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发帖数: 27852 | 1 Q&A with Warriors owner Joe Lacob
Steinmetz: Kings midseason review
Joe Lacob and Peter Guber have been in control of the Warriors for two
months now.Jan. 20, 2011
STEINMETZ ARCHIVE
WARRIORS PAGE | WARRIORS VIDEO
Matt Steinmetz
CSNBayArea.com
OAKLAND -- I had a chance to sit down with Warriors owner Joe Lacob on
Thursday afternoon at the team’s offices in downtown Oakland. Lacob, who
has owned the Warriors since Nov. 12, touched on a variety of subjects.
Matt Steinmetz: You’ve owned the team for a little over two months. How has
it been?
Joe Lacob: It’s pretty much what I expected. Certainly I didn’t expect a
couple of the little things that happened like the David Lee arm injury.
That and a couple other personnel things, I guess, I could have expected.
But nothing particularly out of the ordinary.
And then the performance of the team … I obviously would like to be a
little better than we are or have a little bit better record. We started out
6-2 and I felt we could be pretty good.
But clearly the injury to David Lee hurt. Some of the other injuries hurt.
And then getting everybody back on the same page. And you know, Lee is just
getting healthy. And Keith is a new coach learning his way, too.
So there are a lot of adjustments going on. I think in December, and (
general manager) Larry (Riley) said it, too: ‘Let’s get this team healthy
and see what we’ve really got.’
Sometime you don’t even get to that point. You don’t get healthy. We now
are. We don’t have excuses. So it’s whatever Larry put together and
whatever influence I’ve had, which is little at this point. And we’re
going to see what we have.
Our goal, and I’ll tell you straight out, is to be at .500 or better by the
All-Star break. I think it’s very possible.
Before last night, we looked at it. We had 15 games … We need to go 11-4
and that would put us at 28-27. I think 12 games are home out of those 15.
So we’ve got to win our home games and we do have some tough ones,
particularly San Antonio. But I think it’s doable.
Well, I’m actually going to predict it. I think we’re going to get there.
Steinmetz: There seems to be two schools of thought. One is you haven’t
done anything and the other is that you haven’t been there very long. To
the average fan there’s been no noticeable outward changes in the
organization. Where do you come down on that?
Lacob: I think there’s a couple ways to look at this. We haven’t owned it
that long. There’s a lot more, unfortunately, to the average fan than what
they see. I have to come in and get to know people. There are 130 people
here to get to know. Honestly, I’m starting to feel like I’ve scratched
the surface. But I have had individual meetings with everybody. I’ve got a
lot to evaluate. I’ve got to get to know who these people are. Just
understand who they are and what they do. And are they doing a good job is
the second question. And then you need a means of comparison.
I do have one because I was involved with the Celtics at least peripherally,
at least being on the board. … It’s a little more complicated than people
think. When I say evaluate. It’s not like ‘Look at the bottom line and
say that must be bad or (team president) Bob Rowell is really bad.’ It’s
not that simple. There’s a lot to it.
And then there are negotiations with Oakland and the JPA. I’m in the middle
of that. I’m just giving you some things I’m working on. We paid them the
money we owed them – which was $11 million – we meaning (former owner
Chris) Cohan. We’re up to date, but they owe us money now and the dispute
is not resolved.
And I’m trying to resolve that. One more thing I’m working on. They got
litigators and all that, and I’m trying to get rid of that. I don’t like
lawsuits. So I’ve got to deal with that and evaluating the people and I’ve
got to deal with the team thing and Larry on the basketball side.
I’m trying to give you a sense. There’s just a lot of stuff to do. I know
people get impatient. I’ve got a plan formulated -- which is ‘I’m not
going to make changes in the organization – of significance, what people
would say are major – until after the season.
It’s so consuming when you’re in the middle of it all. There’s work
everyday and you’ve got games every night. There’s a lot going on. Then I
’m going to take stock. I’m taking notes as I go along, and a few things,
if they’re really bad, they’ll have to change. I don’t want to say really
bad, if there’s issues, they’ll have to change.
I mean everybody. There’s a lot to this. I’m looking at ticketing. Are we
doing that properly? We got the right people?
We have some turnover right now. Well, people are worried about the lockout
potential and they might figure they don’t have job security. They don’t
know and they’re worried. This is an unusual year.
If you were an employee here, you’re worried. You’ve got a new guy coming
in here talking to everybody, you got the pending lockout scenario that’s
in the papers. There’s a lot of stuff.
To answer your question, we haven’t done anything major yet and we decided
we’ll wait till the season is over to do that kind of thing. And we’ll
have a really fair sense of judgment and there will be significant changes,
I can assure you.
On the basketball side, particularly, that’s a work in progress and we’re
evaluating as we go. Now, none of that changes the fact that we are working
very, very hard. Larry, the entire basketball operations crew, myself, every
single day, scouring.
