If Damon Bruce’s source is correct, I guess David Stern, Gavin Newsom, David Lee and others attended that press conference down by the water for nothing.
With all the obstacles in front of the Warriors gaining approval for, then financing and building a new arena along the Embarcadero, this news (if true) isn’t entirely surprising. What’s surprising is that the Warriors would throw such an extravagant ceremony for a project that was on such feeble footing. This press conference, which was hosted by Ahmad Rashad and included speeches from two owners, two politicians, two Warriors front office executives, a player and the commissioner of the NBA, happened just 17 days ago.
Or, maybe it isn’t all that surprising. The Warriors’ new regime has shown a willingness to make big promises, including making the playoffs during the 2011-12 season. Here’s what Joe Lacob said to Tim Kawakami after the press conference about whether or not the event was a “poker play” designed to show the Giants they are serious about moving to San Francisco:
“We are out here and in front of everybody today, as Peter turned to me on the stage and said, ‘Man, we gotta do this.’ And that’s the truth. We’re here to do it.”
Here is Lacob, who during his speech said, “So I want everyone to understand that it can be done. And it will be done. It is going to happen. We are going to be here in 2017.”
I guess we’ll see.
Update: according to Adam Lauridsen (who originally broke the story that the Warriors were planning on moving to Piers 30/32), there still may be a pulse.
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Inside the Warriors – MT2![Joe Lacob & Co. [libelous slander]](http://www.bayareasportsguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Joe-Lacob.jpg)
Joe Lacob & Co. [libelous slander]
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Lacob proves again, just because you are ultra rich, it doesn't mean you are smart.
I've asked around with some people I know who have ties to this, and they think he's probably just throwing shit at the wall assuming that there's a good chance it sticks. By their account, it's not dead yet, but he's got a good chance of being right if only for the fact that what they're talking about doing is basically a hail mary pass.
And in addition to what I said as to why they wont..How about how great it COULD be if Mark Davis,John Fisher and Lacob divided the cost to a super complex in Oakland? Look,Davis and Lacob have a fan base that sells out or close too every year. And it would be more of John Fisher's way as a billionaire to get something at a discount..a Stadium at 2/3 's off. He wont get that deal in San Jose. I haven't read of any meetings between these financial titans. I didn't know Oakland was that big. And as side thought..why doesn't Lacob buy the soon to be empty 'Stick..and build there?
And lets no forget..those piers are not wholly owned by the city..their part of some land trust. And wheres their is a real estate of multiple owners, different values (improve or maintain)who knows how long it could be litigated?
Not exactly world-class strategic thinkers on this board. Live and learn.
Good work by Damon Bruce. Damon has the story before the local newspaper in SF (a newspaper that pretends to be objective yet openly cheers the local baseball club) and before the self-proclaimed Sports Leader.
who cares. the warriors are a crap team with dumb fans who show up game in and game out for this sorry excuse for a franchise.
Mug, I guess we are going to disagree. Stay on this board bro, and we will see how the season goes and can chat from that perspective. Goose
Gooselosgatos, My comment was specifically related to the arena deal in San Francisco, which will NEVER happen on Piers 30-32. I think it's a pipe dream and don't believe it has any chance of becoming reality. Yet Lacob held this over-the-top press conference at the site because he loves the attention and wanted to see his face on TV once again. Now, with this leak that the deal is D.O.A. (like everybody in the know thought all along) he looks exactly like what he is: a laughingstock. Ultimately, the Warriors will end up on Mission Rock, and the Giants will cut a deal that benefits their organization first, and the Warriors second. And that's the way it really should be, since basketball rates a distant third in prestige/popularity in the Bay Area behind the Niners and the Giants. There was no way that a third-banana organization with this kind of inept ownership would ever get one over on the Giants, and it looks like my original prediction that Lacob would have to go groveling back to Baer and ask for the best deal he can get is finally coming to fruition. I can't wait until the press conference on the Mission Rock site, just to see Lacob's hangdog look as Baer and the Giants cut him down to his proper size and he is subjugated to background scenery. And as far as Lacob attending games and giving interviews, he does that because he's full of himself, not to appease the fans who mostly wish he'd shut up and keep out of sight. If you don't believe that, then you must not have been at the Oracle on Mully Night when the fans let Lacob know where he stands with them. I would love to see him give more interviews to Adam Lauridsen, however, who humiliated Lacob with his superior intelligence and knowledge in what is sure to be the only interview that Lacob will ever grant him. I'm indifferent to the Monta Ellis deal. Didn't think he was an all-world