Warriors officially handed over to Lacob and Guber

Run BJM · Nov 12, 2010

Good way to cheer me up after last night's disaster.

t took longer than expected, but Joe Lacob and Peter Guber are officially the new owners of the Golden State Warriors.

According to Guber, the NBA Board of Governors on Friday approved the transfer. Lacob and Guber agreed to purchase the Warriors for a record $450 million in mid-July. Lacob is the front man of the two, and will be in charge of day-to-day operations.

“This is an amazing day. It’s been a lot of hard work. I’ve dreamed of this since I was a kid," Lacob told CSNBayArea.com via telephone from Chicago. "But more than that, to be able to buy the Warriors and pull this off in my home area is just amazing. It makes it even more sweet."

Guber posted on Twitter Friday morning: “Closed purchase just now of the Golden State Warriors with NBA owners unanimous approval.”

The NBA has not yet confirmed the sale is official. However, the league did indicate Friday morning that a press release on the Warriors was forthcoming.

When contacted in Chicago Lacob said the Warriors would issue their own release later in the day. Lacob indicated that he and Guber would be in Oakland Monday for a "press luncheon."

Lacob had hoped to assume control of the Warriors before the season-opener, which was on Oct. 27. On the day the agreement between Lacob-Guber and Cohan had been reached, Lacob expressed hope the transfer process would take less than 60 days.

Nearly four months later, he and Guber finally own the team.

Lacob, a venture capitalist, and Guber, CEO of Mandalay Entertainment, agreed to purchase the team from Cohan on July 15. The Phoenix Suns sold for a then-record $401 million in 2004.

At the time, Lacob talked of a 60-to-90-day sales process and expressed a desire to get it done more quickly than that. He had until Dec. 31 to close the deal – or forfeit $15 to $20 million in security deposit.

Cohan purchased the Warriors in October 1994 from Jim Fitzgerald and Dan Finnane for somewhere between $119 million and $140 million. The Warriors made the NBA playoffs just once during Cohan’s 16-year tenure as owner.

On March 22, Cohan announced that he had retained Galatioto Sports Partners to conduct a sale of the Warriors. Lacob beat out Larry Ellison and the current Warriors minority owners, 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov and David Bonderman, a founding partner of TPG Capital.

The Warriors’ minority owners -- Michael Marks, Jim Davidson, John Thompson and Fred Harman -- indicated in early August that they would not be part of Lacob’s new ownership group.

It is unknown how many investors Lacob has as part of his group. In the days after the sale, Lacob talked of having an ownership group of approximately 12 to 15 investors.

To date, only two names have emerged as part of Lacob’s potential group: Save Mart supermarket CEO Bob Piccinini and Vivek Ranadive, founder of TIBCO Software.

Lacob already has made his presence felt since July 15. Lacob was consulted on all of the Warriors’ offseason moves, including the sign-and-trade of David Lee.

Lacob was also instrumental in signing free agent Jeremy Lin and was the impetus behind the departure of Don Nelson before training camp.

Read more: Sale of Warriors to Lacob-Guber Now Official
Tune to SportsNet Central at 6, 10:30 and midnight on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area for more on this story
Click to expand...

http://www.csnbayarea.com/11/12/10/...-Offi/landing.html?blockID=351406&feedID=2478

So long Cohan.

CohanHater · Nov 12, 2010

My Brother, Cousin and I are goin' out for drinks tonight!

Doctor Kajita · Nov 12, 2010

Rejoice!!! It's OFFICIAL!

Run BJM · Nov 15, 2010

There's some type of media luncheon/press conference. So far what I gather from various GSW tweeters:

- Joe's son Kirk Lacob has been named president of basketball operations. He ranks lower than Riley "and others" and will be doing mostly video work/video scouting. I had read previously when this was rumored that the guy is a big time NBA fan/follower but wow this is a really weird move. I guess hes a glorified scout but still, dude seems to have no qualifications. What was he doing before? Did he have any kind of job at all? How old is he?

- Seems like he thinks Riley has done a good job.

- Rowell is sticking around though we don't know how long or in what capacity.

- Says they'll put together a "great staff" and let them do their jobs but Lacob and Guber will be involved with every decision.

