An interesting little scenario unfolded in the Bay Area yesterday, and it involved Al Harrington and his desire to play (or not) for Don Nelson and the Warriors.
The always excellent Tim Kawakami had an item yesterday, in which he cited sources claiming that Al no longer wanted to be part of the Nellie-Ball movement, and had requested a trade:
In fact, one league source with knowledge of the situation said that Harrington’s agent, Dan Fegan, is “actively working to get (Harrington) out of there” and that a few teams already have proposed tentative deals.
As you might expect, the reaction from the Warriors (and Harrington) was swift. When reached by another Warriors writer, Geoff Lepper, both parties emphatically denied the trade demand:
“I haven’t said that to anybody,” Harrington said. “I’m being honest with you.”
“Not that I know of,” Nelson said. “I had a meeting with him yesterday, and it didn’t come up.”
Kawakami stuck to his guns and did not back down after the denial, saying the issue is when (not if) Harrington made the trade request, and insisted that his source is “100% accurate”. Marcus Thompson II even went to bat for his colleague.
A late night update by Thompson confirmed the trade request, straight from Harrington himself (who, evidently, had a change of heart):
“Have I asked them to trade me? Yes I have. Plenty of times. All summer. Once a month. It never happened. I’m still here. Do I know what my future is? I don’t know. First game is tomorrow. We’re going to see what happens. But at the end of the day, if it’s like last year, then I can’t be here. And that’s for damn sure.”
Fun times in Warrior land, yes?
