Other comments have already accurately described how this is mostly fluff since the Warriors success is mostly due to lucky random events with Steph Curry. But one more clarification:<p>> So when Lacob fired him in 2014, after a 51-31 season, and replaced him with Steve Kerr, the basketball world was shocked.<p>Not many people were shocked. Jackson was a disaster despite their record and was poisonous to the team.<p>Here's a taste of what he did:<p>> Jackson demoted Brian Scalabrine, an assistant coach, to the D-League after initially firing him without cause in front of players. The team fired another assistant, Darren Erman, after learning he had been secretly recording conversations Jackson had with other coaches. Erman was concerned Jackson was bad-mouthing him behind his back, multiple sources have said, and poisoning his relationship with players. The team changed the location of Erman’s parking spot without warning, sources say. Jackson also made it known he preferred that Jerry West, a senior adviser to the Warriors, stay away from practices.<p>from: <a href="http://grantland.com/the-triangle/mark-jackson-fired-golden-state-warriors/" rel="nofollow">http://grantland.com/the-triangle/mark-jackson-fired-golden-...</a>
Yes, Luck into Steph Curry and his contract, it's this smart silicon valley owner. NONE OF THIS WAS AN ACCIDENT.<p>Except, for how the Warriors even "lucked" into Steph Curry during the draft. It's because David Kahn of the Timberwolves drafted both Johnny Flynn and Ricky Rubio two spots ahead of Curry. Flynn lasted 2 seasons, Rubio didn't even play in the league until after Flynn had left.<p>Nevermind the fact that the Sacramento Kings essentially screwed themselves over when they got upset that Andre Iguodala didn't sign with them fast enough, which opened the door for the Warriors to sign him, then David Lee being injured at the beginning of last season which forced them to play Draymond Green (and finding out how great he was).<p>No it's, "all skill" man.<p>Talk about drinking the koolaid.<p>The Warriors are playing out of their minds this year, overshadowing a Spurs team that is playing out of their minds as well. The big difference right now is Pop is willing to rest his starters, Kerr has been playing his starters extra minutes trying to win 73 games. If anything that will be their downfall (I still think they're going to win).<p>"It's not just Steph Curry.", Are you out of your mind? If Steph Curry wasn't there they'd still be a good team, but not a team on the brink of winning 73 games.
There's a lot of fluff in that article. I'd say it's a combination of two things: what the owners are doing, outlined in the article and something you can't get through management: a group of players that are humble and truly want to work together as a team. I stopped watching the NBA in the 90's after the Warrior's "run TMC" was broken up and Jordan and Magic retired. The egos and attitudes of the players really turned me off.<p>Curry and his teammates have turned me on again to the game, in a big way. The games are a joy to watch. The pure excitement generated by the team is just amazing. Even in the 90's I would rarely watch every minute of a game. I watch EVERY minute of each Warrior's game and love every bit of it. They are that good.
Love it how Lacob says he 'started' 70 companies. Funny I bet those guys seeking funding from his firm thought they were the founders. I am not begrudging that he might have helped but I thought that was a bit rich. Also left wondering how many of those founders got replaced along the way?
Its more coincidental that the warriors got all the pieces in place. Curry was injured the year he had to sign the current contract which is way undervalued. This is the key that allowed them to have signings like Iggy. Curry is easily worth 2x what he's being paid now which would eat up Iggy's contract.<p><a href="http://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/GSW.html?lid=standings_payroll" rel="nofollow">http://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/GSW.html?lid=s...</a>
I thought this article was a pretty good overview of the team, and it did at least acknowledge the difficulty in separating the ownership from the start player, in terms of success. But one part at the end seemed super out of place.<p>> He confided that he figures he’s one of the 10 best blackjack players in the worl<p>What? How can this man be thought of as a shrewd businessman by anyone after saying something like that. The only possibly explanation could be that he's referring to card counting, but I doubt he's playing million dollar games against people that don't realize what he's doing.
Fun fact - 1/4th of the NBA is owned by big names in private equity -<p><a href="http://pitchbook.com/news/articles/barbarians-at-the-ticket-gate-the-pe-moguls-who-own-14-of-the-nba" rel="nofollow">http://pitchbook.com/news/articles/barbarians-at-the-ticket-...</a>
Players, coaches, trainers, and assistant + GMs do most of the work in any NBA franchise. Owners mostly give a final approval or veto on major decisions.
What's happened with the Warriors reminds me a lot of the Dallas Mavericks' transformation after Mark Cuban bought the team in 2000. Pre-Cuban, the Mavs were terrible, a perennial bottom-tier team. Cuban changed the culture and the Mavs have been more successful than most fans could have dreamed of (even winning the championship in 2011 and runner-ups in 2006).<p>The Warriors didn't just get "lucky" by drafting Green, Klay, Barnes, and Curry. It's hard drafting well; just ask the 76ers, the Cavs (before Lebron came back, they weren't making the playoffs despite multiple #1 overall picks), and 20+ other teams in the NBA. With the exception of the Spurs, no other team has been better at building a team lately.<p>Many parties deserve recognition for the Warriors' outstanding success over the last few years and the owners are certainly included.