"If it were up to Stephen Curry, he'd be using the next couple months to rehab his surgically repaired right ankle at the Golden State Warriors' practice facility under the watch of the team's training and medical staffs. He'd also use the time to get to know Mark Jackson and the rest of the Warriors' new coaches, and better familiarize himself with the system they plan to implement.

The NBA lockout has put most of those plans on hold. Instead, Curry will rehab in Charlotte, N.C., and Washington with his own doctors and trainer. Nor can he speak to Jackson or anyone in the Warriors' front office, which also has been overhauled since the season ended.

"This would be a crucial time for us to get together with our new coach and new front office staff, and try to figure out the direction our team wants to go and get set," Curry said. "All the players have to do it individually now. That part of it is huge for us trying to get to where we want to go."

Jackson and Warriors assistant Michael Malone visited Curry in Charlotte for dinner last week in advance of the lockout. They also went to Memphis, Tenn., to meet with Monta Ellis and to St. Louis to visit David Lee. Curry said Jackson and Malone preached the importance of improving the team's defense, and suggested the Warriors players work out together as much as possible during the lockout to build camaraderie.

"I like the hiring," Curry said of Jackson. "He knows the game, and the only knock against him right now is he doesn't have any coaching experience. For him to hire Pete Myers and Michael Malone behind him [as assistants] helps start a great staff. From what I can tell from the meeting with [Jackson] and Mike, they had a great chemistry just from the start. It's going to be a work in progress day to day with the coaching philosophies he wants to implement for us and get us to where he wants us to go.""