Nate Robinson's Next Chance To Change Perception Could Come With The Golden State Warriors

by Nate Parham on Jan 4, 2012 10:00 AM PST in Rumors

In breaking down the Golden State Warriors' rumored signing of guard Nate Robinson, Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area wrote:

...Robinson didn’t fit with a team vying for a championship, but for some reason he’ll be a perfect fit with the Warriors. That’s a tough theory to get behind.

In fairness to the Warriors, there might not be a guard available with any more talent than Robinson. But again, what does that tell you?

Steinmetz goes on to describe what he thinks that tells us about Robinson. But, as he and San Jose Mercury reporter Marcus Thompson II report, it's not exactly hard to see what the Warriors see in this signing: "He will likely challenge Charles Jenkins, Ish Smith and Klay Thompson for backcourt minutes."

Without delving too deeply into Robinson's numbers, what's clear about this signing is that a) he was available and b) the Warriors are not-so-subtly dissatisfied with their backcourt play behind star guards Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis. It's hard to even know what Robinson will offer this team on the court based upon his performance last season with the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Maybe there's a more practical concern about Curry's ankle becoming a persistent problem here, but Robinson is not Curry and really never has been. This is simply a matter of the Warriors getting terribly inconsistent play from their reserve guards and Robinson being a guy looking to play some ball this year.

Unfortunately, Robinson's 2010-11 performance doesn't exactly inspire much faith in his ability to a consistently focused contributor.

The Boston Celtics traded Robinson to the Thunder after half a season and P aul Pierce's preseason comment that their bench was "too immature and inconsistent" last season could certainly be taken as a not-so-subtle shot at the likes of Robinson (in addition to Shaq, Glen Davis, and possibly Delonte West, all of whom are gone this season). The Oklahoma City Thunder released Robinson in December after he expressed displeasure with their plans to leave him out of the rotation.

So the biggest concern as he eyes a spot on the Warriors is whether he'll be satisfied with whatever minutes he gets behind Curry and Ellis, competing with 3-4 other players for minutes.

Nevertheless, there should never be any doubt that Nate Robinson loves basketball as much as anyone in the league.

Just yesterday, Seattle Times reporter Percy Allen described how Robinson was the last person to play both basketball and football at the University of Washington because, according to basketball coach Lorenzo Romar, he "was so adamant about it. Nate would sneak in here during football season and shoot all the time."

Since entering the NBA, you can find the Seattle native in his hometown at youth summer camps, summer tournaments between local stars, Seattle Storm WNBA playoff games, and reaching out to the up and coming guys. The passion for the game and it's hard to believe it will disappear any time soon if you've ever spent any time near him.

I'm not just trying to give you the cheap "he's good in the community line" as an antidote to all the bad news about him; of all the NBA players that Seattle has produced, Robinson is arguably the one with the biggest and most consistent presence of any current player in his hometown in recent years in ways that demonstrate a genuine love for the game and helping others coming up behind him rather than false charity.

So I'm not going to lie: having had the opportunity to chat with the guy a few times in those different contexts, it's hard not to like him and appreciate who he is beyond the public persona that has become so negative. And while some might see the December story by SI's Sam Amick as mere fluff, it's not entirely difficult for me to believe that Robinson will take advantage of this latest opportunity to help rebuild his reputation.

"One team's trash is another team's treasure," he said. "With whatever team that I land on they know they're going to get everything out of me. I'm going to come to practice early -- first one there, last one to leave. I work hard every day, practice every day and play hard in games whether it's one minute, 10 minutes, 30 minutes or 40 minutes."

No, Robinson is not the final piece of a championship team. No, he was not a positive veteran presence last season. No, he won't singlehandedly turn around a team that has struggled to find any kind of flow offensively. No, I'm not saying his presence in a city without a team says anything about what he'll do on the court for the Warriors at all really.

But the guy wants a chance to play ball and the Warriors roster as it currently stands offers that opportunity. Now it's up to Robinson to take advantage of the opportunity or add to the list of questions about his maturity.

0 recs | 165 comments

Comments

I'm really curious why the narrative around Robinson is so negative.

He’s almost always been a productive player when he’s seen consistent minutes, and has received nothing but positive remarks from his teammates (Shaq’s dubious remarks in his book aside).

