The theme of the press conference to introduce Larry Riley as the new general manager of the Warriors was that he isn't coach Don Nelson's puppet.

"That's already out there. We were joined at the hip when we came out here," Riley said of his relationship with Nelson. "Does Nellie dictate my life? No. Is he a good friend? Yes. Do I listen to him? Yes. If I have to make a counter decision, I'll make it."

Riley's hiring officially closes out the Chris Mullin era in Golden State.

"We've been to the playoffs one time in the last five years, and that's not acceptable," team president Robert Rowell said, referring to Mullin's time with the club. "Our fans deserve better than that, and we deserve the opportunity to get out there and win basketball games. And we're going to do that.

"We've committed too many resources over the course of the last several years not to do so. We're going to continue to commit those resources and we're going to expect that we win and that we provide our fans with the best entertainment and product on the floor."