Editor's note: For the next six weeks, ESPN.com's NBA Insider Chad Ford will break down what last season's lottery teams need to do to get to the postseason in 2003.

The Clippers are bad because they're cheap. The Bulls stink because Jerry Krause wishes he was 6-foot-11. The Cavs are terrible because they're in Cleveland. The Warriors are lousy because ... well, they're the Warriors.

You can't blame it on the city, the weather or the talent. Don't point your finger at the fans or those ugly uniforms either. You could point the finger at Chris Cohen, the absentee owner, or Garry St. Jean, the GM who steered this sinking ship the last five seasons. But that would be too convenient. There's got to be something else there.

The team hasn't been to the playoffs since the 1993-94 season. They haven't been to the Western Conference Finals since the 1975-76 season. From an player-coaching dispute to contract wrangling, draft bungling and a rather ugly choking incident, the Warriors rarely get a break. Jinxed? Haunted? Cursed? It's hard to argue with the facts.

Chris Webber. Latrell Sprewell. Joe Smith. Kobe Bryant. Tracy McGrady. Vince Carter. Larry Hughes. Jay Williams. The ghosts of Warriors past.

Antawn Jamison. Danny Fortson. Erick Dampier. The ghosts of Warriors future.

Webber for Tom Gugliotta? Awful. Sprewell for John Starks, Chris Mills and Terry Cummings? Understandable, but terrible. Smith for Jim Jackson and Clarence Weatherspoon. Despicable. Drafting Todd Fuller ahead of Bryant, Peja Stojakovic, Steve Nash and Jermaine O'Neal in 1996? Flat out embarrassing. Ditto for Adonal Foyle over McGrady in 1997. Carter and cash for Jamison? They also passed on Paul Pierce. Still wondering why we haven't seen the Warriors in the playoffs? Hughes for Mike Miller? It's not he end of the world but that's what their 2000 draft pick turned into when they shipped it out as part of the Hughes trade. And the Warriors were a ping pong ball away from landing the first pick in the draft this year and a shot at the player they coveted, Jay Williams.

You can't deliberately be that bad. Someone around the Warriors has some bad ju-ju.

Their current roster has experienced their share of misfortune, too. Giving Jamison the max may have been the most boneheaded move of the summer last year. This year, they could have had him for half the price. Jamison's big deal also makes him virtually untradeable this year due to base-year compensation issues. Promising him the starting power forward job this year means Fortson (who was fourth in the league in rebounding last year) is the latest talented Warrior to be sent to the bench pouting. And Dampier is always a splinter away from spending the year on the IL.

Like we said, bad ju-ju.

Sure, not everything has gone awry. Last year's pick, Jason Richardson, has star written all over him. Second round pick Gilbert Arenas was one of the steals of the 2001 draft. And it's hard to argue with Mike Dunleavy, Jr. and Jiri Welsh. Most GMs had both of them rated very high.

Can the Warriors go from the worst team in the West to a playoff team in one season? Don't count on it. It would take a miracle, so forgive us if we have to stretch a bit. Still, we'll give it a shot. ESPN.com poured over depth charts, trade rumors, salary cap information and even sought the advice of a few NBA GMs to give you the five things the Warriors must do to get into the playoffs this season.

Step 1: Clean house
There's a culture of losing within the organization that has to be rooted out. Brian Winters is a fine interim coach, but he has to go. So does St. Jean, Gary Fitzsimmons and the rest of the front office. The Warriors need new ideas and a leader who isn't afraid to shake things up. Much like Dan Issel in Denver, St. Jean has been around too long to admit his own mistakes. He thinks like a coach, not like a GM -- that's why the Warriors never make the sacrifices it takes to put a winner on the floor. They need to bring in someone like Chris Mullin who has the authority to tear this thing down and start building it back right. Selling the team to an owner who is willing to make these changes will probably need to be part of the process as well. The word around the league is the Warriors are for sale and given the area, you gotta believe there are few Mark Cubans out there looking for a new toy.

Step 2: Work out a trade for Gary Payton
It won't be easy and it definitely won't be cheap, but the Warriors desperately need a veteran point guard to guide this team to the next level. Andre Miller would be nice, but the Warriors blew a shot to get him when they balked at sending Dunleavy to Cleveland. Baron Davis would be great too, but the Hornets want a point guard in return. Payton is coming off one of his finest seasons as a pro and wouldn't mind returning to his old crib. Payton has the combination of offense, defense and floor leadership that could immediately transform this young squad into a dangerous team. The Warriors should be prepared to pay the price, whatever it is. Give away draft picks -- they have enough young players on the team. Give away anyone not named Richardson. A package including the Warriors No. 1 next year and a future No. 1, Jiri Welsch, Adonal Foyle, Mookie Blaylock (via sign-and-trade) and Gilbert Arenas may get it done. Why would the Sonics do this deal? They're rebuilding and know they can't afford to sign Payton to an extension this summer and still add the other missing pieces to the puzzle. They'd prefer to get an All-Star or two for Payton, but they've been trying that route for the last 18 months, to no avail. The players they get aren't bad. The Sonics were one of the teams that coveted Welsch in this year's draft. Arenas is a great young player who doesn't make much money. Foyle gives them some insurance in the middle should Calvin Booth come up lame. Blaylock is a salary throw-in who will be off the books next summer. But it's the multiple shots at LeBron James and enough cap room to pursue Jason Kidd next summer that will be the lure for the Sonics.

Step 3: Bring in Dikembe Mutombo
Again, we're talking drastic here. Mutombo's salary ($16 million) is huge. But in the long-term, the move would actually save the Warriors some money while allowing them to field a very competitive team right from the get-go. With the Sixers auctioning Mutombo off to the highest bidder, the Warriors could put together a package of Fortson, Dampier and Mills for Mutombo and Damone Brown that Philly would be willing to swallow. Larry Brown has been intrigued with Fortson for some time. Dampier isn't nearly the player Mutombo is, but he's much cheaper and serviceable when healthy. Mills has just two years left on his contract, so he's a throw-in for salary purposes. Over the long haul, the Warriors would be sending out over $60 million in contracts over the long haul while only taking back around $54 million.

Step 4: Sign Wang Zhizhi and Lee Nailon with the mid-level exception
With a couple of All-Stars added to their young core, the Warriors need one other promising player who fans will come out to see. The Warriors just missed out on Yao Ming in the lottery but Zhizhi will do. He's played well for their summer league team, could be had for around $3 million a year and would allow the Warriors to begin marketing toward the huge Asian-American population by the bay. Nailon is the type of energy player who could come in and contribute immediately off the bench.

With those three steps, the Warriors' opening day roster would look something like this:

Point Guard:  Gary Payton, Steve Logan
Shooting Guard: Jason Richardson, Bob Sura
Small Forward: Mike Dunleavy, Lee Nailon, Damone Brown
Power Forward: Antawn Jamison, Troy Murphy
Center: Dikembe Mutombo, Wang Zhizhi

The bad news is all of these steps should put the Warriors' payroll at $56 million, about $2 million over the luxury tax threshold. The good news is that that team should be a lock for the playoffs and all of the additional revenue that comes with it.

That leads us to the final step ...

Step 5: Hire an exorcist
The Warriors can add all of the talent that the want, but given their history they are always a freak injury or an off-the-court incident away from disaster. They've had good players in the past and haven't found a way to make it fit. Curses? Jinxes? Bad karma? Hideous uniforms? Whatever it is, get rid of it now or prepare for another disaster-filled season with or without Payton and Mutombo.

Chad Ford writes the daily NBA Insider column for ESPN Insider. To get a free 30 day trial, click here.