I did this in one of the fanshots, but here’s a side by side comparison to his career numbers with everybody’s favorite Warrior:

Player A:

.537 TS%
25.1 USG%
5.7 TRB%
19.6 AST%
13.0 TOV%
.328 3P%
2.3 STL%
19.6 pts/36 (on 16.2 FGA/36)
.075 WS/48
-0.7 10yr RAPM (Off+Def)

Player B:

.534 TS%
23.5 USG%
6.5 TRB%
19.3 AST%
12.0 TOV%
.353 3P%
1.9 STL%
17.6 pts/36 (on 14.9 FGA/36)
.090 WS/48
-0.4 10yr RAPM

Spider Jerusalem - January 4, 2012 reply

its because he is short in a very small Guard backcourt.

They feel like we’re going backwards with even smaller players. And I don’t mind their objections, but I also understand what the FO has done here because clearly the offense on the bench SUCKS.

bimmercirem3 - January 4, 2012 reply

REC!!!!

squadmog - January 4, 2012 reply

Great article, Nate, and thanks for the stat comp, Spider. Great stuff! Perhaps people feel that one "player A" is enough for this team!

(This part of my continued effort to revamp my image, and become front office-friendly, and supportive of pack behavior patterns, in here)

dinohealth - January 4, 2012 reply

negative on nate, steinmetz lives in opposite world.

He wants a bigger slower and less fun team. Like the freakin overrated Bulls who will never beat the heat.

foxblows - January 5, 2012 reply

This is simply a matter of the Warriors getting terribly inconsistent play from their reserve guards

They are reserve guards, how good do they have to be? Splish seems perfectly good enough if we use him in the boykins mold of disrupt them for a few minutes. and don’t we have another kid named jenks or something?? Robinsin seems like a distraction we don’t need right now as we try to find the door to the future.

Skeptic con Urquell - January 4, 2012 reply

yeah, I don't get what Ish did to piss off MFJ

seemed like he was slated to get fairly regular burn…and then…zero minutes

anybody notice anything?

the only possible issue I can think of is that it seemed like he was maybe trying to shoot too much?

Duby Dub Dubs - January 4, 2012 reply

He's really bad?

Spider Jerusalem - January 4, 2012 reply

ish has been far from bad so far this season

sure he still can’t shoot, but that’s really the only knock on him so far this year

bigkino217 - January 4, 2012 reply

Ish has also been far from good too

squadmog - January 4, 2012 reply

Well that's a huge part of why he's been bad.

He’s shooting 40% from the floor (a career high!) and is averaging a ridiculous 17.1 FGA/36 and running a 23.3 USG%. That’s crazy.

Spider Jerusalem - January 4, 2012 reply

he also takes care of the ball, sets up teammates reasonably well, and plays defense

bigkino217 - January 4, 2012 reply

Defense is kind. He picks up full court and makes a show out of it, but he had trouble even staying in front of Mike Bibby.

Yes, he has taken care of the ball, but I don’t think he’s set anyone up, really. The offense looks really bad (worse than normal!) when he’s in the game. He usually dribbles a bunch, overpenetrates, and then passes the ball out awkwardly to whoever happens to be standing on the three-point line.

Spider Jerusalem - January 4, 2012 reply

the warriors are near the bottom of the league in point differential

and ish is a +29 in 63 mins. his defense has (albeit in a very small sample size) drastically improved our points allowed.

bigkino217 - January 4, 2012 reply

Waaaay too early to feel confident about anything +/- is saying right now.

Or to come to any conclusions.

But fwiw RAPM has Ish at -2.0 right now.

Spider Jerusalem - January 4, 2012 reply

Yet his other numbers are gospel for him sucking?

He’s been a positive influence on the side so far. I’m not married to Ish but you’re just being bias.

tafkasam - January 4, 2012 reply

It's too early for any confidence in +/-.

It’s not too early to know he can’t shoot and that him shooting a lot is not helpful.

Spider Jerusalem - January 4, 2012 reply

The point is: possessions are extremely valuable.

Your point guard should know this better than anyone. Him being such a poor shooter, yet shooting so often, is essentially wasting a possession.

Spider Jerusalem - January 4, 2012 reply

yet a point guard that turns the ball over actually is wasting possessions

bigkino217 - January 4, 2012 reply

I would say a poor shooter taking a shot is also wasting a possession.

Not as costly as a turnover (because the chance for an offensive rebound exists), but in terms of marginal value, a missed shot costs your team quite a bit.

Spider Jerusalem - January 4, 2012 reply

Might be cause he sucks? and can shoot just slighty better then jlin!

squadmog - January 4, 2012 reply

he has 27 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals, and 1 turnover in 63 total minutes, all while playing solid defense

how much more are you expecting from a backup PG?

bigkino217 - January 4, 2012 reply

Not to get those 27 points on 30 FGA in 63 minutes and one free throw attempt?