- Lacob quote: "David Lee is our kind of player"

- Lacob and Guber have created a board for GSW Sports LLC with Lacob and Guber as the top two (out of 6 total, presumably some of the other minority owners like the guy who owns Save Mart and the Indian guy who made a fortune doing something in software).

- Lacob says: "Oakland is our primary fanbase...we love it" also says "its possible" that there is a day the team could play in SF.

- Lacob quote: "I'm a doer. I'm one of those people who likes to take action. But we have to assess."

Run BJM · Nov 15, 2010

- Guber: "We're not the cure for cancer, but we might be the cure for Cohan."- from MTII's twitter lmao

Run BJM · Nov 15, 2010

- Guber wants a new mascot but not a "stuffed creature" according to ww.net twitter

Run BJM · Nov 15, 2010

- Lacob says Smart got a 2 year deal- second year is a team option.

Run BJM · Nov 15, 2010

Here's TK's writeup, I'll bold the parts I find interesting:

Co-owner Peter Guber had the line of the Warriors ownership intro day, which sounded like it was spontaneous, not planned, and more credit to him for it

“This is not the cure for cancer,” Guber said of he and Joe Lacob’s mission-plan. “Might be the cure for Cohan, but it’s not the cure for cancer.”

Don’t know if Robert Rowell choked on his dessert at that point of the long luncheon in SF–or maybe he pumped his fist in joy to be free of his Cohan oppressor, who knows.

Good line. Guber’s a gabber. But clearly, the man running the show is Lacob, who fired Don Nelson, hired Keith Smart, OK’d the trade for David Lee and, he said today, took Monta Ellis to a 49ers game recently.

And I can vouch that Lacob has been thrilled by the Warriors’ tougher play and better locker-room chemistry to start this season–especially the energy and attitude of David Lee and Monta Ellis.

Lacob took all questions after the podium-time, with his best answers coming on specific basketball questions (read the Nelson stuff–there’s no way Nelson was ever coaching a game with a Lacob-run team).

But while at the podium, he and Guber also addressed some other subjects, the highlights being….

* Both men repeated that they’re so pleased to be playing in the “San Francisco Bay Area,” and, added to the location of the luncheon, raised many eyebrows.

Neither man said there were specific plans to move, but neither knocked down speculation that they’re eyeing a potential move, possibly to a spot adjacent to AT&T Park.

“It’s possible,” Lacob said.

* If there’s a disagreement among partners on a big decision, who breaks the ties?

He’s the tie-breaker,” Guber said, pointing to Lacob.

* In the gaggle, Lacob repeated that Rowell is keeping his job, for now at least, and that Rowell will stay out of basketball decisions.

I happen to believe that much of the front office–and the TV Announcer–kept their jobs in part because Cohan gave them all extensions right before selling and Lacob has little interest in eating more money after paying Don Nelson $6M to go away.

I’ll repeat: I think it’s a mistake to keep most of those people. You’re not cleansing yourself of Cohan completely if you’re keeping Rowell and his allies.

But it’s Lacob’s call. We’ll see.

* Lacob confirmed that his son, Kirk, is the team’s director of basketball operations, reporting to GM Larry Riley.

This is not a surprise, since Kirk is probably even a larger NBA follower than his father, and had lined up a job with Steve Kerr in Phoenix this year–until Kerr resigned as GM last summer.

Kirk Lacob, just out of Stanford, said he will do a lot of statistical analysis and some salary-cap functions, as the fourth man in a four-man front-office shop.

* Interesting to see many top Comcast executives in attendance. Chris Cohan is the man who sued Comcast. I’m thinking that lawsuit is either already done or about to go away.

* In the gaggle, Lacob praised Keith Smart, but when asked specifically what his commitment contracturally is him, he acknowledged that Smart only has this year guaranteed. Next year he’s under a team option.

* Lacob said he likes to be active, but in the gaggle said he didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of Chris Mullin, who started his Warriors personnel tenure by making several moves that clogged up the salary cap for years to come.

* Here’s the official run-down of the ownership group, as provided by the Warriors:

-Joe Lacob, CEO and governor.

-Peter Guber, co-executive chairman and alternate governor.

-Vivek Ranadive, vice chairman.

-Erika Glazer, executive board member.

-Fred Harman, executive board member.

-Bob Piccinini, executive board members.

