Monty out, Nelson in

Mike Montgomery was willing. This is the word along the NBA grapevine. Either he himself brought up the idea of leaving the Warriors, getting to play hooky two years early, or the Warriors did.

Finally, it doesn't matter. When the words actually were expressed - "You're allowed to go, Mike" - he jumped on it. He expressed gratitude and relief that the experiment was over, the experiment that had failed and made him so nervous in casual, everyday press conferences, he would wiggle and squirm and sweat. He was in hell and now he got a hall pass straight to heaven.

He never was a match for the NBA. He had been an absolute god at Stanford, the guy with all the power, the only voice that mattered in the Cardinal locker room and on the sideline. In the NBA, he was emasculated. He was a fine coach and he's a good guy, but NBA players did not respect him. During practices, they sometimes wouldn't even look at him. He had no pedigree. He hadn't played or coached in the league, and the players saw him as an outsider, someone not up to the job - Joe College.

He knew it. He knew he lost Baron Davis from the start. This must have burned him up, humiliated him. It's awful to feel like a fraud, especially when you know you're not a fraud. So Montgomery walks away from the Warriors with a pile of dough, a big retirement fund. Many people think that's what he wanted in the first place - a bunch of money to compensate for winning all those years on The Farm where he wasn't paid a bunch of money. Goodbye and good luck, Mike.

Everyone knows Don Nelson is a better coach for the Warriors. Nelson already proved that, on his first swing through Oakland. The second coming of Nelson is so momentous, the Warriors are opening up the Arena tonight for fans and media so the team can present the potential savior. It's like Bill Walsh's return to Stanford in 1992 - a cross between a coronation and a love fest.

Nelson is a Hall of Fame coach, has the second-most wins in NBA history, and was a reasonably good player in the league. He commands instant respect. It's more than that. He has stature and charisma and he's a hard-ass. This is what the Warriors need. If Davis turns his head away while Nelson speaks, Nelson will handle that. He will handle Davis. He is a strong man, and he is cunning. He gets what he wants, and he gets even with people who cross him. These are some of his strengths.

He has another strength. He is creative. He is one of the most creative coaches anyone ever has seen anywhere. Montgomery is a by-the-book guy. Basketball is supposed to be played a certain way, and he would make sure he taught that until the day he had to step away. Nelson is a mad genius. He perceives patterns no one else sees. The Warriors have a bunch of awful centers, barely live bodies. Don't be surprised if he makes forward Troy Murphy the center.

Is Murphy a center? No. Is there an advantage to playing him at center? Yes. At least teams would have to worry about his scoring and rebounding, as opposed to now when teams can pretend the Warriors don't have a center. Nelson might move Ike Diogu to starting power forward. He might ask Mike Dunleavy to handle the ball more. He might play a small lineup. He might pipe in the music of Diana Ross and the Supremes. You have no idea what he'll do because half the time he doesn't know. Weird notions appear full blown in his head and he tries them.

Are there possible risks with Nelson? You bet. He didn't get along with Chris Webber and he may not get along with other strong-willed players. Better the risk of not getting along than the sad sight of a coach like Montgomery getting along but failing.

Nelson and owner Chris Cohan couldn't stand each other. There even was a lawsuit between them about back salary. They could end up hating each other all over again. But remember this, people can make up after a fashion. Phil Jackson returned to the Lakers although he and Kobe Bryant had sniped at each other. And now they coexist well enough to do business together.

One more area of concern. It's about power. It's about general manager Chris Mullin being a Nelson protege - in a sense, Nelson saved Mullin's life by insisting he go into alcohol rehab when Mullin played for him, and Mullin owes him. Nelson is a powerful man who loves power and grabs power. He will take power from Mullin. If Nelson wants a player traded and Mullin disagrees, the player will get traded. This is not necessarily bad. Mullin had two years to improve the Warriors and he couldn't do it. His most notable move was to hire the wrong coach.

Now he's hired the right coach. If the coach takes all the power, Mullin should smile and pretend that was the plan all along.