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Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 2:30 pm**

O'Bryant just wants a chance to play By Geoff Lepper

Mickael Pietrus was the most voluble Warrior seeking a change of venue last week before the league's trade deadline. But he wasn't alone.
Though he eschewed Pietrus' speechifying, second-year center Patrick O'Bryant would have equally welcomed a move. And, just like Pietrus, O'Bryant is all but certain to pack up and go elsewhere once the season is over.

"I'll play anywhere I'll (get a chance to) play," O'Bryant said. "I'm a basketball player, not a basketball watcher."

This much is clear: He doesn't plan to sign up voluntarily to serve under Warriors coach Don Nelson again.

"Obviously, if something weird were to happen and Nellie didn't (have his option picked up), then maybe," O'Bryant said of a return to the team that selected him No. 9 overall in 2006 but this summer declined to pick up his third-year option.

And if Nelson does get asked by the team to fulfill the final year of his contract? "Then it probably wouldn't be my first choice," O'Bryant said with a wry smile.

Grin and bear it is what O'Bryant's career has been reduced to. We'll never know what Mike Montgomery, Nelson's predecessor and an avowed lover of back-to-the-basket centers, would have done with O'Bryant.

But it's hard to think O'Bryant could have possibly been any worse off. He's received a whopping 88 minutes on the floor this season -- less than rookies Brandan Wright and Marco Belinelli -- and did not even suit up Tuesday as the Warriors muddled along without starting center Andris Biedrins.
While there may be a paucity of minutes coming from Nelson, the coach does provide a long list of items for O'Bryant to improve, long-term.

"He needs to get more consistent, to where you know what he's going to do," Nelson said. "Less turnovers. A dominance in something that he does, whether it's shot-blocking or rebounding. And a few other things. That's enough, huh? ...

"It's kind of all over the map. He passes a little bit, rebounds sometimes, sometimes he'll block a shot. But there's no consistency there. So I never know what he's going to do in a game or in a practice."

Nelson -- who at this point considers raw rookie Kosta Perovic to be "pretty close" to O'Bryant on the depth chart -- wouldn't rule out the notion of O'Bryant returning next season but didn't exactly light up at the prospect.

"He's a free agent," Nelson said. "So we'll be one of 30 bidders in the free-agent market. He'll be on our board."

O'Bryant said his agent, Andy Miller, reported that a few teams were interested in acquiring O'Bryant's services before the trade deadline last week but that the Warriors didn't appear to have any significant talks about moving him.

"There was some interest, but they couldn't find the right scenarios. And the Warriors would have had to get something out of it, too," O'Bryant said. "I would have liked to have gone somewhere and played, but I'm here. I'm staying ready if I get a chance."

That appears to be highly unlikely. Perhaps no moment has better encapsulated O'Bryant's time on the team than Monday's practice, when he and Perovic stood shirtless at either end of the floor as extra defenders during the Warriors' four-on-five drills.

There was a perfectly rational explanation for the situation; The Warriors have only three colors of practice gear (white, blue and orange), and they were already running three teams of four players each, so there was no color left for O'Bryant and Perovic.

But the subtext, intended or not, was clear: You're not even good enough to merit a uniform.

The Warriors have a long litany of first-round busts in the draft -- Chris Washburn and Todd Fuller leap immediately to mind -- but O'Bryant doesn't feel it's fair to lump him in that category.

"Not at all, because I haven't played much," O'Bryant said. "You can't label something you don't know."

http://www.contracostatimes.com/warriors/ci_8390764

wasted two years...

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 2:59 pm**

Bummer . . . but not surpising.

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:10 pm**

DIO wrote:

"He needs to get more consistent, to where you know what he's going to do," Nelson said. "Less turnovers. A dominance in something that he does, whether it's shot-blocking or rebounding. And a few other things. That's enough, huh? ...

"It's kind of all over the map. He passes a little bit, rebounds sometimes, sometimes he'll block a shot. But there's no consistency there. So I never know what he's going to do in a game or in a practice."

That won't ever happen if the guy doesn't get PLAYING TIME now will it? And Nellie calls himself a coach?

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:33 pm**

Sonics-FAN wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

That won't ever happen if the guy doesn't get PLAYING TIME now will it? And Nellie calls himself a coach?

Exactly. How the hell is Nellie expecting O'Bryant to automatically be good on the court if he's not even getting playing time. :nonono:

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:35 pm**

Sonics-FAN wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

That won't ever happen if the guy doesn't get PLAYING TIME now will it? And Nellie calls himself a coach?

