Warriors look to soar with wings galore
Nelson has numerous small forwards/shooting guards vying for PT
By Geoff Lepper, MEDIANEWS
Article Last Updated:10/07/2006 02:39:39 AM PDT

OAKLAND - It's true that the Warriors have 15 players with guaranteed
contracts.

It's not true, however, that every one them can play either shooting
guard or small forward.

It just seems that way.

Despite cutting loose Devin Brown before the opening of training camp
Tuesday, the Warriors are still flush with wing players. In addition to
expected starters Monta Ellis and Jason Richardson, there's returning
veteran Mickael Pietrus, newcomer Dajuan Wagner and unknown quantity
Andre Owens. Throw in point guard Baron Davis, when power forward Mike
Dunleavy is initiating the offense.

The situation is made all the more complicated because two of the three
players who have stood out in camp are Pietrus and Wagner, both of whom
have been taking advantage of the injury-related absences of Ellis and
Richardson.

Although it would be hard for most fans to imagine Richardson -
unquestionably the team's MVP in 2005-06 - not getting his customary
35 minutes a game, and with nearly everyone expecting a breakout season
from Ellis, Nelson reiterated his stance that, unlike those 15
contracts, playing time is not guaranteed.

"Not as far as I'm concerned," Nelson said. "I'm going to play the best
guy the most."

So far, that guy has been Pietrus, who's successfully reined in his
need to fire up 3-pointers or picking up charging fouls by recklessly
driving the paint against two or three defenders. He's adjusting to
life as a role player, serving as the closest thing the Warriors have
to a shut-down defender and making smarter forays to the basket.

"He's accepted his role better than I thought," Nelson said. "I'm
looking to play him a lot, I think. I need a (natural small forward),
and he's a perfect (small forward) for me. We're excited about his
progress."

Wagner, meanwhile, has "buried every shot," in Nelson's estimation,
hardly a surprise from a guy who once famously dropped 100 points in
high school. But he hasn't been merely a one-dimensional player.

"There isn't anything I haven't liked," Nelson said. "He's guarded,
he's passed, he's shot, he's done every drill."

Nelson is so confident in Wagner's ability that he's even going to give
him a shot at playing some point guard, something the 23-year-old has
done only sporadically in his career.

"I see the instincts in practice, because he has made really good
passes," Nelson said. "They're not complicated passes, he never gets in
trouble, he delivers all of them, and he can run a play or two, that's
a good thing. He's a small (shooting guard), just like Ellis is a small
(shooting guard), and both those guys eventually need to become capable
of playing the point if they want to be great players. Otherwise,
they'll just be good backups at the best."

Wagner said he would be comfortable running the point in Nelson's
offense. Having that ability would obviously help relieve some of the
congestion at the other perimeter spots, as would the possibility of
playing Pietrus at power forward, something Nelson said he might
consider down the line "if it made any sense."

The question now becomes, how will Wagner and Pietrus look when Ellis
- who participated in his first drills Friday after missing three
days with a strained thigh - and Richardson, still recovering from
arthroscopic knee surgery, are on the floor with them?

"Sometimes, a guy looks really good, but ... all of a sudden, after the
third week, he gets buried by the veterans," Nelson said. "I don't see
that happening to Wagner."

NOTES: In addition to Ellis, forward Zarko Cabarkapa (sprained right
ankle) was also back in action Friday morning. That leaves just
Richardson and forward Chris Taft (back surgery, plus an inflammatory
condition causing weakness and stiffness in his muscles) still on the
sidelines. ... It was hardly a definitive statement, but the groundwork
could be in place for making rookie center Patrick O'Bryant an eventual
member of the NBA Developmental League's Bakersfield Jam. Nelson said
he was "absolutely" amenable to utilizing the NBADL this season and
later acknowledged that whereas O'Bryant has plenty of potential, "he's
probably too raw to play this year much (at the NBA level)."