There isn’t a day that goes by we don’t talk to other teams. I can assure
you that. And, first of all I can tell you what you do read about is
usually wrong. Sorry.
Not saying it’s you, but in general. For instance there are a couple of
players who have been mentioned freely from other teams that we are trying
to get. And I can tell you they’re not true.
Steinmetz: OK, give me an example? Throw a name out there.
Lacob: Tayshaun Prince. We’ve had no discussions along those lines. That’s
not of interest. People get it wrong. What I’ve learned is they make this
stuff up. Maybe it’s the new media. They create stuff and it gets repeated.
We are talking to a lot of people that is not in the press.
Steinmetz: Are you willing to trade your expiring contracts for a guy who
has three or so years left at, let’s say, $30-plus million?
Lacob: Yes.
Steinmetz: You are? But I assume it’s got to be the right player?
Lacob: Yes, regardless of whether that scenario or another scenario it’s
going to have to be the right player.
Steinmetz: But that player isn’t going to have a good contract …
Lacob: We’ve been considering … There are one or two players out there
that are interesting – good players, but they have big money. They’re
overpaid, I would say. But we still might do it.
You need to understand and the fans need to understand: Nothing will prevent
us from winning the NBA championship. Nothing. There is no way we’re not
going to win.
We’re going to win. We’re going to get there. I can only go as fast as the
opportunities are made available or we make opportunities available.
That’s the limiting factor. There’s only so many players and they get to
make their own decisions of trading us a player we want.
You can’t tell a player to sign here. Danny Granger, I think, said
something about the weather. I don’t know if that’s real or not real. It’
s crazy if he really believes that. But there’s a guy, if that’s true, who
wouldn’t come here, to use an example.
That part is harder. I knew that, but it’s harder when you’re dealing with
it everyday. You can’t just go identify a player and get him.
I’ve got to tell you we’ve made some trade offers that are to me – as a
semi-knowledgeable guy – are ludicrous, stupid for other teams not to
consider, if not do it. And yet there are reasons why they don’t and they
don’t. It’s hard to get things done. There’s only been one significant
trade.
Steinmetz: The player you’re going to get will likely add to your talent
level and they would make you a better team but their contracts aren’t very
good, so …
Lacob: So we have to decide. Some names have been discussed. They’re pretty
easy decisions for me. They’re not what we’re interested in. But you’re
right. It’s hard. We may have to overpay to add a player.
On the other hand, would you rather have a third of your payroll tied up in
expiring contracts for people who aren’t necessarily contributing to your
team as much as you’d like?
Or would you rather get something to make your team better. Question is, are
you doing it to make your team a little bit better right now? You might be
using assets you could use this next summer, for instance, could be very
valuable.
Steinmetz: You have $17 million or so coming off the books, but you’re
still only $8 million under – and you lose your mid-level. Is that where
you really want to be?
Lacob: These expirings, on the one hand you kind of want to use them. Even
though you might overpay, which is possible, we have to decide that. Then,
of course, the system may change, too. I can honestly tell you nobody really
knows.
Carmelo Anthony, the Nuggets and the Nets, I don’t think they know what to
do. I don’t think Carmelo knows what to do. Does he sign now? Does he wait
till the summer? It’s a very complicated time.
Steinmetz: Is there a scenario in which you would trade for Carmelo Anthony
without him signing an extension?
Lacob: I guess there is a scenario where that would be the case. But it’s
unlikely. It’s more likely that the cost would be too high. That it wouldn
’t make a lot of sense for us long-term. All depends. I think it’s going
to be very fascinating. As the deadline approaches it would appear the value
Denver will get is going to decrease day by day. If I were them I would
have done something earlier, last summer. I just think they’re putting
themselves in a very difficult situation.
Steinmetz: You said Jeremy Lin was your call. There are some people who
think you signed a guy who couldn’t play in the league and that you wanted
to show people you knew basketball …
Lacob: I wasn’t trying to show anybody anything. I just know the kid. I
know he can play and I think it was a phenomenal signing and still think it
is. We’re getting offers for Jeremy Lin. More than one. This week alone. I
’m just going to tell you we think it was a very good signing. Not just me,
the rest of the organization.
I don’t know if you noticed but he went down to the D-League … he’s not
going to get the minutes here. He’s gone down there and done a good job. He
was an all-star in the showcase. His numbers were pretty astonishing.
He’s getting better, gaining some confidence. We think Jeremy is going to
be a good player. His strength is that he’s a very good defensive player
because he anticipates very well.
He’s got size. He’s reasonably athletic. People don’t think so but he is.
His driving is good. It needs to improve. He goes right all the time. We
shouldn’t say he can’t go left, but he just hasn’t so far. And he clearly
has to improve his shooting.
I’m very happy. He wasn’t drafted. He’s a minimum, inexpensive asset. You
need to look at him as a developing asset. Is he going to be a superstar?