Other investors: Larry Bowman, Danny German, Marty Glick, Chad Hurley, Craig R. Johnson, Bruce Karsh, Lacob Family Sports, Jeffrey A. Miller, Paul Schaeffer, David Scially, Nick Swinmurn, Harry Tsao, John Walecka, Dennis Wong.

To the transcript, with some questions and answers edited for length and clarity…

—JOE LACOB, post-presser gaggle/
-Q: You mentioned some possible swift moves. Are you talking personnel/player moves right away, like in the next few weeks?

-LACOB: No, I wasn’t saying that. What I’m saying is, if the right opportunity comes and we have an opportunity to improve our team, we’ll do it. Peter told you, we’re going to be aggressive.

But I’m also cognizant of, and I’m going to be very frank here, you know, when Chris Mullin got his new job, what was it, I don’t know how many years ago it was, he made a mistake, in my opinion.

He made all these moves very quickly, signed all these guys to long-term contracts, and that’s it. You’re set. It either works or it doesn’t.

So I think you have to be very, very careful not to just do everything all at once. Because you don’t know what opportunity’s going to come a year from now, or next summer, and I think we need to be patient.

But when we recognize the right move, we’ve got to jump. Just don’t jump too quickly on too many things.

-Q: The way this team has started, does that make you less likely to make a quick big move or does it make you more interested in doing that?

-LACOB: Let’s make… ask me that question again when we’re more than 10 games into the season. Let’s see what happens when we get towards the trade deadline.

-Q: How much thought have you put into moving this team to SF?

-LACOB: Not a lot of thought. I mean, to be quite frank, we are the NBA team in the San Francisco Bay Area. The entire Bay Area. We’re lucky, we’ve got three major cities that are at our doorstep, where our fans live and come to the games from.

The truth of the matter is, I don’t really look at it that way. We have a good arena, a good situation… I’m a business guy and I’m aware of other opportunities and if the right opportunity were to present itself and we have the chance to do something about it, we’ll consider it. We’ll analyze it.

But right now, not really in my thinking. The No. 1 thing in my thinking is a better product. No. 1 thing is improving the team. Performance. Getting to the playoffs. That’s No. 1. That’s more than any other business goal.

-Q: What did your experience with Boston tell you about how fast you can turn this around—do you think you can do it quickly?

-LACOB: There is no doubt. This is what people don’t understand. In the NBA, there’s only 12 players on a roster. If you’re smart, probably a little lucky, too, if you’re smart, you should be able to, given the right opportunity, recognizing the right opportunity, then executing on it, you should be able to turn a team around faster than people would otherwise think.

So I do think that it’s possible—not necessarily probable, it all depends—but it’s possible. If you can take the chips you have and you can turn them into more, you can turn it around pretty quickly.

-Q: Are you an ownership group that is likely to allow $13-14M in expiring contracts go away or do you plan on trading those to acquire talent?

-LACOB: 17 and a half (in expirings). I think about that almost every day. That’s a big, important piece. What do we do with that? Do we do something at the trade deadline? Do we wait until free agency next summer? I think these are things we’re going to have to analyze. We’re going to have to see what’s available.

It’s a little more complicated than that, in terms of those cap numbers and…. We’re going to be looking at it very carefully. If we have an opportunity to go get a great player, we might do that.

-Q: You talked before the season about wanting more defense and low-post presence out of this team. Have you seen that so far?

-LACOB: I think the defensive philosophy is greater than it was. I think we’re clearly a better rebounding team than we were. That’s actually the No. 1 goal. You know, we’ve got great guards here. But how many years has it been since we could rebound the ball?

You can be fast, you can run fast, all that stuff, go down the court and do all the stuff the previous coach wanted to do, but if you can’t get the ball, what good is it?

Our No. 1 focus in the off-season, and I had an impact on it, was getting some rebounding in here. Obviously we wanted to change the defensive philosophy and become more of a defensive team as well.

We need some big bodies, ultimately. Big bangers. We need some more beef inside. I call it beef. We need some more beef inside at some point.

But we’ve become a pretty darn good rebounding team. And here’s… you guys didn’t ask this question, it’s probably the most important question of all, in respect to the team, Amundson and our No. 1 draft pick, the No. 6 pick in the draft, Ekpe Udoh, these guys haven’t even played yet.

