Both Joe Lacob and Jim Weyermann had experience in women's basketball - in the now-defunct American Basketball League (ABL) - before coming together with the Golden State Warriors.
Those experiences came up during the interview with Santa Cruz Warriors GM Kirk Lacob and so the discussion briefly turned to whether the Warriors organization would consider bringing a WNBA team to the Bay Area, as described yesterday over at SB Nation's women's basketball site Swish Appeal.
"I think the Bay Area could use a WNBA team - I think it's a terrific spot for one," said Kirk Lacob during the interview. "I think we have a history of doing it. We love basketball, in any shape or form. Right now the only summer basketball (in the Bay Area) is summer league and it's really, really fun, but it doesn't cover every demographic that we have in this community. The Bay Area is unique because while it has a fan base for all sports, it really loves basketball. It's the most knowledgeable [fan base] in the league in the Bay Area. So it would not be an awful thing if down the road something were to happen."
Northern California's last two experiences with women's professional basketball have ended on sour notes.
The WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs, a perennial playoff contender that made consecutive WNBA Finals and won the title in 2005, folded abruptly in November 2009 when the Maloof brothers hit financial trouble that foreshadowed some of the problems they've had more recently with keeping the NBA's Sacramento Kings around.
Prior to that, Joe Lacob owned the ABL's San Jose Lasers before that league folded abruptly in December 1998, having lost its competition with the WNBA. But with Lacob's experience with the Lasers and Weyermann's experience as general manager with the ABL's Seattle Reign - both among the league's more successful franchises in its two year existence - the Bay Area appears to be a prime candidate for a women's professional basketball team whether the league seeks to expand or relocate a team.
Given the people involved with the Warriors, the question might not be whether they're interested but when they'll be ready to give it a shot.
For more on the Warriors, Lacob, Weyermann and their relationship to women's basketball, check out the full story at Swish Appeal.