OAKLAND -- As last season wore on, Warriors coach Don Nelson and rookie forward Anthony Randolph finally began to find some common ground and move past the acrimony and tension that had marked November and December.Randolph thought he should be playing more, and Nelson thought Randolph should be working harder. Things reached a low point in December when Nelson declared he was putting Randolph "on ice" until Randolph began to show a glimmer of a work ethic. Randolph's response, in essence, was to say that he "was going to continue to work hard."
Things eventually thawed between the two, and Randolph would make some nice strides in the final months of the season. And from the looks of it, both men want to pick up where they left off – not go back to Square 1. Maybe that's why Nelson is getting mom and dad involved.
Nelson reached out to Randolph's parents, Anthony Sr. and Crystal, in early July to try to gain some more insight into their son, the one that Nelson couldn't seem to get through to early in the season. The three of them spent an evening together, having dinner, talking about Randolph and getting to know one another.
"I've always been ready to play for Nellie," Randolph said on Thursday, after taking part in an NBA program to deliver computers to schools. "He came out to Dallas, met my parents and stuff like that. Me and Nellie have a great relationship right now.
"I wasn't there, but my mom and dad said they had a good time. I wish I would have been there. We talked after the season and (Nelson) just expressed to me he wanted to meet my family. I thought it was a good thing."
It's also a good thing for the Warriors that Randolph said he has "pretty much been in the weight room every day." When the principal of Urban Promise Academy middle school introduced Randolph to students, he described him as a "6-foot-10, 210-pound forward."
Off to the side, Randolph quietly said to an observer: "Actually, 7-foot, 222 pounds."
Whatever the dimensions, Randolph seems to represent one of the few areas of promise for the Warriors, who have missed the playoffs two consecutive years. Further, they haven't tinkered very much with last year's 29-win team.
"We had a lot of injuries and things," Randolph said. "I believe a lot of the guys, the younger guys on our team, got experience due to those injuries. With that experience and with getting everybody healthy, we're going to make the playoffs."But that can't happen unless Randolph is a big part of it. And Randolph can't be a big part of it unless he and Nelson, and, yes, maybe even mom and dad, get on the same page.
"My parents told me they talked about me for the first two hours that night," Randolph said. "Then after that, they let up on me. It wasn't all bad. Hey, Nellie is welcome in Dallas with me and my family anytime he wants. We'll barbeque, we'll do whatever. Doesn't matter."
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