Should Lacob and Guber Replace Warriors Management?

Lacob and Guber may not be able to do anything during the transfer period, but they can announce new management will be coming in if they wanted to. Instead Lacob came out with some ambiguous statements.

I agree that Rowell would be the easiest to cut. He’s not even mentioned as a “test drive.”

Mine would be get rid of all of them, but I think Rowell’s name rises to the top when deciding who goes first.

Getting rid of everyone right away without the right replacements in place just to decisively start a new era would ironically be caring on traditions of the old era. Knee jerk reactions without much more thought than the short term situation.
To truelly build a long term winner, getting the right personel is more important than the exact timing of when you move out the old wrong personel.
Even Rowell sticking around for a LITTLE bit could be beneficial to the team

But I’m having second thoughts about Smart because he has a losing record. However, I think he’ll improve the defense a bit and play two big men more. Smallball and weird player substitutions drives me nuts.

GM = Kevin Pritchard and Prez = Tom Penn (cap expert).

but I do get why Robert Rowell has kept his job so long.

i don’t. the dubs gross profit resembles that of a mid-market team (Detroit, Minnesota, etc) instead of the top 10 market that they reside in.

you might point to the winning, but the Knicks & the Clippers have no problem selling like a major market despite their lack of winning.

Lacob & Gruber paid what they paid b/c the Dubs should be raking in a lot more than they are due to cheap seats (in terms of for their market size) & a poor job of bringing in corporate sponsorship. if you were given access to the #‘s, you’d be surprised how many of the Clippers season tickets in the lower bowl are corporate owned. from what i’ve heard, that’s not the case in Golden State.

Rowell is horrible at his job of team president b/c he meddles in the basketball ops & b/c he sucks at generating revenue. the only thing he & the promotions dept. is good at is getting attendance up. he should lose his job asap. Lacob can just go to the head of the promotions dept to get the info on manufacturing attendance.

Rowell didn’t get a good media nor arena deal as other teams. However, I don’t have comparable numbers. But if you look at his basketball decisions — vetoing Baron Davis’ $39 M extension, giving Jackson an extension for $27.8 M when he did not have to and bypassing Mullin, lied to STH about deals, gave Nelson 2 year, handling botched Mullin firing, $12 M extension, hiring Nelson crony Larry Riley, threatening to cancel Ellis’ contract over moped incident from the getgo, losing trade exceptions and more bad decisions!

I think Riley has a talent for communication and he shows a knowledge for the game. I can gather a few conclusions after hearing Riley talk for awhile – Hes a very hard worker, and he’s got more vision than people give him credit for having. The nature of his association with Nelson, and the timing of his entrance has giving him a bad rep. His personality seems very adaptable, and I think that would bode well for a man like Lacob. I can see the too of them being able to converse future deals and pitch them together.

I really love all the things Riley has done. The Randolph for Lee deal was amazing. Every player in that deal was replaced, instantaneously. 1)Randolph – Lee 2)Azubuike – Williams 3)Turiaf – Udoh

But perhaps my favorite thing that Riley has done above all, was the Maggette trade, followed by the Dorell Wright signing. If Maggette were just traded for these players with that being the end of it, it would have been a bad move. But Riley did what the Warriors never, ever, ever do – he actually finished the other 50% of the deal by going after another talented to player to fill in for the one he lost. Not only did he free up over 10 million in cap room, but he was aggressive and urgent enough to acquire a very good young player for a comparatively cheap price. Very nice work, well done.

Keep Riley around and fire the others.

I would have preferred them to have kept Morrow. If the Pargo signing goes through not a huge fan of it. Mikki Moore has lobter claws for hands. Who signed Maggette, was it Mullin or Riley? Wasn’t a fan of the Jackson signing.

I know most of these aren’t big ticket items but technically just trying to answer the question.

Drafting Udoh.

Hard to believe that one is going to work out well.

Traded Jamal Crawford for Acie Law and Speedy Claxton.
Traded guard Marco Belinelli to the Toronto Raptors for forward Devean George and cash.
Didn’t trade CJ Watson to Orlando Magic for first round pick, young player and cash when the Warriors had an abundance of point guards. Then he trades CJ Watson when Warriors have a shortage of point guards for a second round pick.
Signed Mikki Moore.
Traded the 34th overall pick in the 2010 draft to the Portland Trail Blazers for the 44th overall pick in the 2010 draft and cash.

BAsh Bash Bash

Pretty sure lilboots wasn’t trying to “bash bash bash.”

