I think I’ve been waiting to write this post since before we even started this blog. FINALLY it’s been reported that the Warriors have a new owner, and shockingly it’s not Oracle founding billionaire, Larry Ellison. Instead it’s Joseph Lacob who is currently a partial owner of the Boston Celtics that teamed up with Peter Gruber of the Mandalay Entertainment to outbid Larry Ellison to the tune of $450M. He will have to sell off his stake with the Celtics, but that’s a mere formality. It’s going to be approved by the league since Lacob already has a stake in another NBA franchise.
Aside from that magical 2007 season there wasn’t much to cheer about over the years. The Warriors made a habit out of trading away talent for poo poo platters, and suffered through watching disgruntled employees/players argue with management about any topic you could think of from winning to contracts to injuries. I’m truly glad the former owner Chris Cohan owed the IRS about $160M in unpaid taxes or this may never have happened! Alas, here we are about to finally begin a new era in the Bay Area. An era where the owner hopefully cares about the team winning! Lacob will have a very low bar to raise, and with a great fanbase already in place ready to praise his every move, I’m positive he can’t get as many things wrong as the previous regime. I’m somewhat sad that Ellison didn’t outbid Lacob, but in the end, as we saw with Prokhorov being a billionaire owner doesn’t mean guys will just flock to your team. I’m still shocked that Ellison didn’t oubid them, since he’s worth $28 billion, and reportedly there was a difference of $20-$50M differnce in the bids, which is less than a percent of his total worth. I guess it was rumored he did not want to overpay Cohan and reward him with a failure bonus. Either way I couldn’t be more extatic that this has all come to an fruition, and we actually have a future to look forward to.
Next up: Make a pitch to Kevin Pritchard to be our GM, and fire lame duck coach Don Nelson. I don’t hate Nellie or anything, but we all know how he rolls in his last year of a contract. If you forgot, just ask any Dallas fan!
By
cali4dre
chappy81
dyslecix
mceezy
Doin Work 
July 15th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
God, man.
I don’t know whether I just love, or hate, the fact that you’re a Warriors fan.
Maybe in a weaker Western conference, they’ll be able to put something together, but I just don’t see it, man.
So to make you feel a little better, I’ve attached a link for ya’. You can thank me later.
July 15th, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Yeah, it’s been tough over the years. I think it’s good I guess this will be a wait and see type situation. If we start sending good players to the Celtics for no reason, I’m going to quit being a basketball fan altogether…
Awesome video by the way! I think they were the original crew that made me like them when I was growing up!
July 15th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Allow me to suggest a few options.
1) Choose a different team. You can still root for the Warriors, no one questions your allegiance, so we won’t accuse you of being a bandwagon fan. Just find an Eastern Conference team so there’s no conflict and give it about three to five years, like a Lawrence Taylor sentence, only shorter.
or
2) Openly root AGAINST the Heat. Just root for whoever they play against that night. Although that might eventually be a fruitless as cheering for the Warriors.
July 15th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Well, if I picked a second favorite team it would be Sacramento, but they are a far second place to the Warriors… I’ve consistently rooted against the Lakers for years, and seeing them win over and over I’ve grown tired of even rooting against them, because of the constant let down.
I’ll remain optimistic that the new owners will work out, but I think this might be one last FU from Cohan to Warriors fans in not selling the team to Ellison (a guy you know wants to win)… I’ll hold off judgement until I see what they do with the front office…
July 15th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
[…] Warriors Have a New Savior « Doin Work […]
July 15th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
chappy
Now that’s something to really cheer about from the top of the rafters. Any chance of getting the chicks from Coyote Ugly to be a part of the celebrations ?
🙂
Alan ……..
🙂
July 15th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
I wouldn’t mind that at all! I’m definitely going to have to hit up some bars tonight to celebrate 🙂
July 15th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
I hear they went for $450 mil, the most an NBA franchise has ever been sold for.
Jason Smith made an interesting point on his radio show today, sitting in for Gottlieb.
We could be headed for some troubling waters after next year with ownership battling against players. How can owners cry foul if even low-end (sorry) franchises being sold for so much.
July 15th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
chappy
Hitting a strip joint and doling out $5’s and $20’s just because your Warriors have been bought isn’t a great way to spend your money unless I’m invited . LOL,LOL ,LOL !!!
🙂
Alan …………….. 🙂
July 16th, 2010 at 10:37 am
chappy ………
Keeping Up Appearances As Well As With The Jones’s………..And All Things Sporting ……
🙂
Alan .. 🙂