Golden State Warriors Tickets : The Team Faced Early Difficulties In Remaining A Playoff Contender

The Golden State Warriors are a professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The team was first established in 1946, as the Philadelphia Warriors, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the franchise won the championship in the inaugural season of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), the league that would eventually become the National Basketball Association.

In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden State Warriors. The team has played all of its home games in the Oracle Arena since 1966, with the exception of a one year hiatus.

Along with their inaugural championship win in the 1946/1947 season, the Warriors have won two others in the team's history, including another in Philadelphia after the 1955/56 season, and one as Golden State after the 1974/75 season, tying them for 6th in the NBA in number of championships.

The Golden State Warriors faced early difficulties in remaining a playoff contender. Shooting guard Jason Richardson was also traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for rookie Brandan Wright. To make things harder, Stephen Jackson received a 7-game suspension for his firearm incident.

The Warriors opened the season with six straight losses, but Monta Ellis' rise, Baron Davis' solid injury-free season (21.6 points, 8 assists, 4.6 rebounds per game),[9] and an overall improvement in chemistry brought the Warriors back in playoff contention. Nonetheless, the Warriors were officially eliminated from the 2008 Western Conference Playoffs, despite having a 48/34 season. The Warriors sold out nearly every home game during the season averaging 19,631 per game, the highest in team history.

Over the offseason, Baron Davis opted out and signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. With the 14th pick of the 2008 NBA draft, the Warriors selected and signed Anthony Randolph out of LSU. To compensate for the loss of Davis, the Warriors signed Corey Maggette and Ronny Turiaf, then resigned Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins to long-term contracts.

The Warriors had a disappointing 2008-2009 season, finishing 29-53. Monta Ellis was injured and suspended for a moped accident, depriving the Warriors of their top player. The Warriors traded forward Al Harrington to the New York Knicks for guard Jamal Crawford, but were undone by injuries and the minimal experience of their young players such as Anthony Morrow and Brandan Wright. The Warriors' head coach Don Nelson often had to make adjustments to the starting lineups since many of the original starters missed games due to injuries.

Despite the team's losing record, the Warriors demonstrated that they could be a tough opponent with a healthy lineup and a strong bench. The Warriors showed that with leadership and improvement in their young players, they are able to defeat powerhouse teams such as their 99/89 win over the Boston Celtics.

During the 2009 offseason, Golden State declined to renew the contract of General Manager Chris Mullin. Larry Riley took over as General Manager and drafted Stephen Curry with the 7th lottery pick. In the 2009 offseason, the Warriors traded Jamal Crawford to the Atlanta Hawks for Acie Law and Speedy Claxton.
The Warriors had another injury-prone year, as they were unable consistently to field their ideal starting lineup. In November, a discontent Stephen Jackson and seldom-used Acie Law were traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic. Four days later they signed center Chris Hunter.

During the month of January 2010, they signed multiple 10-day contracts, including one to power forward Anthony Tolliver from the Idaho Stampede. Due to a great number of injuries, the Warriors were granted an injury exception and signed Reggie Williams from the Sioux Skyforce to a 10 day contract on March 2, 2010, making it their fifth D-League call up that season, tying an NBA record. The Warriors eventually waived guard Raja Bell in order to sign Williams for the rest of the year. The Warriors finished the season 26-56, fourth in the Pacific Division.

On June 24, 2010, the Warriors selected Ekpe Udoh, a forward from Baylor, as the 6th pick of 2010 NBA Draft. The Warriors also introduced a modernized version of "The City" logo, with a rendition of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in the logo and returning to the original colors of royal blue and gold. They are also set to debut new uniforms, which are reminiscent of the 1960s "The City" uniforms.

On July 8, 2010, the Warriors made an offseason move that sent Ronny Turiaf, Kelenna Azubuike and Anthony Randolph to the New York Knicks in return for David Lee via a sign-and-trade. Lee agreed to a 6-year, $80 million dollar deal, on a framework which was worked on during the day that was contingent on the decision of LeBron James.

On July 10, 2010, after Anthony Morrow signed an offer sheet to the Nets, the Warriors signed Dorell Wright, formerly with the Miami Heat, to a three-year, $11 million deal.On July 15, 2010, franchise owner Chris Cohan sold the Warriors to Peter Guber of Mandalay Entertainment and his partner Joe Lacob for a record $450 million.On July 21, 2010, the Warriors signed Jeremy Lin, a guard from Harvard.On September 27, 2010, Don Nelson stepped down as head coach. Assistant coach Keith Smart replaced Nelson as head coach.