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Problems-a-brewing in Golden State lol.OAKLAND, Calif. -- Most everyone came to the Warriors' start of training camp on Monday to hear what forward Stephen Jackson was going to say about that trade demand he made a few weeks back.
But it was Monta Ellis who might have had the most interesting -- and perhaps the most troubling -- thing to say on Day 1.
Ellis was asked a relatively innocuous question about playing alongside rookie Stephen Curry, and responded emphatically that the two smallish guards weren't going to be able to play together.
"Us together? No," Ellis said. "Can't. We just can't. ... Just can't."
Someone then jumped in and said to Ellis: "Do you understand, they (the Warriors and coach Don Nelson) say you can?"
"They say you can?" Ellis repeated. "They say you can ... but you can't. I just want to win and you're not going to win that way."
Nelson had said on Friday that he envisioned Ellis and Curry playing together despite their collective lack of size. Nelson said that the team planned to do a lot of scheming to help Ellis and Curry at the defensive end, but that the Ellis/Curry tandem was going to get a look.
In fact, Nelson had said that the idea to use Jackson more at shooting guard this season, which was his intent at the end of 2008-09, had basically been scrapped.
Ellis made it very clear why he thinks such a backcourt pairing would fail.
"It's different," Ellis said. "When you're trying to compare Stephen and you're trying to go back with me and Baron (Davis) playing. It's a different situation. You've got a nine-year veteran who has been in the game and understands the game and knows how to play the game and he's got a big body.
"You can't put two small guys out there and play the one and the two. You've got big two-guards in the league. You just can't do it. Yes, you're going to move up and down but eventually the game is going to slow down. You can't do it."