Amundson’s I think the No. 1 rebounding-per-minute guy in the NBA last year. I think that’s true. So you had those two guys to the mix, to what is already—I think we’re the fifth-rated rebounding team, already, percentage-wise—you add that, we’ve got something very interesting about to happen.

We’ve got a very strong rebounding team. Maybe some of our guys aren’t the best defensive players in the world, I know. But they’re getting better. There’s a focus on team defense, as opposed to individual defense. I’m very happy with that philosophy. That’s what we wanted to impart.

We obviously have great guards. Monta Ellis is unbelievable this year. Steph Curry’s a great player. I don’t think there’s a better backcourt in the NBA.

-Q: Is this your philosophy, is it Larry Riley’s philosophy, is it a combination? Who’s philosophy is this?

-LACOB: I think Larry and I are in agreement and have been from the very first time we spoke about this, that we needed to become a defense-rebounding-oriented team. We needed to be able to get the ball, so we could then use our guards.

When you say defense-rebounding, it doesn’t mean you’re going to be a slow, walk-the-ball-up-the-court. That means you get the ball back. Once you get the ball back, we’ve got to run, and we’ve got the guards to do that.

We’ve got two incredible guards. So I think combination Celtics—beef, inside, rebounding defense—and Lakers, Showtime of the ‘80s. That’s the way I like to think about it.
-Q: Did you have input on the David Lee trade?

-LACOB: I did not. That was Larry’s trade. I did have the approval rights on it. They called me. It was right around the time of when we won the bid and they said, ‘Are you OK with this?’ I guess we could’ve said no.

There was no way. I immediately… My first reaction was, ‘As fast as you can pull that trigger, pull that trigger.’ Because David Lee is everything that I love about an NBA team.

He is passionate, he is smart, he is a tough, tough guy. He will not take no for an answer. He’s going to go in and get that rebound. He’s a 20 and 10 guy. Maybe on this team he’s not quite 20 and 10 because we have other people that can score. But he is a great guy.

He’s the best player in the trade. You always want to get the best player in the trade. And I’m not saying the other three guys we gave up are… but they’re not as good as David Lee or even close.

-Q: Have you talked to the players?

-LACOB: I have met individually with probably half the team, maybe a little more than that. Some of that I’ve gotten to know pretty well.

I took Monta Ellis to a 49er game. And his wife. I wanted to get to know him and his child. I was very impressed with what has happened to this young man. He’s always been one of my favorite players but just… needed a little maturity.

And I think he clearly has that now. I think the addition of David—and Steph last year—but particularly David this year has changed that locker room in a major way. And Monta, he is just so impressive, he’s so into it, he’s so team-oriented right now, you’ve got to be impressed with it.

-Q: Do you have to do anything to change the history of players wanting to get away from the Warriors?

-LACOB: No, it’s already happened. New ownership, new coach, just the whole philosophy here is clearly different. And these guys have already bought in. I didn’t do this, they did. David Lee, from a locker room perspective, big impact. And I think it’s already happened. There’s something very special. We’re lucky, something very special happening already.

-Q: You say new owner, new coach. Still the same team president. Could that change?

-LACOB: I want you to focus on the team and on the product on the floor. You’re sports reporters, first and foremost.

I think Bobby Rowell gets a lot of criticism obviously in the press. I’m not sure how he managed to get all that. But the truth is, he’s done a good job in many respects. In some things maybe he hasn’t done such a good job.

We’ve talked. I’ve told him, basketball-side, you let me be the guy that sort of takes the role there. So I’m going to have basketball report to me and I’m going to have business report to me and they’re kind of separate things.

So he understands that. And I think that’s probably a little of a mistake he made. So I’m going to evaluate him, just like I’m going to evaluate everybody else in the organization. And we’ll take it from there, see who’s good, who can do it, who can work with all of us in the ownership group to build something great here, and who can’t. And if changes need to be made, they’ll be made.

-Q: Is Keith Smart an interim coach or is he just the coach?

-LACOB: He’s the coach.

-Q: Is he under the same short-term scrutiny as the front-office people or is he your guy to be the coach?

-LACOB: We hired him.

-Q: But it was at a late date.

-LACOB: We didn’t have a lot of choice. That’s clear. We had to make a decision. It’s very fortunate that we had a guy sitting there that we felt could do the job. I met with him. I was familiar with him. I checked him out with other people that knew him from the last. And I like him, a lot.

