The Golden State Warriors were among the NBA's worst teams from 1994 to 2006, and their win-loss record was woeful. Golden State tried to work with different and well-known coaches, including Don Nelson, Rick Adelman, and P.J. Carlesimo.
Dave Cowens , who had already coached teams such as the Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Hornets in previous seasons, appeared to be a good fit in 2000. Unfortunately, even the 1973 NBA MVP failed to get the Warriors on track.
Cowens took over the Warriors' head coaching reigns in the 2000-01 season, with management hoping to improve on a sorry 19-63 win-loss record in the 1999-00 season under Carlesimo. Unfortunately, Dave did worse, wrapping up his first year as a coach for Golden State with a 17-65 win-loss card.
"I don't think guys knew their roles at all," Jamison said via UPI . "Guys didn't know what was asked of them. When you're losing, all that stuff comes out. We just weren't what we were in the first three weeks (of the season), including training camp."
More questions than answers
Being in his first year, Cowens had a chance to make up for it in his second year with Golden State. The Warriors started the 2001-02 season well with a 5-3 record. However, the team would lose 12 of its next 15 games, leaving Big Red increasingly frustrated.
That frustration showed in Cowens, who questioned the team's dedication. One player who drew his ire was Mookie Blaylock. The 12th overall pick of the 1989 Draft was kicked out of practice by Cowens for not responding to his instructions. As it turns out, other players were also lost under Cowens' watch.
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Growing resentment
Warriors general manager Garry St. Jean was confident he had a good team. However, that could only work if they had the right man for the job. The right coach would be someone who knew what he was doing and a person that players would respect. Cowens was failing at that.
Part of Cowens' approach that was questioned was his substitution patterns. Antawn Jamison pointed out how he and his teammates were left in a quandary, figuring out their roles and what they should do.
Brian Winters took over from Cowens but could hardly do better. Golden State would give Eric Musselman and Mike Montgomery a chance, but their efforts were still lacking. Don Nelson had a bit of a breakthrough in 2007. He led the Warriors to the Western Conference semifinals but lost to the Utah Jazz in five games.
Things fell into place for the Dubs only in the 2012-13 season. Mark Jackson made players like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green believe in themselves , giving them the confidence that helped them evolve into stars.
With the foundation set, Steve Kerr, who took over from Jackson in 2014, would take it to the next level. That produced five NBA titles for the Dubs, who have since become contenders each season.
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