Whoa, Nellie! *UPDATED 7-10*
Russ Bengtson explains why the last Don needs to chill.
Don Nelson has always seemed like a man of simple tastes. Sure, he’s got the beach house on Maui, but he also prefers his beer in cans and has a body that looks like it was built on fast food, bar snacks and room service. In fact, the 67-year old has been voted “NBA coach you’d most like to share a case of PBR and a sack of White Castles with” a record-setting 10 times.
Which brings us to the latest Nellie-related news, best shared with a hearty “what the F**K?” Apparently he’s dissatisified with his current three-year Warrior contract (which he just completed the first year of) and wants to renegotiate. He allegedly wants his playoff incentives (which nearly doubled his salary last year) to be made part of his regular deal.
This is all well and good, I suppose—after all, Nelson did lead the Warriors on an improbable playoff run last year (as much as a coach can lead a team) and brought a lot of attention to the Yay. All of a sudden Golden State is a desirable basketball destination again. (And he’s also being sued by Mark Cuban, which in and of itself might make him deserving of a raise.)
But then again, whenever athletes pull this stuff, they get killed for it, as Marcus Thompson II of the San Jose Mercury News rightly points out. And just because Nellie is a good quote and a media favorite doesn’t mean he should get off unscathed. Does it?
(Let’s also not forget the way he left Golden State last time. Maybe adding more guaranteed money to his deal—especially while they’re still paying the LAST coach—isn’t such a good idea. You signed the deal, Don. Now honor it.)
EDIT: As linked to earlier today by my esteemed colleague Mr. Mutoni, apparently Baron Davis thinks Nellie deserves a raise, too. But of course. Players pretty much have to support renegotiation—remember Scottie Pippen’s semi-annual contract woes? But Pip had an unfortunate habit of locking himself into long-term deals right before the entire League’s salary structure leapt upwards. He actually WAS underpaid most of the time. Nellie? He’s coached all of half a season, and benefitted from one of the most lopsided trades in recent memory followed by the most fortuitous first-round playoff matchup ever. Hell, if anyone deserves a raise, it’s Chris Mullin.
And I’ve never understood why players and coaches think they deserve a raise after having a good year in the first place (assuming they’re under contract). Are we supposed to believe that the long-term contracts they sign are only good for mediocre seasons? (And if that’s the case, why can’t contracts be renegotiated DOWN after a poor season? You can’t have one without the other, as far as I’m concerned.) Think you’re gonna deserve a lot more money down the line? Sign shorter contracts. Year-to-year, even. Then you can renegotiate EVERY SUMMER!
32 Responses to “Whoa, Nellie! *UPDATED 7-10*”
Jul.9 at 8:12 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
Well, that photo didn’t work out quite the way I wanted it to. I hate glitches in the matrix.
Jul.9 at 8:20 pm
mutoni says:
that pic makes me want to weep. webb was such a ridiculous talent. *sigh*
Jul.9 at 8:42 pm
Reggie Evans says:
GREEDY.
Jul.9 at 9:12 pm
Ben Osborne says:
Anyone who cares about this post (nice work, Russ), HAS to get the new SLAM, which will be out later this week. Let’s just say the Nellie/Webber relationship is explored in depth, and by an award-winning, best-selling author making his SLAM debut.
Jul.9 at 9:19 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
The DonNelson Code by Dan Brown?
Jul.9 at 9:55 pm
Caputo says:
I had that jersey at Bob Oliva’s Royal Basketball Camp way back when and so did everyone else.
Jul.9 at 11:03 pm
WeS says:
What a tangled c web we weave…
Jul.9 at 11:59 pm
Chukaz says:
I think that the Warriors should pay Nellie his money. He took that team to the playoffs for the first time since the begining of time and should get rewarded for it + they knocked out the most overrated team in the history of American sports in the first round.
Jul.10 at 12:32 am
Co Co says:
I’m not so sure Nellie actually coached them so much as he sat on the bench annd encouraged them to keep shooting. He did make the occasional substitution, but I doubt he broke a sweat strategizing from game to game. I’m just sayin.
Jul.10 at 12:59 am
J.C. says:
Haha, he actually admitted publicly that they only have one game-plan and that plan isn’t even very hard to stop. Awesome coaching!
Jul.10 at 1:02 am
Russ Bengtson says:
Hey now, Co Co. Have you SEEN Don Nelson? My man probably breaks a sweat just getting out of bed in the…well, early afternoon.
Jul.10 at 1:11 am
Co Co says:
You have a point Russ!
