Things are coming down to the wire in the Mike Dunleavy decision: NBA or
Duke? Tough question. A number of people seem to think it will come
down to one key factor.
Namely: what will the Warriors do? Aside from being possibly the most
likely place in the NBA to have a relapse, the Warriors have been poorly managed
for years. The Rick Barry/Jeff Mullins (hey, we're Dukies, what do you expect?)
championship team blew apart quickly, and ever since, they have been up and
down, though Don Nelson almost made it work, and certainly made it fun, for a
few years. From that, though, you go to the Chris Webber meltdown, the
Latrell Sprewell fiasco, trading Vince Carter for Antwan Jamison, and on and on.
In short, don't count on this team to do much anytime soon. Look at
their current roster, for instance.
They have Jamison, who has improved but who has been prickly, and who may be
on the trading block, Mookie Blalock, who played in the same Final Four as Danny
Ferry and Danny Manning, meaning he's a bit long in the tooth, Adonal Foyle,
Erick Dampier, Dean Garrett, Cedrick Henderson, Larry Hughes, Chris Mills of
Emery/UK fame, Troy Murphy, Dean Oliver, Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson, and
Bob Sura.
Theoretically, you could build around Jamison, Richardson, Hughes, and Arena,
but how does Dunleavy fit in with that group? Moreover, how do you
convince him that the franchise has figured it out? Jamison has apparently
irritated management, Hughes came out too soon and has not lived up to his
potential (though he did come out due to pressing financial need if we remember
correctly), and Jason Richardson could become a really super player, but who's
to say this team isn't in the lottery for a few years?
One thing we've never completely understood is the idea that money trumps
winning. If you're good, you're almost destined to go to a sucky
team. Fine. But who would want to play for this team if he didn't
have to? That's Dunleavy's dilemma. We'll wish him well if he goes,
but knowing the NBA as he does, it seems like a big chance to take.