Wright time for Golden State

Warriors call on former UNC star

OAKLAND, CALIF. -- Brandan Wright still looks every bit a kid, his braces shining as he discusses his soon-to-be increased role with the Golden State Warriors.

His breakout game in Wednesday night's win over the Denver Nuggets has Golden State coach Don Nelson ready to give the second-year forward out of North Carolina regular minutes and greater responsibility on a young team trying to find its way in the talented Western Conference.

That means Wright could be on the court even more tonight, when the Warriors host the Memphis Grizzlies.

"I just wanted to be a spark and do positive things," Wright said after a career game featuring 18 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots in 32 minutes off the bench. "It's good to get out there and play. That's what it's all about. When you get out there and get experience, get familiar with the game and the speed, it just starts rolling for you and you feel more comfortable."

That's just what Nelson needs right now: some reliability. The 6-foot-10, 210-pound Wright, who turned 21 last month, joined the Warriors in the draft-night trade in 2007 that sent Jason Richardson to the Charlotte Bobcats. He hardly played in Nelson's system last season as a rookie, appearing in all of 38 games.

Now, with Al Harrington eager to be traded as soon as executive vice president of basketball operations Chris Mullin can pull off a deal, Nelson has little choice but to develop Wright and have him learn the ways of the NBA on the court.

"I'm going to play him," Nelson said. "If Al isn't going to be here in the future, we might as well start to think about bringing some of these younger guys along. I'm only going to bring the guys along who are ready to play in an NBA game. Brandan is ready. I've held him back in a few games that he probably should have played, but I think it's to the point he needs to grow into his position.

"He's going to be a member of our team and Al isn't, and we have to face reality and go from there."

Wright was the eighth overall pick in that 2007 draft after earning Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the year and tournament MVP honors as a freshman at UNC. He averaged 14.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while making nearly 65 percent of his shots in his lone college season.

His Warriors teammates are confident he can do that at this level, too. Wright shot 7-for-9 from the field Wednesday and was 4-of-7 on free throws.

"That's what we expect from B Wright," guard Stephen Jackson said. "It was bound to happen. His time has come."

While Harrington clearly didn't appreciate Nelson calling him "disgruntled" and saying publicly his playing time would decrease until a trade takes place, he acknowledged he will always remain supportive of the others on the team.

"B Wright played incredible," Harrington said.