NEW YORK — Golden State’s Don Nelson planned to be retired now, not running what he calls “a very difficult team to coach so far.” Seems it’s still getting harder.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Nelson stormed out of practice Thursday after a dispute with guard Monta Ellis, the latest headache for the NBA’s most dysfunctional team. Nelson, second on the NBA’s career list with more than 1,300 wins, could have avoided it all by simply walking away — which was his original thought.
“Actually, the organization wanted me to do two more years,” he said Friday. “I was ready to retire after last season, and so I signed on for two more years, and I’m going to oblige my contract.”
The problems started long before the season did. Forward Stephen Jackson said he wanted to be traded, a request he made public over the summer. Ellis declared on the eve of training camp that the Warriors couldn’t win playing him and rookie Stephen Curry together in the backcourt. And with a 2-5 record heading into Friday night’s game against the Knicks, Ellis might be right.
Footnotes.
Mavericks swingman Josh Howard is out indefinitely as he recovers from surgery on his left ankle.
• The Rockets assigned center Joey Dorsey to the team’s development league partner and waived forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu.
• Forward Tim Duncan and guard Tony Parker, both nursing ankle injuries, practiced and are questionable for tonight’s game against Oklahoma City.
The Associated Press
