NO.6 GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

Never let it be said that the Warriors can't laugh at
themselves. Their new marketing campaign pokes fun at a team
that was bad and bland in 1996-97. According to one radio spot,
Golden State's theme song last season was the droning We're the
Warriors, kumbaya. We play basketball, kumbaya. We all get
along, kumbaya.... This year's motto is No More Mr. Nice Guy,
and just to make sure the fans get the point, a TV spot shows
new general manager Garry St. Jean, whose nickname is Saint,
throwing down his imaginary halo and stomping on it.

That's all very clever, but it doesn't solve the Warriors' many
on-court deficiencies, which is why they probably won't improve
on their 30-52 record of a year ago. Golden State not only has
too many point guards (B.J. Armstrong, Bimbo Coles and Brian
Shaw, acquired Oct. 27 in a trade with the Magic), but also too
many big men who are unimpressive (Felton Spencer and Todd
Fuller) or untested (Erick Dampier and first-round draft pick
Adonal Foyle). Further muddling the already chaotic lineup is
the fate of forward Joe Smith, the top pick in the 1995 draft,
who led the Warriors in rebounding (8.5 boards a game) and was
second in scoring (18.7 points) last year. Smith will become a
free agent after the season, and while he hasn't ruled out
re-signing with the Warriors, he has made it clear that he
prefers to play for a winner and for a team in the East. Golden
State falls far short on both counts. "I'm just keeping my
options open," says Smith. "I think the franchise is committed
to turning things around and becoming more competitive, and if
we can do that, it would definitely be a factor in my decision.
But not the only factor."

The 6'10" Smith won't be the only party weighing his options.
The Warriors have to determine whether they want to bestow on
him the kind of gargantuan contract that other prominent members
of the 1995 draft class, including Minnesota's Kevin Garnett
(six years, $125 million) and Portland's Rasheed Wallace (six
years, $80 million), received to re-sign with their teams.
Although Smith's numbers were fairly impressive last season,
Golden State's management believed his work habits left a lot to
be desired. One of the primary tasks for new coach P.J.
Carlesimo will be to evaluate Smith. If Carlesimo concludes he
is something less than a franchise player, don't be surprised if
Smith is unloaded before the trading deadline in February.
"We're not shopping Joe, but we would always listen to a deal
that's a no-brainer," says Carlesimo. "Do we want Joe?
Absolutely we want Joe. But I think that as this season evolves,
we're going to have a lot better idea as to how critical Joe is
to us."

To cover themselves in case Smith goes elsewhere, the Warriors
upgraded their front line by drafting Foyle from Colgate and
trading veteran small forward Chris Mullin to Indiana for
second-year center Dampier and forward Duane Ferrell. Dampier,
at 6'11" and 265 pounds, and Foyle (6'10", 250) should improve
Golden State's rebounding and woeful interior defense, but both
are limited offensively, which means the bulk of the Warriors'
point production will again come from Smith and off-guard
Latrell Sprewell. The basketball world will have to survive
without Sprewell's wit and wisdom, however. Apparently taking
the No More Mr. Nice Guy theme a bit too seriously, Sprewell has
announced that he will not give any interviews this season.

It's not a good sign for the Warriors that the moves they made
off the court are more notable than the ones they made with
their roster. They have a renovated building--The New Arena in
Oakland was expanded from 15,025 seats to 19,200--a new practice
facility, new uniforms and a new logo. They also have the upbeat
tandem of Carlesimo and St. Jean, along with top assistant Paul
Westhead, the fast-break guru brought in to energize the
Warriors' attack. Still, at season's end the Warriors will
probably go back to their old theme song, with slightly
different lyrics: "We're the Warriors, kumbaya. We dealt our
star, kumbaya. We missed the playoffs again, kumbaya...." --P.T.

COLOR PHOTO: SAM FORENCICH/NBA PHOTOS IF GOLDEN STATE DOESN'T WIN MORE, THE HIGH-LEAPING SMITH MAY TAKE A FLIER ELSEWHERE [Joe Smith and opposing player in game]

COLOR PHOTO: ROCKY WIDNER [Donyell Marshall]

BY THE NUMBERS

1996-97 TEAM STATISTICS
30-52 (seventh in Pacific)

SEASON AVERAGES
Points Rebounds Turnovers
per game FG pct. per game per game
(rank) (rank) (rank) (rank)

Warriors 99.6 (9) .456 (12) 40.8 (15) 17.2 (27)
Opponents 104.4 (27) .475 (28) 41.0 (15) 15.7 (15)

DOING IT ALL

Latrell Sprewell was one of only three players last season to
lead his team in minutes, field goals attempted and made,
three-point field goals attempted and made, assists, steals,
turnovers and points. The other two players were also once
Warriors: the Heat's Tim Hardaway, who played for Golden State
from 1989-90 to '95-96, and the Kings' Mitch Richmond (1988-89
to '90-91).

NBA PLAYERS WHO LED THEIR TEAMS IN ALL THESE CATEGORIES IN 1996-97

MINS. FGA FGM 3FGA 3FGM ASSISTS STEALS TO POINTS
(PPG)

Tim Hardaway, Heat
3,136 1,384 575 590 203 695 151 230 1,644 (20.3)

Mitch Richmond, Kings
3,125 1,578 717 477 204 338 118 237 2,095 (25.9)

Latrell Sprewell, Warriors
3,353 1,444 649 415 147 507 132 322 1,938 (24.2)

NOTE FROM THE UNDERGROUND

Small forward Donyell Marshall (right), a big disappointment
since he was drafted No. 4 by the Timberwolves in 1994, arrived
at camp in the best shape he has been in since he joined the
Warriors in February 1995--which, according to some longtime
Golden State observers, isn't saying much. In the preseason,
coach P.J. Carlesimo was reasonably pleased with Marshall's
willingness to work, which has been questioned. Although
Marshall will begin the season in the starting lineup, the
Warriors would love to get his hefty contract, which has five
years and more than $20 million remaining, off their payroll.

PROJECTED LINEUP WITH 1996-97 STATS
Coach: P.J. Carlesimo (first season with Golden State)

STARTERS G PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3FG%

PG Bimbo Coles 51 6.1 2.3 2.9 0.69 0.14 .389 .755 .294
SG Latrell Sprewell 80 24.2 4.6 6.3 1.65 0.56 .449 .843 .354
SF Donyell Marshall 61 7.3 4.5 0.9 0.41 0.75 .413 .622 .315
PF Joe Smith 80 18.7 8.5 1.6 0.93 1.08 .454 .814 .261
C Felton Spencer 73 5.1 5.7 0.3 0.47 0.68 .489 .584 0 att.

RESERVES

G B.J. Armstrong 49 7.9 1.5 2.6 0.51 0.04 .453 .861 .278
C-F Erick Dampier[*] 72 5.1 4.1 0.6 0.26 1.01 .390 .637 1.000
G Brian Shaw[*] 77 7.2 2.5 4.1 0.87 0.34 .366 .793 .325
C Adonal Foyle (R)[*]28 24.4 13.1 1.9 0.68 6.25 .565 .487 .143
F Duane Ferrell[*] 62 6.4 2.3 1.1 0.61 0.10 .472 .617 .409

[*] New acquisition (R) Rookie (college stats)