I forgot which game it was, but I distinctly (and sadly) remember watching Patrick basically quit on the floor when Nellie got down on him in one of his last game appearances. You don't get more game time after that.

All the diplomatic BS aside from both parties, Nellie rode him to find out what he was made of and if he really wants this, and unfortunately found a breaking point. That's on Patrick for not weathering the storm to prove coach wrong. I think Nellie was wrong, Patrick thinks Nellie was wrong, but it doesn't matter. Patrick made Nellie right that day. Whatever has transpired since would be colored by that weakness he showed. It's rare that a player ever overcomes that kind of moment in a coaches mind.

I would still like to see Patrick make it, because I think he'd be an enjoyable player to watch in a league where Kendrick Perkins logs 25mpg for the best team in the league. But, if Patrick does make it under his next coach, that won't really have much bearing on what happened here. He was not going to become a player under Nellie. Once that was known, they should have just cut him and opened the roster spot months ago.

Godspeed Patty O'Bryant. We hardly knew ye'.

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 4:14 pm**

I've long tired of berating Mulson's refusal to put POB on the floor, even under the most obvious circumstances (20+ pt. blowouts in the 4th quarter, no Beans, etc.). In my mind, yes, POB may have had moments of perceived inconsistancy in the NBA....but Nellie's a foolish old man who's a crap psychologist---just because POB's personality doesn't mesh with a perceived notion of what a player should have is no reason to break his spirit. I can tell you that Nellie's treatment of Belli, Harrington, POB, Kosta, while giving free passes constantly to Jax and Baron is going to end badly for Warriors fans. I see NO OTHER COACH in the league, with the exception of Phil Jackson, refuse to play their rooks as much as Nelson on general principle. And some of these teams are much better than us (i.e. DJ Strawberry getting consistent PT in PHoenix).

I'm seriously happy to see POB flipping the bird to Nellie and the organization. He's had some brainfart moments, no doubt, but also flashes of OMG " this dude is LONG and can play!". Wright's had some moments of looking lost as well....it's called being a ROOKIE.

And Sleepy. I disagree heavily with you on that "weak" game being a turning point in Nelsons' mind---or at least you making it sound like Nelli's quite justified in not playing POB. Nelie set Patrick up to fail, while holding players like CJ Watson to much lower standards. In fact, as long as Nellie's here, I hope Mullins trades draft picks to get a free agent---I'm tired of watcning Nellie sh*t on all but the most brilliantly talented young players.

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 4:40 pm**

shucknjive wrote:And Sleepy. I disagree heavily with you on that "weak" game being a turning point in Nelsons' mind---or at least you making it sound like Nelli's quite justified in not playing POB. Nelie set Patrick up to fail, while holding players like CJ Watson to much lower standards.

I don't deny the double standard.

But there's only ONE thing in this whole situation that Patrick had control over, and that was his own actions. In that one particular game, I saw a scene transpire where Patrick gave up. I though Nellie was being embarassingly hard on him on national TV, in a game where the kid hadn't done anything so eggregious as to deserve it. But, irrespective of Nellie's actions, Patrick is responsible for Patrick's actions, and effort.

His only control, or leverage in the situation was his response. Insted of doing more, better and working harder to shut Nellie up, or to prove him wrong, Patrick wilted. He just quit playing right there on the floor in front of a crowd, in front of his team, in front of the opponents, on TV, he quit playing while still on the floor. If you were focusing on them during that sequence, it was obvious. He just stopped running, stopped trying and waited to be taken out of the game.

No one ASKS quitters to take second chances.

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 5:19 pm**

Bynum was publicly ridiculed by Kobe and responded by training harder and becoming a better player.

POB was challenged by Nellie and sulked, turning him into a spectator and traffic cone. Anyone who watches POB in warmups knows why he never gets a second look.

Patrick did nothing to change what Nellie thought of him, he just quit. He may not have been treated fairly, but it never produced the chip on the shoulder attitude POB needed to be better. We'll all find out who was right and wrong about Cheesecakes next season.

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 5:40 pm**

warriortone wrote:Bynum was publicly ridiculed by Kobe and responded by training harder and becoming a better player.

POB was challenged by Nellie and sulked, turning him into a spectator and traffic cone. Anyone who watches POB in warmups knows why he never gets a second look.