player and the guy we got back would be helpful if he played, but all indicators are that he'll always be hurt. You don't give up on a 7' all-star if you're Milwaukee unless you really don't believe the guy can contribute in the long run, and who would know better than the Bucks' coaching/training staff? Klay looks pretty good, but so do a lot of other players who were drafted after him -- Kawhi Leonard comes to mind -- and Kawhi made plays when it counted (l.e. the playoffs) and not in garbage time for a team that was TRYING to lose games. I'll hold my judgement on Klay until I see him play well against good teams in games that MATTER. So Lacob kicked Robert Rowell to the curb? Big whoop. A chimp has the intelligence to know that Rowell had to go, and Rowell probably expected it because he was part of Cohan's regime. I think it was also done because Lacob wanted to assume many of Rowell's operational functions. And let me ask you this: why hasn't he fired Bob Fitzgerald, who is universally loathed by the fan base? Jerry West wasn't hired as much as given equity in the team. He was bought. Still, it's nice having him around and I wish he was making all the personnel decisions and that Lacob had no voice in it at all. As far as hiring Malone, where did the Warriors rank in league defense last season with this defensive genius? Exactly. I won't even get in to the Bell amnesty, green lighting the Lee trade which will cripple the franchise for years, the horrible decision to make a run at Deandre Jordan, etc. This is not an organization that folks around the NBA look at and say, "Man, they really have it together over there at Golden State."
As far as the rest of what you said, I agree with you on Lacob, even though you have to like how he is trying his best to improve the team. I think we have to give him more time and see what he can do with this team. I agree that he should be more behind the scenes though, even though he's a breath of fresh air from Chris Cohan. Lacob is at least attempting to help make this team better. Cohan didn't do crap. I agree that the Warriors will probably end up going with the Giants project, which they probably should've went with all along. The Giants were/might still be willing to help the Warriors build an arena here in San Francisco. The Piers 30 & 32 idea is/was cool, but is that really a good/safe place to put an arena? Also, you keep hearing that there are going to be so many obstacles for the Warriors trying to get an arena built there, such as the environmental concerns there and everything. It's almost like you have to ask yourself, why build there? The Giants idea probably seems like the best one. It would be cool to have an arena right across from AT&T Park, with all the other redevelopment there with the Mission Rock project. Plus, it kind of makes the most sense. Other cities (Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Anaheim, Seattle, Oakland for right now, et.al) have their pro sports venues right near each other, if not within 5-10 min. of each other. As far as the Monta deal goes, I didn't like it when it originally happened, but the more you think about it, it should work out for the Warriors if Bogut stays healthy. You do bring up an interesting question about why the Bucks gave him up. In NBA circles, when healthy Bogut is a top 3 center. Marc Spears and Ric Bucher said that Bogut is a top 3 center when healthy, after the Warriors made the trade for Bogut. Hopefully he will be healthy and be a factor for the Warriors next season. He could be the center the Warriors have needed for years, if healthy. I really hope health isn't a theme for the Warriors once again next season. Can they seriously have a season where the key pieces stay healthy a whole season? As far as Klay Thompson goes, I think Klay Thompson will be good. He really came into his own when he was put into the starting lineup after the Monta trade. He even got some Rookie of the Year considerations. Kyrie Irving was going to win that award this year, but if Thompson would've played more, it would've probably made it a more fierce competition for that award. He should've been in the Rookie-Sophomore game. It was a shame he wasn't in that game. I agree with you on Rowell. It was obvious that he had to go. The Stephen Jackson debacle where he wanted out after he asked for an extension, should've been the last straw for Rowell, even though I'm sure that had to be on o the reasons why the Warriors let him go. You can't get played like that.... As far as Fitz goes, yeah, a lot of Warrior fans hate/dislike him, but you have to admit that he is a good TV play-by-play analyst, despite the constant excuses he makes whenever the Warriors lose or a bad break goes against them. Plus, if the Warriors were to let him go, who would they replace him with? I'm sure the Warriors might not want to go through the process of looking for a new TV play-by-play analyst at this time. Are they really prepared to? I agree with you Jerry West. He should be more involved in the Warriors roster moves, instead of Lacob... Malone was good, even though yes, the Warriors defense wasn't great this year, but the Warriors finally brought into defense this year. They did play better defense in some games. If Malone stays, hopefully the Warriors will play better defense next season. But yeah, Lacob has made some mistakes so far in his tenure as Warriors owner, but I have confidence that he can turn this around, even though it's going to take time.
