Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob celebrates from his court side seat in a recent game.(Photo Kelley L Cox USA TODAY Sports)
OAKLAND Joe Lacob didn't want to talk about the booing.
That was the word from the Golden State Warriors official who arranged this sit down anyways and who could blame the boss if that was the case Long before the team's owner changed this woeful culture before coach Mark Jackson and his Warriors became the surprise story of the 2012 13 season and kept it going in a thrilling first round playoff series with the Denver Nuggets that they lead 3 1 and which resumes with Game 5 on Tuesday the venture capitalist whose ownership group paid a league record $450 million for the team three summers ago bore the brunt of decades of fan frustration on that infamous March 19 2012 night at Oracle Arena.
During what was supposed to be a pleasant evening in which the jersey of Warriors legend Chris Mullin was retired Lacob was mercilessly booed while addressing the dissatisfied fanbase that had finally had enough. Talk about coming full circle.
The always impassioned Lacob was a hero among his people over the weekend soaking it all in from his courtside seat inside one of the league's loudest buildings while the most under the radar rebuilding efforts in all of professional sports continued to unfold during Game 3 and Game 4. And despite the unofficial parameters of the interview with USA TODAY Sports he couldn't help but take note of the most remarkable of contrasts in mood.
You have to know that if you do this that might happen Lacob said with a grin as the din of the Game 3 crowd barreled through a tunnel and into his owner's suite inside the arena. They're not booing now.
You know no one expected us to be here and no one expects us to win this first round so that's the good news. I like playing from behind. That's a good feeling.
Lacob and by extension the Warriors are catching up fast.
On the surface this is a Midas touch moment. Lacob a former Boston Celtics minority owner who hails from Beantown and so badly wanted a team of his own has already improved the present state of the franchise (a 47 35 regular season record and a second playoff appearance in the organization's last 19 seasons) while setting the course for an ambitious future (the team has plans to move to a new waterfront arena in San Francisco in 2017 with the hopes of joining the likes of the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers as a more globally known franchise).
He made all the right moves along the way taking chances on his general manager (former agent Bob Myers) and coach (Jackson was a record breaking point guard in the NBA but had never coached) while adding instant credibility to the brand with the hirings of Jerry West as a consultant and Rick Welts a longtime Phoenix Suns executive and close friend of commissioner David Stern's who has been described as the highest ranking openly gay man in pro sports as team president. The overhaul has been from the top to the bottom where the NBA Development League team that the Warriors bought two years ago and moved from Dakota N.D. to nearby Santa Cruz Calif. last year not only reached the Finals this season with Lacob's son Kirk serving as general manager but has become a model franchise because of the way it's utilized and marketed.
But while Lacob may have predicted this writing down his expected number of wins at 47 or 48 before the season on a piece of paper that stills sits inside his desk the script that unfolded was so different from the one he tried to write that he can't help but stay humble. The big man who the Warriors traded for last year and who Lacob hoped would transform the roster center Andrew Bogut was a shadow of his former self while dealing with a foot injury all season long.
This was a more nuanced story of chemistry combining with talent stars emerging in Stephen Curry and before he went down with a torn right hip flexor in Game 1 forward David Lee while rookies like Harrison Barnes Draymond Green and Festus Ezeli played significant roles throughout. And for the man whose courtside fandom has so often been compared to Dallas' Mark Cuban and who was so often criticized early in his tenure for being far too boastful this is less about vindication than it is appreciation.
Well obviously it feels really good Lacob said. You know I don't like losing. And when I got into this I certainly knew it wouldn't turn around in a day. The first year was tough. The second year was tough and especially after we made the (Bogut) trade (with Milwaukee two weeks before he was booed). We had to really believe in our plan and the script that we had written.
And I did honestly believe in it but it was tough getting through it and getting through this summer and getting through this year. And now this has been a great year. It makes me feel even stronger about my beliefs about the plan.
A plan that is going quite well at the moment. After the Game 5 victory in which Curry turned in a mesmerizing 31 point seven assist performance Lacob stood in the back of the media room doing what he had done all weekend taking it all in without any boos to be found.
He listened intently to the way that Jackson answered each and every question letting out a chuckle when his coach was asked about whether he kept a leash on Curry offensively and replied by saying He can't get a longer leash. His leash is unlimited. The same could be said for the Warriors' potential.
We have fans who have a tremendous history here of not winning a lot but a tremendous fanbase that stayed behind the team and they really deserve this Lacob had said. Hopefully we can be good this year maybe win this series maybe move on. But more importantly than that continue to get better each and every year.
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