Jul.10 at 1:23 am
Greased Up Deaf Guy aka Clay Davis says:
can baron davis get some credit? im just sayin
Jul.10 at 1:31 am
Co Co says:
We all love Baron.
Jul.10 at 1:48 am
GoldenGod says:
Avery Johnson did the same thing after his first year with his new contract.. when the Mavs lucked out and got to the Fianls.. no one said Jach about Avery holding Cuban up then.. other than Cuban. Aveyr even went public and complained he was the lowest paid coach in the league. The Dallas media even condemned Cuban for not paying Avery.. Cuban caved quickly. So then what happens.. Nellie kicks Avery’s butt without the MVP and he is considered wrong for wanting more money? And this is while he is the defacto GM and turned the organization around financially as well? Nellie should be getting everyone’s salary in the entire Warriors organization… including Baron Davis’.
Jul.10 at 4:24 am
Greased Up Deaf Guy aka Clay Davis says:
tippietoes walker was robbed!!! thats why zbo stays strapped
Jul.10 at 5:33 am
Tariq says:
I knew Kurt Vonnegut had to have written SOMETHING for SLAM before he checked out. So it goes.
Jul.10 at 6:22 am
Eoin says:
I think I would pay 200 euros for a slam article by JK Rowling, covering the Wizards.
Jul.10 at 8:47 am
Cheryl says:
atleast give nellie a lifetime supply of bud light. in the can, of course.
Jul.10 at 9:00 am
dpak says:
Fact is, Nellie makes less than most coaches in the NBA.
Nellie ALSO makes less than most of the team.
In the basketball world he’s not asking for a ridiculous amount of money.
He’s also old and fat.
He needs a payday!
Shoot, if I were making less than Sarunas, Adonal, and Mickael I’d be pissed too.
Jul.10 at 10:50 am
Big M says:
Are you making more than Sarunas, Adonal, and Mickael?
Jul.10 at 11:00 am
Mike C. says:
I had no idea I could just go to my employers and tell them that if they want me to come in to work tomorrow, they’ll have to give me more money even though I was hired at a certain wage and I agreed to it. I’m demanding a raise, and if I get fired, I’m blaming it on Don Nelson.
Jul.10 at 11:16 am
Slick Nick Da Ruler says:
give Nellie some money, phone bills are rough when you miss JRich so much.
Jul.10 at 11:53 am
Russ Bengtson says:
Nellie signed his current contract LESS THAN A YEAR AGO. It’s not like he signed a long-term deal a long time ago and then watched as the average salary went through the roof. No, that’s what happened to Scottie Pippen (more than once). And guess what? When he complained that he wanted his contract renegotiated, he got grief for it. Suck it up, Nellie.
Jul.10 at 12:07 pm
Co Co says:
The fact is that the leagues (NBA, NFL) created this monster that is the all of a sudden unhappy underpaid athlete’s/coaches. Don’t hate the player, hate the game. These owners need to remind the players who is writing their checks instead of letting them always have the upper hand when it comes to contracts.
Jul.10 at 12:18 pm
nothin _personal says:
Since everybody has a blog these days I thought I might as well utilise mine. The blog is linked on my nickname and the first subject I tackle is: When to trade your All-Star, if things aren’t clicking for you! It is as good as the Chukaz page, it can drastically cut down my AvgCom/day figure!
Jul.10 at 1:24 pm
SLAM ONLINE | » Baron Davis Knows What Don Nelson Needs says:
[…] Even though Russ doesn’t agree, The Baron went on to say that he thinks Don Nelson deserves a raise. […]
Jul.10 at 2:50 pm
Young Chris #3 says:
Hey Russ, did you get that idea about renegotiating down after a poor season from Adam Sandler’s “Mr. Deeds?” How great would it be if players who thought they were bigger than the sport went home to find that their owner/general manager and pops were chattin it up on the phone and then the foul-mouthed player had the fewar of God instilled in him by daddy’s belt?
Jul.10 at 2:52 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
I never saw “Mr. Deeds,” and know nothing about it. It’s called “logic”—something many players and coaches see fit to ignore.
Jul.10 at 3:43 pm
Dennard says:
Yeah Nellie needs to slow his role. If Golden State didn’t make the playoffs, is this a story? I think not, the story would have been Nellie has retired again, this time for good.
Jul.10 at 5:30 pm
FLUXLAND says:
Tariq.. I’m pretty sure the gentleman you type of is dead.
Jul.11 at 5:41 pm
Allenp says:
Russ is on point. It’s a blatant double standard and I think it needs to be mentioned. Maybe it’s because Nellie is so jolly and funny, or maybe it’s because most sportwriters have trouble relating to young black millionaires. Who knows.