Warriors sold; what's next? by David Murphy, Friday, July 16, 2010
The sale of the Golden State Warriors was met with much less optimism yesterday than originally anticipated. Fans clamoring for multi-billionaire/big-name Larry Ellison were left miffed as rumors continue to swirl that the Oracle CEO actually bid the most money, but just too late in the process. Nonetheless, new ownership - Joe Lacob and Peter Guber - has been made official, and at an NBA-record $450 million.
The next obvious step in the process is the approval needed by the NBA (background/financial checks, etc.), which should take an estimated 1 to 2 months.
With the consent on NBA owners expected, the focus will turn to the organization, front office and roster. To give you an idea of what the process should look like, here is our best estimation.
But first, a couple quick points/facts/speculation on Lacob and Guber.
-Lacob is currently a minority-owner of the Boston Celtics, and his interests in the team must be sold before he takes over in Golden State. He also is the managing partner of KPCB, a Menlo Park-based investment group. Between Guber and himself, Lacob will be the majority owner of the Warriors.
-Guber is the CEO and Chairman of Mandalay Entertainment - not to be confused with the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has been involved in the production of such films as Rain Man, Batman and The Color Purple.
-To the fans wishing it had been Ellison not Lacob/Guber: who is to say Ellison would know more about putting together a successful franchise than Lacob? Ellison has zero experience in the NBA; Lacob has a little bit with Boston. Just saying.
So what will be the plan of attack upon approval by the league?
Team president
The new ownership group's first focus will probably go to figuring out what to do with Robert Rowell, GSW's current president. Warriors' fans cringe at the thought of him being retained, as Rowell is largely credited with such feats as: dumping Jason Richardson for Brandan Wright; running former-GM Chris Mullin out of town; and generally promoting the type of environment that produces a single playoff appearance in 16 years.
If Rowell can be credited with anything positive, it is that he installed a marketing system in which Oracle Arena was filled to capacity nearly every night to watch a product that was largely unsuccessful. Golden State, throughout the continuous losing seasons, still managed to top most of league in attendance.
Rowell's odds of returning as president are not good at all. If he stays in any way it will most likely be strictly on the business side of things. Still unlikely, though.
Coach and GM
Once the president is hired, most of the decision making will be out of Lacob and Guber's hands. However, any smart owner will want to have their fingerprints on these decisions in some way.
Don Nelson and Larry Riley have both said publicly they want to remain with the organization.
The bottom line: Nelson is owed $6 million next season whether he coaches or not. Lacob is said to be a fan of the uptempo play Nelson abides by, and those two facts may result in Nellie being on the sideline next season before heading to retirement.
Riley's odds of staying in Oakland should be a direct result of what the new ownership/team president thinks of his moves this offseason. Riley has targeted the team's deficiencies by drafting for defense in Ekpe Udoh, and signing the rebounding-minded David Lee. If the new crew thinks Riley can continue to improve the team, he may stay.
The possibility exists that Lacob may want to clean house. For every good thing you can say about Nelson and Riley, the team has stunk for two straight years under their reign.
The players
With the team's best players under contract for the foreseeable future - Ellis, Curry, Lee, Biedrins - any new management may have trouble making significant changes to the roster. That is, if they deem changes necessary.
The biggest bargaining chip the organization holds is nearly $14 million in expiring contracts.
What else?
As far as marketing, that department deserves a raise more than walking papers. As said earlier, the team is loved by the region and sells fantastically.
The only other area I would even venture to guess would be scouting and personnel. Golden State has been able to consistently find rotation-worthy talent in the D-League and their drafting has been good, but not great. Curry, Randolph, Morrow, Azubuike, Watson and Williams were hits, Wright, Diogu and numerous second-round picks have been misses.
The main point of mapping out Lacob/Guber's likely plan is to show the change will start at the top and each decision effects the one below it; the hiring of a president affects the coach/GM, and so on down through the roster.
"I'm a Warrior fan," Lacob said of his new purchase. "I can't wait to help get this organization back on a big-time winning track.
"And hopefully face the Celtics in the Finals."
Well said, now big-time decisions need to be made.