Now, he’s got to be held accountable, just like me, just like everybody else. And he has a shorter-term contract. We’re going to take a look at him. We’re going to see how he does. But that doesn’t make him interim. He is the coach.

And my guess is, if he performs this year, he’ll continue to be the coach.

-Q: You’ve said it’s a multi-year deal. Is that a two-year deal to be the head coach?

-LACOB: He has a two-year contract, I believe. The second year is a team option.

-Q: Did Smart become more of the guy with this start?

-LACOB: He’s been the coach from the start. He is the guy we’re going with. He is the coach and no one should think otherwise.

And the fact is, he’s doing a pretty good job. So let’s evaluate him. Let’s see how he does.

Whether it would be him, or whether it would be Don Nelson. I don’t care how much you make or what your reputation is or what your name is, if Don Nelson wasn’t doing the job, he’s gone. I don’t care if it’s $6M, he wasn’t the right guy to coach this team.

I don’t care whether it’s a famous coach or whether it’s an infamous coach, doesn’t matter, it’s results that matter.

-Q: Your son Kirk is going to be in the front office. Any concern that there will be charges of nepotism?

-LACOB: Kirk had a job with the Phoenix Suns under Steve Kerr. He is a graduate from Stanford. You’ll have to make this judgment yourself, I’m biased, but I think he’s one of the smartest, basketball-savvy young men I’ve ever run into. I say that, I know he’s my son, but he really is.

And he’s wanted to do this forever. Maybe obviously has the passion his dad does for basketball. He played… he could’ve played in a lot of college places. Wound up going to Stanford and walking on, starting the Stanford club basketball program and built that.

He had a job with the Phoenix Suns, then Steve Kerr unexpectedly resigned in June, when he was supposed to start. He was going to start after the summer.

I said, well, Kirk, you’re kind of lucky that your dad is bidding for an NBA team. I didn’t have it at the time, though. I said you’d better get off your butt and find another job.

Of course we got it in July and I had to take the summer really to have some discussions with him as to whether this is the right thing for him to do. I’m a self-made guy. He wants to be a self-made guy. That’s a tough call whether he should come join the team or not.

People are going to ask a lot of questions. I told him he has to work harder than everybody else. Everybody else. And I expect a lot from everybody. And he’s going to have to perform just like Larry Riley, Bob Rowell, the coach, everyone’s going to have to perform. And he probably has to perform better, because of the situation.

But I have full and utmost confidence in his abilities.

-Q: You’re buying this team with the league on the precipice of a new labor deal or situation,,,

-LACOB: I’m going to do a no comment on that and the only reason is David Stern has made it abundantly clear not to touch this topic.

-Q: But generally, how do you plan knowing there could be a stoppage soon after you’re in?

-LACOB: I don’t think we know the answer to that quite yet. Let’s wait and see what happens. We’re certainly planning for alternate scenarios… we’re prepared for alternate scenarios.

-Q: What will Kirk’s actual duties be?

-LACOB: He works for Larry Riley. His actual title is director of basketball operations… I asked Larry what the title should be. He came up with director of basketball operations.
Click to expand...

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawaka...-something-very-special-is-happening-already/

- Seems like Lacob maybe is beginning to consider Monta as another piece of the core. Sounds like he loves how Monta is playing and his team-first attitude.

- On the same token there is zero mention of Biedrins and a few tidbits about how Lacob wants to be more like the Celtics, get some big bodies and bangers, etc. Seems like Biedrins is a goner and although Lacob may have changed his tune on Monta I still think he'd move him in the right trade. Can't see Beans sticking around too long though.

- I like how he included BW's salary when asked about the expiring contracts on the club. I haven't seen anyone else pick up on this but its huge IMO. I hope BW gets the message.

- Nice to know that this Kirk Lacob guy is somewhat qualified to be there- had a job lined up under Kerr in PHX before Kerr got shitcanned.

- Mixed signals on Rowell. Like TK said that shithead Cohan gave all his cronies extensions before he left and I'm sure Lacob isn't eager to drop several million more just to clear these morons out right now. On the bright side Lacob put Rowell in his place.

- Seems like Lacob wants us to become Celtics west. Team defense, rebounding, big bodies. Moving assets, prospects, etc. in the right trade when the right player becomes available. I like it.