I’m not trying to bash Monta at all. I actually think he’s a character guy with a hell of a lot of game. But I happen to be in the minority within the fanbase who believes that he shouldn’t be a priority on our team, and that we could be spending that money elsewhere. With that said, I’ll point out a few reasons why I think the supernatural “signs” are pointing to Ellis’ departure.

1) The rise to prominence of a guard named Reggie Williams. When he and Curry played together, the team played notably better than they did when Ellis started next to Curry. This is a fact. This upcoming season, when Williams comes into the game and all of the sudden we start playing a whole lot better, then it’s inevitable that Ellis’ value as a member of this team will drop considerably.

This is not a personal bash on Monta, and I’m also not saying that he can’t play. He does things on the court that 97% of the players in the league simply can not do. He’s just not good for us. I suspect we will not agree on this. Trust me, in due time, you’ll learn that it’s okay to move on to something else if it works out better for you. Reggie Williams is a better teammate in the backcourt. We all know this, and therefore Lacob assuredly knows this. For this reason alone, I think a trade would be inevitable, but there’s more.

2) The drafting of Udoh – Defense. The acquisition of David Lee – Rebounding/Defense(def. rebounding) The signing of Dorell Wright – Defense. Stephen Curry/Monta Ellis – Defensive liability.

You see it? Did you notice the gap? While our team has been consistently making moves to improve the team’s defense and rebounding, the starting tandem of Ellis and Curry negates some of these changes if not broken up. You may think that the organization has made these moves for the sake of allowing Curry/Ellis more slack, but I don’t think that’s true. Besides, we are not nearly a good enough defensive team, even now, to even think about that. Our best shot blocker won’t be playing until next season, and he’ll be a rookie.

I do not believe that Ellis is necessarily a bad defender, but people forget that these are human beings. These are not entities likened to chess pieces, these are people with bones, and muscles, and ligaments. Ellis goes against guys night in and night out that out weight him by a good 40 lbs.

To put that in perspective, it’s like the average Joe, weighing in at 165 lbs. going up against guys who weigh 200 lbs. on a nightly basis, for 82 games, in a contact sport. You begin to have it in mind, that this is a tough task in which to excel. Tough ain’t enough, when it’s the second game off a back-to-back and Monta sees a guy 6-7, 230 in front of him put his head down and drive to the rack. The release of pained air when that kind of force smashes into his sore ribs behind a protecting forearm, should not be taken so lightly. Monta does not have the shield or the strength to withstand this consistently enough to be competitive.

But some times, when he knows the lights are on, and Cheryl’s on the sideline with the microphone, and he’s looking into the eyes of somebody who has taken a roster spot from him on the western all-star team, this may not matter. In these cases we all go “Ooooo, he CAN play defense! This COULD work”. Do you get what I’m saying here? I’m not trying to bash him, it’s just a bit unrealistic to support all this.

3) In the few interviews Lacob has given, he’s shown some vested interest in a lot of the players on the team, and has voiced this interest accordingly. Find me an interview where he discusses Ellis. I’ve really been wanting him to talk about Monta, but he won’t. I don’t really know how to take that, but I would imagine that if he was a Monta guy, he would’ve mentioned at least something. Sort of leaves me to conclude that he’s not a Monta guy, I guess.

4) Unless Monta Ellis thinks that he’s suddenly NOT better than everyone else besides LeBron and Kobe, coming into this year, I find it hard to believe that there will be a radical change within his game. If this is the case, I suspect you will slap yourself. I know I will. Again, if this is the case, and Reggie Williams keeps doing what he’s been doing, or even improves, then it is a clear sign that an Ellis trade is inevitably just round the corner.

I’ll slam my brain against the wall for you and try to think of some more signs, but that’s all I got now.

That was a great read, one I obviously missed. I don’t pride myself in giving misinformation. I’m actually glad Lacob value’s Monta’s game, as do I. In all fairness, I don’t think Lacob is stupid enough to say, “Well, Ellis is a bit of a hazy subject for me, next question.” I’m not saying that I think Lacob is lying when he says he likes Ellis, but it would be very foolish for him to maintain a negative stance coming into a new season. Do you see what I mean?

If I’m the proprietor of a product, I want you to believe that I want this product as much as everybody else, so that you now want to take it from me. I’m not saying Lacob is using his words as a marketing ploy, but you have to keep in mind the guy’s position and where he’s coming from. I’m sure the Celtics schooled him on couple of unmistakable does and don’ts within the business, that we should not expect him to breech any time soon.