Great post!.... The thing that I kind of disagree with you on is that the Warriors are a distant 3rd in popularity to the Niners and the Giants. They could be a distant 3rd in prestige since they don't have as much of a winning history like the Niners and the Giants do here in the Bay Area, but as far as popularity goes, yes, they are 3rd behind the Niners and the Giants, but I think they are a closer 3rd. As far as popularity for the 6 major Bay Area sports teams go, IMO it probably goes, Niners, Giants, Warriors, Raiders, Sharks, and the A's. Yes, the Sharks are more popular than the A's, even though no one really talks about them until the playoffs. They have a huge South Bay following though, which probably tips them over the A's. I'm sorry A's fans, but the A's just aren't that popular, but they do have good fans though. I'm sure we can all agee on that. As far as #1 goes, you could argue the Giants were #1 back in 2010 when they won the WS, but the Niners are probably #1 again after the year they had last year, and the anticipation that we all have for the type of season they could have, going into this football season. With the Niners and Giants, it's basically 1 and 1A. They are the two most popular teams in the Bay Area right now, with the Warriors coming in somewhat closely behind them. But yeah, the Warriors are very popular here in the Bay Area. That was shown in the '07 playoffs, and of course Oracle Arena being sold out for every Warriors home game, when the Warriors aren't winning. The fact that they are the only NBA team here in the Bay Area is one of the reasons why the Warriors are so popular too. Plus, this is a basketball market. Everyone here loves hoops, whether it's here in San Francisco, over in Oakland, or down in San Jose. We all like hoops here in the Bay Area. I think when there was that pickup game last year during the NBA lockout between the Warriors current squad at the time and the former Warriors/Warriors from the '07 playoff team, the game was held at the San Jose Events Center (San Jose State's basketball gym), and it was soldout! The Warriors even sellout for a pickup game. haha. But yeah, the Warriors are popular here in the Bay Area. Their popularity could increase if/when they move here to San Francisco, even though sadly the real fans might be priced out on going to games. Just playing here in the city will/could do wonders for them, however.
The Raiders get better tv ratings, sell more merchandise and are an NFL team. There is no way they are behind the Warriors. Just look at the attention the Raiders get online, major websites, more "likes" on Facebook than either the 49ers or Warriors, etc. The Raiders are probably the most followed NFL team in CA, even with all their recent losing.
Actually the Raiders were born here too, but the whole L.A. thing ruined the spirit of that. Team popularity is cyclical, only 20 years ago the A's were on top and the Giants were leaving town. This market is pretty fickle, but I think the NFL will always reign supreme.
Tru, I have to agree with you and I was remiss in not including the Raiders. The NFL is simply a monster, and there is no doubt that there is more interest in the Niners and Raiders than almost any other teams in the Bay Area. (Giants are only team that can be thrown in that group.) Just listen to how much sports talk radio is centered around those two teams....even in the offseason! Heck, the NFL draft probably gets better ratings than the NBA finals, let alone any individual Warriors game. The Raiders definitely should have been ranked ahead of the Warriors in my Bay Area hierarchy. KNBR is the Warriors home station, and they can go an entire week of sports radio without mentioning them once. As far as the Giants being more popular than the 49ers, in 2010 it may have been close, but once again, the NFL is always # 1. Even when the Niners were lousy, there was still insane interest, and it even stretches in to Nevada, up to Oregon, etc. Also, other than the Sharks, the Niners are the only local pro team that was truly born here. The Warriors do have a great base of fans, but we're talking 17,000 per night, not 38,000 (Giants) or 60,000 (Niners). And the NBA as a whole is not just in the same league with the NFL or MLB, even though it does have hard core fans, like myself. This is reflected in advertising dollars, ratings, etc. It wasn't that long ago (late 1970's) that the network showed the finals series between the Lakers and Sixers on TAPE DELAY. In the end, the NFL rules over all.