No.
The Landry Fields’ things don’t happen very often, by the way – when you
draft a guy in the second round and he’s starting and he’s probably the
second-best rookie in the whole league.
Although I did call that one.
Steinmetz: But Lin doesn’t have a guarantee for next season …
Lacob: I would think he’ll be on the team. We like Jeremy. We think he’s
going to develop into a pretty good player.
Steinmetz: Is Jeremy a point guard or shooting guard?
Lacob: He’s a combo guard. And so, that’s going to be the challenge. We
have a few of those (combo guards). Steph Curry really wasn’t a point guard
, either.
Steinmetz: Some would say you don’t have a true point guard on the roster
…
Lacob: I wouldn’t quite say it as strongly as that. There are some people
who don’t think you need a point guard to win in the NBA. I disagree with
that. I’m more traditional. I think we do.
I think Steph Curry can do it. He’s not a pure point guard. He obviously
could be more successful on certain teams and certain situations as a two.
Monta Ellis is the same way.
They’re interesting. They’re both capable of playing the one and two. If
you look at Ellis’ numbers right now, they’re pretty amazing. He’s
putting up 36 points, with six assists, five rebounds.
He’s having amazing games. This guy’s unbelievable, deserves to be an all-
star.
Steinmetz: But can’t that backcourt only take you so far?
Lacob: We think the guard combination is working overall. Is it the best
defensive combination in the league? No. Is it the best offensive
combination in the league? Maybe. When you put it all together, we think we
have a pretty good backcourt.
You could sit there and make an argument if you’re going to go deep into
the playoffs, that backcourt might not stand up against some of the others.
I think there’s an argument there. We’ll see.
Right now we’re not trying to get deep into the playoffs we’re trying to
get into the playoffs. We’re trying to get there.
Steinmetz: You seemed to slight Monta Ellis when talking about the team
early in your tenure. Is that a fair perception?
Lacob: I recall it. And it’s fact. And I then went on to say I didn’t mean
to exclude Monta in that. I was highlighting those guys because Lee was new
and Curry is young, and they were the additions.
And they’re the type of guys from a character standpoint that we’re
looking to have on this basketball team. Now, I will say Monta has exceeded
my expectations dramatically. I knew he was a good player. I’d been
watching him. Always thought he was good.
I was worried a little bit about his character. The incidents that happened
in the past. I think Monta will be the first to admit that he’s had some
issues. Maybe some of them had to do with other people on the team. Maybe
his fault. Who knows?
I think there was a little bit of an issue there and whether or not he could
play well with Curry because he made those statements.
Clearly from the beginning of the year, his life changed a bit, he had a
child, he has a great wife who is supportive and strong. I had a
conversation with him in September, which I probably will never forget -- at
a 49ers game, I took him to.
I wanted to check him out, you know? It was a very positive conversation. I
think this guy came in ready to go this year, ready to be a solid citizen
and to be a solid teammate and player. He did that.
And I think he got a lot of positive reinforcement from me and others in the
organization. People want to feel appreciated and I don’t think Monta’s
ever really felt appreciated.
And, by the way, I hope I don’t get in trouble for this … He doesn’t seem
to get the calls, whereas others do. Maybe I’m just a biased owner or
biased fan but it sure feels that way to me when I watch the game.
Maybe that’s something that’s earned over the years. Certainly Kobe Bryant
, guys like that have earned it. But this guy should start getting that
recognition and getting treated that way because he’s a first-class
teammate, an awesome player this year, taken his game to another level.
And his character has been great. I’m a huge Monta Ellis fan right now.
Frankly, he is the guy in this franchise. There is no question about it. And
he’s earned it.
Steinmetz: Do you think you’ll make a move before the deadline?
Lacob: I think we probably will. I say that a little hesitantly because it’
s not totally in our control. We are certainly trying to. It is our
intention to do that. We owe it to the team, the fans and the organization
to try to improve.
I think there are things we need to improve and if we can it will get us
that much better and could be the difference between making the playoffs or
not making the playoffs. So, I hate to set myself up because I can’t
guarantee this, but we sure are trying.
Steinmetz: What about the luxury tax?
Lacob: Irrelevant.
Steinmetz: You indicated at your initial press luncheon, you probably wouldn
’t go into the luxury tax?
Lacob: That’s not the point for me. We need to get better. Need to improve
and if it costs money, it costs money. We’ve had a board meeting since then
. We’ve all discussed it and everyone is on board with the fact that we’re
going to do what it takes to get better.
I don’t know what’s going to happen with the new (collective bargaining)
system. What I know is we’ve got some assets here and depending on what
comes available, if we can make our team better, we’re going to do it. | h*h
发帖数: 27852 | 2 有不止一个球队现在还想要小林，本周就有一个offer.明年小林的合同不是保证的，但
是勇士会给小林续约。 |
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