Spider Jerusalem - January 4, 2012 reply

thanks Spider

appreciate the numbers…yeah, that is some turrible shooting

still, I like his game, hopefully MFJ can bring him back soon with a clearer idea of how he needs to fit into the team plan

Duby Dub Dubs - January 4, 2012 reply

I don’t care to much for the numbers, i’m more of an old skool seat of the pants type kat. But this says what i was going to explain….. I’m not made at ish off the bench as a third sting back up, or even 2nd string on hot nights….

squadmog - January 4, 2012 reply

also, there was that recent MFJ quote (I think about Rush) knowing "when NOT to shoot"

I initially took it as a dig at Monta (who I think was benched for a while during the 3rd qarter of that game)…but maybe he was talking about Ish

Duby Dub Dubs - January 4, 2012 reply

Not to get those 27 points on 30 FGA

As Iverson would say folks, “We’re talkin about backup here, backup. Not starter, backup”

Skeptic con Urquell - January 4, 2012 reply

*free throw made.

Spider Jerusalem - January 4, 2012 reply

Ish Smith was contributing

I agree. What did Jackson not like about Smith’s hustle. His shooting was above expectations. Although it now does look like they need an extra player at point. Great timing.

I like Smith though as a backup, quick hustler who shot better. I sure MJ knows what he is doing. He is not playing Dominator and Rush as much and it looks like he wants a slower five out there. Spurs 4th was Nellie Ball against the Warriors with Jackson trying to match up with Pops instead of the other way around. Oh well.

foxblows - January 5, 2012 reply

I may have at first wronged this move just a little bit, but have come full circle to appreciate this.

Like I said in previous posts, our bench is clearly made of mostly defensive players with little offensive game. Thus, we they hit the floor, scoring goes down but defense goes up. But when defense goes down as well, offense is just stagnant and we get blown out.

Now our offense of the bench is weak because lets see, Ish, Jenkins, Klay are the guards for the bench. Ish is inconsistent. Jenkins is not getting his minutes because hes a rook (i like him though). Klay is abysmally bad as of now and we were planning to rely on him as our backup guard, yet failed so horribly. Thus that meant one of the starting guards would have to play as the reserve guards. NOT GOOD AT ALL.

Nate actually brings offensive gain with little defense. While he may not be the best at the offense, he is certainly consistent. However, this is the best we can do and I just can’t see any other guards who can help right now unless Klay or CJ picks it up. I would love to see a trade come down soon because this is getting ridiculous.

bimmercirem3 - January 4, 2012 reply

Fairly simple analysis, and right on the money.

dinohealth - January 4, 2012 reply

Klay

gets way too much time out there. Shot the fourth quarter 3 out of nowhere (18 seconds left on 24). He has done that before, and I appreciate the confidence, but not a formula for winning. Jackson left him in though.

foxblows - January 5, 2012 reply

fans here have observed often enough

’ Player X is critical for the offense with his ability to get to the rim, create and make his own shots’. Thompson also got hype that he could create shots for himself. Robinson has skills that the reserves haven’t provided consistently, and the cost and investment risk is minimal.

the.monk - January 4, 2012 reply

Nothing exciting....

… but let’s be honest. As beast as our bench has occasionally been on defense, we have no consistent offensive weapon coming off the bench. I would have preferred a wing, but I think they just went out and grabbed the best offensive weapon available.

warriorsablaze - January 4, 2012 reply

YEP!

squadmog - January 4, 2012 reply

"As beast as our bench has occasionally been on defense..." Wow! I am glad you used the qualifier "occasionally". Totally agree.

dinohealth - January 4, 2012 reply

I see...

Since we cannot get a bigger backcourt, we sign smaller guards to make the current ones look bigger….

Cunning strategy!

Sérgio Santos - January 4, 2012 reply

lol, Duby made the same observation at another blog. Pure front office genius!

dinohealth - January 4, 2012 reply

Nate will help.

Instant offense. Let Curry rest and give Robbie some minutes.

foxblows - January 5, 2012 reply

I don't think it's about 1 player...

Rather the overall lack of punch from the Bench. I think the team is content with Ish’s and Rush’s play. Klay has disappointed a bit. But they’re not consistent enough to be counted on night in and out. I’m glad we made this move. Brings in someone who can score and get’s hot, quick. Good pick up.

esco41510 - January 4, 2012 reply

As the eternal optimist - aka, a warriors fan, my hopes are:

1. We are preparing our roster to not be totally gutted after we make a trade to get a very good player. Would not be shocked to see Curry dealt and if so, we will need depth at PG. Hopefully any trades made net is a draft pick!