Joe Lacob is a piece of steaming dung. He was a loser as a venture capitalist (never did any deal of significance) and he's a loser as a NBA owner. I knew that they would fail because they are a loser ownership regime. It makes me laugh that they failed and I like to laugh at Lacob because all clowns are funny. In the end, they will build on the Giants site and the G's will jmake most of the $$. Losers like Lacob never outsmart winners like the Giants.
1) If Larry Ellison couldn't cut through the bureaucracy of PIer 30/32, what made Lacob and Guber think they could? Can you say obnoxious, self-righteous, pretentious snobs? 2) Lacob and Guber have become the exact opposite of Chris Cohan. You almost never heard or saw Cohan. Now it seems like Lacob or Guber have to be on tV or radio every single week. 3) Territorial rights. Well not exactly. But it was the Giants plan all along to develop a big areana AND a commerical, retail, and hotel complex in that area. The Giants have plenty of political clout in SF and the Warriors were not going to stop the Giants from their plans.
Mug, Disagree with you on Lacob even with his penchant to over-promise and stick his foot in his mouth. You can't change a NBA franchise overnight given the logistics of free-agency in the NBA. He's was right to move Monte- fans are fans are react more emotionally than logically. Listen to what NBA scouts thought of Ellis's game and the trade and it reveals a much different picture. By all accounts, he's hired excellent, well respected front office people. He's willing to spend money to buy draft picks and upgrade the practice facility to make it a more desirable destination for current and future players. Kicked Robert Rowell to the curb. Hired arguably the greatest talent evaluator ever Jerry West as a consultant. Hired Malone who is arguably the best defensive coach in the NBA to change the Warriors No D culture. Hit the mark on Klay with the 12th pick in his first draft. Lacob attends games and does interviews unlike Cohan who hid in the owner's suite for 15 years.
Wouldn't surprise me if DBruce made up the whole rumor from the start, any more than it would if Lacob and Guber were making promises they couldn't follow through on. Put the proverbial shovels in the ground ... until then it's all talk anyway.
Devnull, Since its coming from DBruce who is a beacon of investigative journalism it must be true. He was probably looking at the unlit phone lines and made it up on the spot. Oh I forgot, he's the self-proclaimed, "only tell it like it is journalist in the Bay Area."
I knew it was doomed from the start, the scary part is these Idiots talk before they really know whats happening...So it seems all of us Warriors fans can get ready for another 30 Years of mediocre Basketball.
Man, this is really too bad if this is the case. The Warriors FO now has an egg on their faces, after that huge ceremony a couple of weeks ago. In a sense though, that arena being right on the water did look kind of scary though. Were any of you concerned about that? If the Warriors do end up building an arena next to AT&T, that would probably be a little safer, and the Giants could probably help put them in a nice location, and where there will be enough space for a parking lot. But yes, this is too bad. I feel bad for Lacob and the rest of the Warriors FO who really wanted to have an arena on Piers 30 and 32.
The Warriors talking big and coming up with nothing? No, no way. This ownership backs up their talk and this is a load of crap!
Good. Couple of phonies. Let's see what kind of deal they have to cut with the Giants. I don't imagine they'll be happy being their punks.
That is if the Giants grant them territorial rights.
Joe Lacob and Co. with another empty promise!? Say it ain't so.. I guess they can go back to aggresively pursuing Dwight Howard this offseason.
I said no way they cut through the environmental tape from day one. You cant alter the bay shoreline at will. And Lacob's "They will find parking somewhere"..was hopelessly wishing. The only hope is if he and John Fisher created Coliseum city...but as long as Oakland is the backdrop those elitists will never build in a predominately black area" For the social good" in their minds can go to hell.
"but as long as Oakland is the backdrop those elitists will never build in a predominately black area" Sadly, I think you are right Stan.