Print
RSS Feeds
E-News Sign Up
 |
||
In a special warriors.com exclusive, Warriors General Manager sat down with the media after the NBA Draft on June 26. The following is a transcript of that day: |
||
 |
Garry St. Jean
Pietrus is a guy that European scout Ron Michael has seen a number of times. I went over there two weeks ago. Pietrus has a big-time NBA body. He’s about 6’6” with huge hands and a real thirst for the game. We think he can really grow into a player. Let me get this out of the way first, Jason Richardson is our starting shooting guard. Pietrus is not going to be ready to go out there and take somebody’s starting minutes. This is a guy that is going to come along and be a heckuva player. Pietrus is as strong defensively as anybody in the draft. He has tremendous speed and extremely quick feet. We think he will be able to guard both quick players and bigger opponents. |
|
|
|
On not selecting a point guard with the 11th overall pick in the draft: “I’m not going to disrespect any of the point guards that were still available, but we think Mickael Pietrus clearly had the most upside of any of the players still available. Should any of the point guards taken earlier dropped down to the 11th slot, they were definitely on our radar screen. However, that was the cut-off point, and at that point the mindset was to take the best player available. In the second round we definitely made a pick based on need." |
|
|
|
On not trading the 11th pick: “We had a number of opportunities to trade down within the first round and only one or two to trade up. In the end those opportunities didn’t come together." |
|
|
|
“I don’t think that there is any more pressure to re-sign Gilbert at all. We have been very open about our desire to keep Gilbert with this team, from the owner right on down the line. We will continue to show him that love right on up until July 16th (the first day of the free agent signing period). Keeping him is priority number one and there is no 1A or 1B." |
|
|
|
“They’re pretty darn close. Mickael had mentioned to me that he had watched Jason play and admired his game. I think Mickael is a little bit taller, but the both have big hands and very long arms. With some of his big dunks, Mickael has been called the Euro-Jordan, but I think that Jason Richardson is a good body comparison." |
|
|
|
On the makeup of the team: “We looked at some bigs as well as some point guards in the draft. The draft doesn’t end the off-season for us. We will address the situation of free agency with the point guards. We will look at our roster and if need be, make some moves. This is the first time in quite awhile that the team has not had a glaring need. I am cautiously optimistic that Gilbert Arenas will be with the team for the upcoming season. We would like to have both Gilbert Arenas and Earl Boykins back with the team." |
|
|
|
How is the english of Mickael Pietrus? “We had dinner with him and I think that his English is pretty darn good. He has a comprehension level, and he is very good on the basketball court. We talked about some offensive and defensive concepts and he had a real good feel for what I was talking about. With any rookie coming in from another country there will be an adjustment period. I think that we have the people in place to help him along with that process in a real positive way." |
|
|
|
“Our scouts have seen Zimmerman play quite a bit. He was one of the best players at the Chicago Pre-draft camp. Derrick has exceptional speed and quickness, and at 6’2” has NBA point guard size. He can really run an offense and step up be a quality defender." |
|
|
|
On the potential for Pietrus to play right away: “We expect him to come in here and compete. I think that is the goal of all young players, to come in and carve out a spot on the team. He’s not just here for the team picture." |
|
|
|
On the moves discussed to improve the team: “I’m not a guy that is comfortable discussing the teams we’ve been talking to or the players we’ve been discussing, but I can say that more than half of the players on our roster have come up for discussion in the last 24 hours." |