2. Mark wants veterans on board who will be vocal on the court – Nate fits that bill.

3. My hunch is that Jenkins will be the backup of the future (especially given his size) but Mark wants to ship him to D-League to hone his skills.

4. Nate plays like he did in his first couple years, and brings fun not only to the fans but also to the team – who seemed lethargic in last couple games.

Togna Balogna - January 4, 2012 reply

The Kwame Brown signing was not bad because we needed salary cap filler to meet the league minimum

Not sure why we would sign Nate Rob though

doubleteapot - January 4, 2012 reply

bench scoring sucks.

very inconsistent. Defense is ok and better than the starters, but scoring is very laggy and that is damaging.

bimmercirem3 - January 4, 2012 reply

Kwame exceeds playing expectations.

Outplaying Biedrins although different body type. Not soft and not afraid to bang. And he clearly loves the game.

foxblows - January 5, 2012 reply

I think we should just welcome Nate, and let MinniJ figure out how to use him.

When y’all come to welcome him, don’t forget to bring a few paper cups along, in case they are needed…..

dinohealth - January 4, 2012 reply

Important note

Oaktownsoul - January 4, 2012 reply

Important note

Nate’s father lives in Oakland.

Oaktownsoul - January 4, 2012 reply

Is he going to play for us, too?

dinohealth - January 4, 2012 reply

Can someone tell me when the game thread comes on; just once, I want to be first to comment!

(It’s part of my new, reformed, Front Office-friendly profile and effort)

dinohealth - January 4, 2012 reply

Dude just make it your sig line.

qin - January 4, 2012 reply

lol, thanks.

dinohealth - January 4, 2012 reply

From OKC to GSW

LOVING the nate rob signing. Okay so he….totally sucked for the Thunder. But he’s still great to have on the bench.

Zorgon - January 4, 2012 reply

Mediocre.

Anonymous1337 - January 4, 2012 reply

The warriors needed a superstar player, well they needed a well liked player who would inspire not just us fans, but the other players as well. I don’t think Robinson is that answer at all, but he is a name that people know. I think it is a step in the right direction marketing wise. Players should want to come play in the bay area, its the bay area after all…but we just haven’t proven ourselves as a sound team. I think there has to be a bigger picture to all of this. A shorter season is good for us, but the Warriors are a mess because they are changing everything they have known about playing basketball. I do believe it is just going to take one player with heart leading this team. Look at Baron Davis. I never cared for him, but look at what he led the Warriors and their fans to believe in.

SDMcCloskey - January 4, 2012 reply

Look at Baron Davis.

can Robinson play defense like Boom?

Skeptic con Urquell - January 4, 2012 reply

hell

I don’t think Boom can play defense like boom any more

Also, here’s a little internet LOL, some newspaper screwed up BDiddy’s injury

Duby Dub Dubs - January 4, 2012 reply

Are the Warriors going to be really bad this year?

Is the lockout going to make us a 90 PPG offensive team? I don’t see us doing much.

GovernorStephCurry - January 4, 2012 reply

This would not even have been a conversation

if we had, you know, resigned Reggie Williams

doubleteapot - January 4, 2012 reply

might have been

Mr. Potato head is hurt right now, has been all season

Duby Dub Dubs - January 4, 2012 reply

can't have it both ways

if they stood pat, everyone would be angry that it’s the same old Warriors. They gambled, cutting what they could, and just couldn’t get anyone to come here. I would have loved to keep Williams and Lin, but I was happy to see the FO try, and then know when to stop before desperately overpaying someone and destroying our cap for the future.

Ice Watter In His Veins! - January 4, 2012 reply

and

hindsight is always 20/20

Lew Ghost - January 4, 2012 reply

hindsight is always 20/20

foresight is exactly the same as hindsight, you just gotta remember which way your head’s pointing.

Skeptic con Urquell - January 4, 2012 reply

Not really.

ALOT of us were predicting these problems and that is why we all wanted to keep Reggie (and Lin to a lesser degree).

GovernorStephCurry - January 4, 2012 reply

so

if we kept Reggie, who’s injured, we’d still be in the same place as now (as far as I can tell)

Lew Ghost - January 4, 2012 reply

No.

GovernorStephCurry - January 4, 2012 reply

Yes it would have…. because hes injured! and we would still have the same issue LOl!

Golden State Of Mind