who were pursuing Randolph or Wright. The Warriors discounted the report, especially in the wake of acquiring guard Jamal Crawford from the Knicks.