Patrick did nothing to change what Nellie thought of him, he just quit. He may not have been treated fairly, but it never produced the chip on the shoulder attitude POB needed to be better. We'll all find out who was right and wrong about Cheesecakes next season.

Thank you all... thread of the day.

POB plays like a Panzy. He puts 2% of the effort that Monta did as a rookie in garbage time.

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 5:48 pm**

warriortone wrote:Bynum was publicly ridiculed by Kobe and responded by training harder and becoming a better player.

POB was challenged by Nellie and sulked, turning him into a spectator and traffic cone. Anyone who watches POB in warmups knows why he never gets a second look.

Patrick did nothing to change what Nellie thought of him, he just quit. He may not have been treated fairly, but it never produced the chip on the shoulder attitude POB needed to be better. We'll all find out who was right and wrong about Cheesecakes next season.

Yeah but Bynum was already getting playing time. And Kobe basically was only mad at him because he was the reason why the Lakers didn't trade for someone like Jason Kidd. If Bynum was some player who wasn't even in the rotation I doubt Kobe would even care about him.

POB isn't even playing enough for us to even get mad at him for what he does on the court. Maybe if he had minutes and was the reason why we lose games, I would be mad at him like Kobe was at Bynum. But nah, Nellie just expects POB to become some type of spectacular player by sitting on the bench all day, instead of actually letting him play and having him gain more experience to get better.

And yes, I know that POB probably had a moment where he gave up on the court. In fact, I even heard that the only reason why he played basketball in high school is because his dad made him so he can provide money for his family. But still, if POB had more minutes he'd learn and improve. Playing in the last 30 seconds of a blowout game isn't going to motivate him to be any better. He needs to be in the game during the heat of the moment, and he can test himself whether or not he has that fire in him to be a competitor. Nellie isn't giving him that oppurtunity, he's just expecting Patrick to magically become a good enough player to be in the rotation.

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 5:55 pm**

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EbRyfr8iEJc

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 5:58 pm**

I was thinking that it's a shame that we never found out if OB could be a mediocre player in this league. And then I remembered that mediocre players are a dime a dozen. He will never be a great player with his attitude and desire.

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 6:13 pm**

I'm not sure any rookie could've handled the pressure of being humiliated by Nellie on a daily basis. You can tell Nellie can be REALLY mean if he wants to. You know the kind of stuff that you know you shouldn't say, but you do anyways. Anyways, at least POB didn't make trade demands like idiot Gerald Green. He kept quiet, took the abuse and is still here waiting till free agency.

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 6:13 pm**

bynum only got time last year cause mihm and kwame were hurt so much. phil played him at times he didn't want to cause he had no choice. and it wasn't just kobe calling andrew out it was a lot of people in the organization and a lot of the fans wanted him out too.

POB does have a tendency to feel sorry for himself. and if nellie still doesn't know how the guy's gonna perform in practice that isn't gonna change anything if he gets in a game. whatever his problem is - that's in his own head and he needs to man up and deal with it. if not let him go somewhere else and (maybe) be good. it's not like he'll be the first. i don't feel sorry for him. as a woman i find it hard to feel sorry for a grown man who sulks.

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 6:28 pm**

BooRadley wrote:I'm not sure any rookie could've handled the pressure of being humiliated by Nellie on a daily basis.

Good thing Andris Biedrins didn't have to play for Nellie as a rookie. That would have been all bad for Beans.

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 6:30 pm**

Andris had it made in the shade. Nellie hated Foyle and loved Troy. With that starting deck Andris could do nothing but succeed.

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 6:31 pm**

People who are making millions of dollars a year shouldn't be coddled by management. Produce or STFU.

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 6:31 pm**

Big men have a different development curve than smalls. It's a proven fact. Nellie doesn't really like bigs---at times it seems as though Beans is out there only out of sheer necesity or the fact that the hordes at Oracle would start throwing stuff if Beans isn't out there.

I'm betting that Patick breaks a rotation next year and eventually develops into a nice, if not outstanding, player.

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 6:35 pm**

Patrick's motor and desire have been a question mark from day one. I remember someone here linked to the draft express write up on him which mentioned it directly. What has he done since he has been here to disprove any of that? It doesn't matter who the coach is or what the situation. If he doesn't have heart, it's not gonna come from an outside influence. POB has to make the decision to step up.

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 6:39 pm**

Draft Express had a write up on O'Bryant?...Wow...That's the gospel then :bowdown:

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