I wrote a very lengthy fanpost about why Ellis played the way he did last season. I defended him. While I agree that last season was a bit flukey and open for various thoughts of criticism, I tend to believe that he will come into this season a significantly changed player. However, we’re still riding on a strange wave banking on the possibility of him allowing the offense to completely run through Curry and play off the ball more efficiently, and decisively. Some of the egotistical comments he made last year, disturbed me. While Monta, very much like Lacob, could very well be trying to sell himself high like a lot of “elite” competitors do, the disturbing fact remains, that he really WAS playing like he thought he was LeBron or Kobe, every game.

I would’ve taken that with a grain of salt if he wasn’t putting up 30 shots. While I believe he will come into this season with a different attitude, I’m not sure enough to the point where I’m comfortable with saying he definitely won’t be a detriment to the team, and he’ll help us win games.

Williams – I was very skeptical when Williams first came to the team. I did not like him. The reason why I didn’t, was because my dad called me one day and said, “Have you seen this Williams guy? I think he’s better than Azubuike!” This pissed me off, and the conversation was over. Azubuike was my favorite player on the team. However, the more I watched Williams, the more I surveyed and thought about some of the decisions he made on the court long after he made them, I began to change my tone. He is an NBA player, and a very good one. He has a rare combination of instincts and maturity, his balance between being a killer on offense, while being unselfish, is a tough thing to find in young guards.

While we rely only on probability that Monta will improve, it’s only fair that we rely on this same probability in William’s case. Williams made such an impression in such a short amount of time, that he earned a guaranteed contract for next season. I hate repeating this, but Curry and Williams play very well together in a positional tandem where you only need one star. Look at all the teams who have won in the past who have either a great point guard or a great shooting guard, but never both. There are many of them. There are reasons for this.

Take a circle with a fixed volume. If you fill that circle with 70% of water(Curry), then you can’t put in another 70%(Ellis). It overflows and causes leaks. While I have a hard time imagining Monta reducing to 30% or 35%(I can live with some leaks), I equally dimiss the notion, of the circle being 50 – 50, or even 60 – 40. Curry just makes decisions vastly better than Monta. I want Curry handling the ball 70% of the time, and Williams playing off the ball. With his range, his consistency, his knack for shooting off the dribble, his passing, his size on defense, his lack of ego as a player, his insistence on becoming better, and his age as a player to grow alongside Curry – all these things make him a better candidate for the job in my eyes.

If Ellis can reduce his mistakes and his style of play, than I agree with you completely, it can work! I just don’t believe this can happen, but like you said, maybe I’ll be surprised!

Defense is a team concept, but it’s equally an individual ability. For example, if you and me are playing in a pick up game with a guy on our team who has no arms, respectfully, chances are, that no matter how well he grasps the concept of team defense, he’s going to consistently fall victim to his opponents. In turn, you and I are now fighting an uphill battle together trying to neutralize what he’s lost. While this may seem like an extreme analogy, it’s an accurate one. Monta is simply physically impaired at that position with his weight and strength, more so than his height.

Joe Dumars should never be compared to Ellis defensively, just because they’re the same height. Dumars was a tough, tough, defender who would own even Jordan through the years. Dumars was also about 20lbs. heavier. It matters. While I also appreciate your comparison of Magic in regards to team defense, Magic was a player who went above and beyond the pale of any conceivable talent during that era. The match up problems, the scoring he was responsible for, the pace, everything. I almost wouldn’t care if Magic turned his back to his defender and let him score every other play. He was that good. Monta doesn’t come close to that.

The only way you can hold a player accountable on defense is if you bench him or yell at him, or both. It’s hard to do that today with NBA players who are in the upper echelon, particularly scorers(earns more fans/status, boosts ego). The NBA is business, and there’s a whole another element to it that has nothing to do with basketball. There’s guys earning over 10 mil in the league who would never be worthy of that kind of dough if it wasn’t for fans and they were playing just for the basketball gods, mortals excluded.

I’m not saying benching Monta for missing assignments is a bad thing, but I think sitting him when you’re demanding something he physically can’t deliver on a consistent basis, will put a very sour taste in his mouth eventually. Monta gets beat up. While he can put on a performance and really lock a guy down, you have to understand that this is from him being extremely competitive and digging deep. I mentioned this above already, you can’t count on him to do that for you 75+ games. It’s not possible.

Again, thanks for the amazing interview, I ate some good food as I read, and I’ll never leave you hanging in the wind without a response. I’ll always try to answer the best I can and with respect.