Anthony Randolph Cometh

Anthony Randolph has quietly become one of the NBA’s most exciting and dynamic rookies.  He’s gone unnoticed in large part because he plays for the lowly Golden State Warriors and his coach seems to be conspiring to ruin his already fragile psyche. Randolph is 6’10″ with hops and handles.  On just about any other team (save Boston and the Lakers) Randolph would at least garner 30-35 minutes a game.  Playing under Nelson, who disdains rookies, his playing time has no correlation to his skill or better yet potential.

It’s getting to the point where I almost want to see him traded so I can at least watch him play for a team that values his unlimited potential.

Bill Simmons, in his recent mail bag, has even taken notice of Randolph’s prolific skills. “He’s one of the most breathtaking rookies I’ve seen in person — ever — for all the reasons you just described. There has never been anyone quite like him. He’s like a cross between Josh Smith and Lamar Odom, only if you fed him 10 Red Bulls and told him right before the game, “If you can make 10 things happen during the 10 minutes you play tonight, we will quadruple your salary and you will start for the rest of the season” … and then he does just that, but the coach reneges on the promise so Anthony has a near-crying meltdown on the bench. That’s every Anthony Randolph game. I caught him once and, in the span of two hours, he made three “MY GOD!” plays and broke down on the Warriors’ bench because Nellie wouldn’t put him back in, followed by an assistant consoling him through an entire timeout like Randolph was a third grader who got in trouble for something he didn’t do, then had a meltdown and got kicked out of class. It was riveting. The odds of me missing another Clips-Warriors game for the next five years are 10,000-to-1.”