Joe Lacob Discusses Warriors’ Success, Draymond Green, Etc.
The Golden State Warriors are riding high right now with the best record in the NBA (37-8), and Warriors owner Joe Lacob has a lot to be proud of, in terms of the Warriors’ success so far this season, and excited about, in terms of the Warriors’ bright future.
Lacob recently spoke with Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group about the Warriors’ season so far, upcoming decisions Warriors management will have to make, the Warriors’ recipe for success, and much more.
One of the Warriors’ strongest assets is a young, extremely talented core that has played together for a few seasons now. They’re growing and developing together as players and as a team, and Lacob is proud of the team that Warriors management has put together.
A key player in the Warriors’ core is Draymond Green. He is having a breakout season in the sense that he is finally earning some of the national recognition that he deserves, due to his infectious energy, his strong work ethic, his ability to impact a game at any moment, and his ability to contribute to the team in many different ways.
Green will become a restricted free agent after this season, and the Warriors have stated that they are going to make re-signing Green one of the top priorities this offseason. However, in order to give Green a contract extension, the Warriors will most likely have to go into the luxury tax.
Lacob has publicly said that money shouldn’t be a concern and that Bob Myers and the rest of Warriors management should make whatever moves or spend whatever money is necessary to put out the best team possible.
Lacob addressed the luxury tax and his admiration for Green in the interview with Kawakami:
"“Luxury tax? It’s not something you want to do, it’s very penal,” Lacob explained. “But can’t be worried about that right now. That is really not the issue. The issue is being the best team we can be and we’re going to do whatever it takes.”…“Draymond Green! I’m not allowed per NBA rules as you know to make certain statements about who we’re going sign or how hard we’re going to try to sign that person,” Lacob answered. “What I will say is, he was born to be a Warrior. And we love him. I certainly think today as we look at our team, he’s part of our core and can’t imagine it being otherwise.”"
Green has been a big part of the Warriors’ success so far this season, but a lot of the success has been built over years of hard work from the Warriors’ front office. Lacob credited the Warriors’ front office for making great choices with draft picks and in other areas, such as bringing certain intangibles to the Warriors’ roster.
For example, Lacob believes one of the Warriors’ greatest assets is their size, as he pointed out to Kawakami.
"So it’s been part of a plan to be big, to have depth at the center position, which I think we do, to have size at each respective position on the court, prototypical size–Klay Thompson, a prototypical 6-7 shooting guard.We’re a big team. Steph Curry’s our smallest and he’s 6-3, he’s not even small. Shaun Livingston, our backup point guard, is big."
In addition to their size, Lacob discussed another valuable asset for the Warriors. As an organization, the Warriors have focused on the importance of high character, on and off the court, which is incredibly admirable and impressive.
Lacob spoke about this with Kawakami too:
"We’ve been committed to a certain culture and character of individual that we’ve brought in here. I think everyone who has met players on our team would know that we don’t put up with much in terms of bad characters.I think we’re very proud of the kind of guys we have around here and the guys love playing with each other; it’s a tremendous sense of camaraderie."
The Warriors have had tremendous success this season, but the foundation has been built over the course of a few seasons, behind hard work from Lacob and the rest of the Warriors management team.