"The Warriors lost out on their top free-agent target, center Tyson Chandler, to New York, and their bid for a superstar in New Orleans point guard Chris Paul is at best on life support.

As a result, Golden State is left all but empty-handed as free agency officially begins Friday.

The players union and owners ratified the new collective bargaining agreement Thursday.

Having money to spend and new ownership and a new head coach didn't appear to be enough for Golden State to land the big-time free agents.

"It's been a hectic few days," said general manager Larry Riley, who declined to comment about specifics. "We put a tremendous amount of work into it. ... Anything that could help our team, we're going to be involved in."

Chandler, it was widely reported Thursday, chose to sign with the Knicks. Yahoo! Sports reported New York offered Chandler a four-year deal worth $58 million. A team source said the Warriors' unofficial offer hovered around $13 million to $14 million a year. But even if the Warriors went to $15 million a year, they were under the impression it wouldn't have mattered. Chandler wanted to go to New York.

Even after the Chandler option fell through, Golden State was still trying to acquire Paul. Though they took point guard Stephen Curry off the table, team sources said Golden State was still trying to get the Hornets to give up Paul for guard Monta Ellis and forward Ekpe Udoh."