Doctor Kajita · Nov 15, 2010

I'm totally against the Kirk Lacob move. It's one thing to have a job lined up with another team but this is your daddy's company. Totally different. He's got a path to the top now. This is irresponsible on Joe Lacob...blatant nepotism. I don't like it at all and we'll see in a few years how it pans out. Yes, I may be overreacting but this just looks bad, regardless of the intentions.

Zhone · Nov 15, 2010

My initial reaction was also being against the Kirk Lacob move, but I think Kirk Lacob he had come in with a lesser title I'd be okay with it. His duties don't match up with the title he's being given plus he's so inexperienced, so it's very confusing.

I'm a little dissatisfied in general with the lack of overall change this season, but seeing as the season is already a few weeks in, I've come to accept that there would be few changes right now with the front office. Originally, I wanted a total revamp, but there's just no time to interview, hire, and keep a smooth transition. I've also been more favorable to Larry Riley since the Lee and Maggette trades; it seems that he is different than when Cohan was on board and he was wasting/waiving those expiring contracts for nothing, which was speculated to be more Cohan then Riley even back then.

Hopefully, the ownership change will be enough to change front office management and philosophy from the Cohan era. Although firing people in charge (Rowell) would have been nice, realistically when you get a new boss you listen to them, and Rowell's not in a place to make basketball decisions, at least.

jason bourne · Nov 16, 2010

Doctor Kajita said: ↑

I'm totally against the Kirk Lacob move. It's one thing to have a job lined up with another team but this is your daddy's company. Totally different. He's got a path to the top now. This is irresponsible on Joe Lacob...blatant nepotism. I don't like it at all and we'll see in a few years how it pans out. Yes, I may be overreacting but this just looks bad, regardless of the intentions.
Click to expand...

It depends how good is each in their jobs. I thought you were overreacting at first, because the NBA has changed and teams need a capologist now. The pros for Kirk Lacob is he's a Stanford grad and was able to line up a job with Steve Kerr and PHX. That shows that he's trying to be a self-made man like his dad. However, the negative is the title that Larry Riley gave him, "Director of Basketball Operations." That title sounds like it is a "lot" more than his job description; It would not have happened if he wasn't the owner's son. We'll have to see what kind of "self made" man is Kirk Lacob and what dad does if it goes south. We'll also have to see what his job entails.

In the past, the Warriors had Don Nelson and Donnie Nelson and I was for keeping Donnie and firing Don Nelson. That bit of nepotism turned sour as it went the other way.

HiRez · Nov 16, 2010

Doctor Kajita said: ↑

I'm totally against the Kirk Lacob move. It's one thing to have a job lined up with another team but this is your daddy's company. Totally different. He's got a path to the top now. This is irresponsible on Joe Lacob...blatant nepotism. I don't like it at all and we'll see in a few years how it pans out. Yes, I may be overreacting but this just looks bad, regardless of the intentions.
Click to expand...

Agree. It doesn't really matter if he's qualified or not, this is just not something you should be doing. If he needs to be fired some time in the future, who is going to do it? No one will, you know that. And what if Riley leaves or gets fired, what do you think the chances are that Kirk moves into that position? Nothing against Kirk personally, maybe he's a good, smart guy. But he has no business being in that position, I don't like it at all. Let him go make his way for another team, I'm sure having a multimillionaire dad who owns another NBA franchise would open some doors there anyway.

Run BJM · Nov 16, 2010

More on Kirk Lacob from Steinmentz:

I've gotten a few e-mails wanting to know the story with 22-year-old Kirk Lacob, new owner Joe Lacob's son, who has been named the team's director of basketball operations.

A few things on that:

According to the Warriors, Kirk Lacob will report to general manager Larry Riley and director of player personnel Travis Schlenk.

While Kirk's title may have just come to light, the reality is he's been around the team all season. Kirk Lacob has been at virtually every practice, all or most of the home games, including preseason, and even accompanied Schlenk to Reno for the D-League draft a couple of weeks ago.
His duties will involve breaking down film, some statistical analysis and supporting the coaching staff at practice and games.

Said Joe Lacob: "It's just a title. He's low man on the totem pole. He's a bright kid with a bright future. He's probably got more pressure on him than anybody."

