Posts Tagged ‘golden state warriors’

What the Golden State Warriors Sale Means to City, Fans, Team

July 17th, 2010

The beauty of sports is that a successful team can provide its city's citizens with hope and an extended feeling of unity even if it is going through a dire social, economic, or political situation.

Right now Oakland, California, the stomping grounds of the Golden State Warriors, is a city with a negative national image and the location of continuous heartbreak and disappointment when it comes to local professional sports.

The A's have fallen off, the Raiders are in rebuilding mode, and the Warriors never seem to pan out to be more than just an exciting team.

The heartbreak and poverty have masked the hope and faith for too long.

When I heard news that the Warriors had been sold for a record $450 million, I couldn't help having an immediate flashback to the sea of fans in "we believe" shirts cheering wildly in unison just years ago.

Joe Lacob is a passionate basketball fan, and becoming an owner of the Warriors is a dream come true for the business mogul. He's been a minority partner of the Boston Celtics (although that will now end), one of the most dominant franchises in NBA history and knows what being with a winning organization feels like.

His other named partner in crime in the purchase of the Warriors is Mandalay Entertainment CEO Peter Guber, who has already acknowledged that he'll defer basketball decisions to Lacob.

That's probably the best idea considering Lacob has seen the ins and outs of a winning organization.

The new owners have some young talent to build around and a wild fan base when the team is winning . No, Warriors fans aren't bandwaggon jumpers, and for those who think so, would you buy tickets to a team that went 26-56 last season?

Starters: Andris Biedrins, David Lee, Dorell Wright, Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry.

Bench: Charlie Bell, Dan Gadzuric, Ekpe Udoh, Reggie Williams and Brandon Wright.

No that isn't a championship lineup, and expecting a team undergoing complete change to make the playoffs this season might also be a little too much to ask.

But the building blocks are there, and maybe the new ownership will be willing to spend a little more to turn this team of talent into a contender.

It's a great sports town filled with prideful fans that just need something to cheer about. It's Lacob's priority to provide them with that.

"Our job is to take what we have and build," Lacob told The Chronicle . "We've got a plan. We're not going to be able to do it over night, so I hope the fans are a little bit patient, but, as a fan, I don't expect them to be too patient. We're going to execute on our plan and build a winner here."

Who knows, maybe the Warriors will follow the Commitment to Excellence banner that hangs high for Raiders games and provide this city with a much needed infusion of ambition.

Right now all that is certain is that there is more reason for optimism among the Warriors faithful than has been felt for a number of years.

Incompetency Reigns Supreme: Cohan’s Coaches as Warriors’ Owner

July 17th, 2010
Chris Cohan finally sold the Golden State Warriors for a NBA record $450 million. For Warrior fans this is one of the best days for the franchise in nearly two decades, because the incompetent Cohan is finally gone. If it weren't for Donald Sterling owning the Los Angeles Clippers, Cohan's reign as owner would be the worst in NBA history. Under the ownership of Cohan, the Warriors went from playoff team to perpetual losers in every aspect of the word. Only twice did the Warriors make the playoffs during his tenure: 2006-2007 when the Warriors took out the Dallas Mavericks, and in the 1990s when the Warriors had players such as Chris Webber, Tim Hardaway, Chris Mullin, and Latrell Sprewell. Here's a look at the coaches the Warriors have had under the ownership of Cohan.

Begin Slideshow



Joe Lacob And Peter Guber: Meet the New Boss, Not the Old One

July 16th, 2010

I've been without my computer for the past day, so only when I logged in this evening did I hear the glorious news.

After 15 years of misery under the yoke of Chris Cohan, the Golden State Warriors had finally been sold...wait...Larry Ellison isn't the buyer? 

What?

Like almost every other Warriors fan, I had been under the impression that we would be entering the Ellison Era. While this possibility didn't excite me as much as everyone else—I admit to having been suspicious of Ellison's motives to buy the team—I was completely stunned when I realised that he wasn't the owner.

Even more surprising was his later statement that he had been the highest bidder but Cohan chose not to sell to him.

Instead, the team was sold to an investor group led by venture capitalist Joe Lacob and Mandalay Entertainment Group chariman Peter Guber.

