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Bay Area Basketball Tremor

Posted 11/07 at 9:54 AM

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Pete Pranica is the Grizzlies television play-by-play announcer. He and Sean Tuohy make up the broadcast team that hosts Grizzlies Tonight! before each home game.

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    Usually the firing of an assistant GM doesn’t rate much noise. Usually, though, such moves take place in the off-season, not five games in. The Golden State Warriors are treading treacherous waters in the front office.

    My good friend Marty Burns at Sports Illustrated wrote a column about a week ago indicating that the Golden State Warriors were about to snare the title of “Team Turmoil” away from the New York Knicks.

    They’re well on their way.

    First there was the Monta Ellis ankle injury, first professed to be suffered at a pickup basketball game, then confessed to be during a motor scooter ride. Haggling between Ellis and his agent and the Warriors and the players’ union isn’t finished yet because the Warriors’ 26-game penalty may or may not be longer.

    Then, Al Harrington, who believes himself to be a marquee player, requested a trade publicly after being made a team captain. Harrington has been jacking shots at a high rate and appears angry or disinterested or frustrated or a combination of all three.

    Marcus Williams, acquired as point guard insurance with the departure of Baron Davis, found himself in the solitary confinement wing of Don Nelson‘s doghouse and the club declined to pick up his option.

    There’s also a power struggle in the front office with team president Robert Rowell aligning himself against Warriors favored son-GM Chris Mullin and with Don Nelson. Rowell broomed Pete D’Alessandro, Mullin’s right hand man as assistant GM and is replacing him with Nelson loyalist Larry Riley. Short honeymoon for the Warriors, who were positioned perfectly to be the NBA’s “next big thing” and instead are in the process of flaming out with the stunning opt-out of Baron Davis, the Ellis moped fiasco, all combined with front office cloak and dagger.

    Posted 11/07 at 9:54 AM

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    Pete Pranica is the Grizzlies television play-by-play announcer. He and Sean Tuohy make up the broadcast team that hosts Grizzlies Tonight! before each home game.