Nelson Agrees to Coach Warriors

A reluctant Don Nelson will try to bring his winning touch to one of the worst teams in the National Basketball Assn. when he takes over as head coach of the Golden State Warriors next season.

Nelson, general manager and a 10% owner of the Warriors, bowed to the wishes of partners Jim Fitzgerald and Dan Finnane and announced Tuesday he will take over a team that has the second-worst record in the NBA this season at 17-54.

Nelson, a two-time NBA coach of the year, was 540-344 in 11 seasons as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks after a 14-year playing career. He left the Bucks at the end of the 1986-1987 season to become executive vice president of the Warriors when Fitzgerald and Finnane bought the team.

Nelson, 47, was named general manager after Fitzgerald spent a second-round draft choice to buy out a clause in Nelson’s Milwaukee contract, which prohibited him from becoming involved in basketball operations with another team for two years after leaving the Bucks.

The coaching job opened when George Karl, who took the team to a 42-40 record and the playoffs last season, resigned March 23. Assistant coach Ed Gregory, 1-5 since taking over the Warriors on an interim basis, will continue to coach the team until the end of the season.