I don't know anything about the sale process, finances or any stuff like that (business school dropout in the house!) so I'm not going to comment on that (although I did read that while Ellison did eventually outbid Lacob/Guber, he did so after the bid deadline ended).

I'm just interested, as a fan, in wondering how the Lacob/Guber Era is gonna pan out.

I don't know what their combined net worth is, but I'd imagine it has to be at least a nine-figure number to be able to afford paying $450 million for a basketball team. Sure, they're not touching Ellison's wealth, but how important is that?

Merely having money isn't as important as an NBA owner as having the willingness to spend it and go over the luxury tax to field a contender. Every owner in the NBA can afford to do so (cause, well, they're all very, very rich) but not all are willing.

Look at the two LA teams.

I don't know how much Jerry Buss is worth, but I'd suspect that Donald Sterling is considerably richer than him.

Yet Sterling's team is the laughing stock of the NBA, where as Dr Buss has rings for every finger on his hand and some of his toes.

It's all because he's willing to spend the money necessary to field a contender. 

Will Lacob and Guber be willing?

The thing that gives me the most hope is that Lacob is from the Bay Area and has been a season ticket holder for the past 10 years. He's one of us. He's seen the same era of failure that we have, only he's been in a position to do something about it by buying the team.

This, to me, is a sign that he at least will be willing to invest what's necessary to make the team a contender.

However, contrary to popular belief Cohan also spent money on the team. In fact, when Mullin was GM, he often spent money pretty foolishly. Which leads to what may have been the biggest flaw of the Chris Cohan Era—he continually made lousy personnel decisions.

It started when Cohan chose to have Chris Webber traded rather than fire Don Nelson in 1995. Less than a year later, Nellie was given his marching orders.

Then began the coaching/GM merry go round. Remember Gary St Jean, PJ Carleismo, Otis Smith, Eric Musselman, Dave Twardzik and Mike Montgomery? How'd they do for us? 

Yeah, I thought so.

Even our supposed saviour, Chris Mullin, made his share of dumb decisions (the Troy Murphy/Mike Dunleavy extensions, the Derek Fisher contract, giving Don Nelson a two year extension, the Maggette deal).

Admittedly there's a bit of luck involved in hiring good people, but when you consistently make boneheaded decisions on the basketball side it shows that the owner either doesn't give a crap about the team, or doesn't have anyone around him who does.

Since Lacob is a basketball fan who has also been involved with the Celtics, an example of a well-run franchise, I also have hope on this end. 

I'm also planning to write an article on what I hope happens on this end soon along with more on what this may mean for the future of our team, but for now I'm going to party.

After 15 years, Chris Cohan's reign of tyranny has come to an end.

Watch out for the IRS, and don't let the door hit your arse on the way out.

Warriors sold for record $450 million (AP)

July 16th, 2010
Golden State Warriors owner Chris Cohan reached an agreement Thursday to sell the franchise for a record $450 million to Boston Celtics minority partner Joe Lacob and Mandalay Entertainment CEO Peter Guber. "I am incredibly excited to have the opportunity to be the next steward of this storied NBA franchise.

Golden State Warriors Are Sold, But Not To Highest Bidder Ellison

July 16th, 2010

Chris Cohan has decided to give one last middle finger to the fans of the Golden State Warriors.

Tim Kawakami from the San Jose Mercury News is reporting that a group led by Joseph Lacob has purchased the team for $450 million.  

According to a statement released by Larry Ellison, he, not Joseph Lacob, submitted the highest bid.  

Barring some personal rift with Ellison, this means that Cohan either really like Lacob and wanted to accept his lower offer for kicks, or he knew that Ellison is a fan favorite and wanted to give one last FU to the fan base.

My guess is the latter since Cohan's love of money is pretty well documented.  Why, when he is facing a $160 million lawsuit from the IRS, would he turn down more millions?

All I can say is that I hope Lacob's group doesn't turn out to be some Cohan crony that will be a Cohan Clone and just be interested in squeezing money from the franchise.

Ellison represented a driving force that would have the deep pockets and the commitment to provide the pieces necessary for success.

My hope is that coming from the Celtics, Lacob understands what it is going to take to turn this franchise into a winner.

As I have said before Cohan, don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

Slug

 

 




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