Warriors feel no mere 1 man can replace J. O'Neal, contemplate asking Scal to come out of retirement

San Francisco Chronicle
Well after the Warriors' 102-88 victory Saturday night, two of the team's top decision-makers stood deep inside Oracle Arena and discussed how to replace injured Jermaine O'Neal.

The conversation got so extreme that they entertained asking assistant coach Brian Scalabrine to come out of retirement to fill the void.

It's not that the Warriors don't have options to take the backup center's place. It's just that it's nearly impossible for a single player to do everything the 35-year-old was doing for the team.

O'Neal, who was initially diagnosed with a sprained right knee and strained right groin before additional tests late Sunday afternoon, has been a steady defensive anchor on the second unit and the team's most proven scorer from the low post. More importantly, since signing a free-agent deal in the summer and arriving in Oakland before his 18th NBA season, the six-time All-Star's voice and experience have provided his younger teammates with a different focus level, toughness and mind-set than they've ever known.

Almost reads like an Afternoon Delight. Truth is that Jermaine O'Neal was a solid player beofre his Celtics tenure and has been a solid player post his time in Boston. The issue was always staying on the court. In Phoenix, where the dead go to get healed, O'Neal had a sort of rebirth. We'll see how many games he will be able to play this season now that he's away from the Suns miracle training staff.

The Scal stuff is pretty funny. If it was later in the season and they could sign Scal to a 10 day contract, I think they might have done it. It's not happening now, though this story obviously adds to the legend of the White Mamba.