Now, if you're wondering why Kirk Lacob's hiring wasn't formally announced, the Warriors say that's not unusual. They don't necessarily make public those kinds of hires.

For example, the Warriors hired Pat Sund last year as a basketball operations coordinator. Pat Sund is the son of Rick Sund, former GM of the Seattle SuperSonics and Atlanta Hawks.

Kirk Lacob is a Stanford graduate.
Click to expand...

http://www.csnbayarea.com/11/16/10/..._steinmetz_v3.html?blockID=354098&feedID=5882

CohanHater · Nov 17, 2010

I don't really see anything wrong with it. It's essentially an apprenticeship which gives the kid time to learn the organization from the bottom up. Honestly, I'd rather have a guy in the front office that understands all of the facets of the operations. If one day he Joe plans on handing the team off to his son, this is a good thing. Also, this shows me that Joe is serious about being the Warriors owner for a long time. This isn't just an investment for him.

Doctor Kajita · Nov 17, 2010

CohanHater said: ↑

I don't really see anything wrong with it. It's essentially an apprenticeship which gives the kid time to learn the organization from the bottom up. Honestly, I'd rather have a guy in the front office that understands all of the facets of the operations. If one day he Joe plans on handing the team off to his son, this is a good thing. Also, this shows me that Joe is serious about being the Warriors owner for a long time. This isn't just an investment for him.
Click to expand...

Good way to put it. I just think the timing is bad, but I guess it's always good to start 'em young.

jason bourne · Nov 17, 2010

CohanHater said: ↑

I don't really see anything wrong with it. It's essentially an apprenticeship which gives the kid time to learn the organization from the bottom up. Honestly, I'd rather have a guy in the front office that understands all of the facets of the operations. If one day he Joe plans on handing the team off to his son, this is a good thing. Also, this shows me that Joe is serious about being the Warriors owner for a long time. This isn't just an investment for him.
Click to expand...

Yeah, right. If he started in the mail room, then I'll think its an "apprenticeship." He's starting as "Director of Basketball Operations," #4 man on the totem pole.

Doctor Kajita · Nov 17, 2010

Whatever the intentions are, and I think they're mainly good (but we'll see), this was a poorly executed move by Lacob. He seems like a smart person, but this seems like a PR disaster. Why even give him a title?

Run BJM · Nov 17, 2010

Doctor Kajita said: ↑

Whatever the intentions are, and I think they're mainly good (but we'll see), this was a poorly executed move by Lacob. He seems like a smart person, but this seems like a PR disaster. Why even give him a title?
Click to expand...

Should have just told everyone they gave him the same job hat he was hired for in PHX- entry level position.

CohanHater · Nov 17, 2010

Director or not, he's not making decisions on his own right now. If I paid that kind of money for a franchise, and wanted my son to take over, I'd put him in a position to learn as much as he can. What better position than someone who is overseeing Ops. If he comes in and starts throwing his weight around right away, we'll hear about it. But I doubt that is the case.

philsmith75 · Nov 19, 2010

What is the big deal? His dad owns the company, he can do whatever he wants. If that were your dad, and you wanted to be a part of it, you'd want him to put you in position as well.

Lacob is the guy, he's going to make the final decisions, he's smart and rich and won a ring already. Never forget where we were just 12 mos. ago.

Log in or Sign up

Warriors officially handed over to Lacob and Guber

Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

CohanHater JBB JustBBall Member

Doctor Kajita Active Member

Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

Doctor Kajita Active Member

Zhone JBB JustBBall Member

jason bourne JBB JustBBall Member

HiRez Overlord

Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

CohanHater JBB JustBBall Member

Doctor Kajita Active Member

jason bourne JBB JustBBall Member

Doctor Kajita Active Member

Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

CohanHater JBB JustBBall Member

philsmith75 JBB JustBBall Member

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Warriors officially handed over to Lacob and Guber

Moderators

Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

CohanHater JBB JustBBall Member

Doctor Kajita Active Member

Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

Doctor Kajita Active Member

Zhone JBB JustBBall Member

jason bourne JBB JustBBall Member

HiRez Overlord

Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

CohanHater JBB JustBBall Member

Doctor Kajita Active Member

jason bourne JBB JustBBall Member

Doctor Kajita Active Member

Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

CohanHater JBB JustBBall Member

philsmith75 JBB JustBBall Member

Share This Page

Useful Searches