Conversation with Lacob

[cladden]

So a friend of mine ran into Joe Lacob Arrillaga gym and apparently had a good conversation with him. Seeing as none of this is very earth-shattering I hope people won't think I made it up.

First email:

I played at the Arrillaga gym in Menlo Park this afternoon -- the one that replaced the Burgess gym.

Joe Lacob was there hanging out! he was going to play pickup but then his son's showed up, they're like early 20's, and he decided to just watch them and talk to me! We talked Warriors for about 40 minutes. He was pretty open about what he wants to do and the issues with the team, etc. Great conversation, I was impressed.

And I fat-finger my iphone response:

Pretty cook. Did he drop any names fr trades?


He then went on to say this:

Said they are going to go hard after Nene and will probably have to overpay, but that's what you have to do because he's one of the few good bigs available. He also said they have about $20 million to play with including expiring contracts. He claims he asked Wyc Grousbeck, co-owner of the Celtics, about Kendrick Perkins a few days before he was traded. And while he thinks Danny Ainge is a brilliant GM, thinks the Celtics made a terrible trade.

He also said he's amazed at how clueless the media is and shocked by how often they seem to just make stuff up if not grossly misinterpret what he and others say. For example, there have been a lot of reports the Warriors would like to get a strong small forward like Andre Iguodola so Dorell Wright can come off the bench. He says that's a really low priority and he's perfectly fine with Wright as a starter. He also said he never said, as was reported, that the Warriors passed on a trade for Gerald Wallace and the fact that it cost Portland two #1's to get him, shows the Warriors weren't in the bidding because they couldn't match anything like that. He also said Wallace is way too expensive and a black hole on offense; he'd only want him if his salary was a lot lower.

I asked him about Al Thornton versus Maggette and he said the fact Thornton is a lot cheaper makes him more valuable to W's. Also he likes that Thornton can come in for Dorell Wright and provide a very different offensive threat, being a slasher instead of a 3 pt. shooter, makes him a nice weapon. Couple of other things, I'll tell you next time I see you.

Wouldn't mind getting Nene even if I've never thought him to be such a great defender or rebounder but he would be the only legit post scoring threat we've had since Damp's contract season and before that I can't even remember.

[Quazza]

if he thinks we're going to have 20 mill, we're even more **** than any of us could have imagined

[Coxy]

if he thinks we're going to have 20 mill, we're even more **** than any of us could have imagined

lol, damn straight. Wh're going to have to overpay for Nene huh? Looking forward to the max deal we offer him this offseason, somehow.

[Left*My*Heart]

We are going to have to dump Monta or Biedrins to offer Nene the kind of money it is going to take to pry him away from Denver.

I also think the new CBA will hurt our efforts as well.

[FireNellieQuick]

if he thinks we're going to have 20 mill, we're even more **** than any of us could have imagined

lol, damn straight. Wh're going to have to overpay for Nene huh? Looking forward to the max deal we offer him this offseason, somehow.

S&T? You are assuming that you can only use money to overpay..

The Warriors should be about 20m under the lux tax line, which I thought we already determined was Lacob's limit..

[Left*My*Heart]

Hopefully Myers has the connection with the Denver front office to swing an S&T and Nene wants to play for Golden State. A lot of selling is going to take place. I like our chances better now than I did with just Riley.

[Sleepy51]

Loose lips sink ships.

I don't need to know this information Lacob. I need you to get a deal done.

[xRapHeadx]

Nene would be a huge upgrade over Beans, obviously. But he's a step back rebounding wise(not blocking out Perk in what was the back breaking tip in game 1)

[don nelson]

if he thinks we're going to have 20 mill, we're even more **** than any of us could have imagined

lol, damn straight. Wh're going to have to overpay for Nene huh? Looking forward to the max deal we offer him this offseason, somehow.

S&T? You are assuming that you can only use money to overpay..

The Warriors should be about 20m under the lux tax line, which I thought we already determined was Lacob's limit..

That is exactly what Lacob is referring to and Joe has made that same statement in the VIP room at Oracle many times to his season ticket holders since he bought the Warriors.

[Hunta]

Im a big fan of an Ellis + Biedrins for Darko + Wes Johnson + #20 deal.

Not that Darko is all so great, but we're covered even if we don't get Nene in FA, as Udoh/Darko is pretty solid tandem at Center. If we did get Nene then we've got a frontcourt of Lee/Udoh and Nene/Darko, which is damned good.

If we picked SG Alec Burks at #11 and PG Nolan Smith at #20 then we'd be pretty good.

PG- Curry-N.Smith-Lin
SG- Burks-R.Williams
SF- Wes Johnson-D.Wright-Thornton
PF- Lee-Udoh
C - Nene-Darko-Nameless Ogre

[KR4]

Loose lips sink ships.

Strait outa WW2 propoganda posters.

Nicely done.

[floppymoose]

He also said he never said, as was reported, that the Warriors passed on a trade for Gerald Wallace and the fact that it cost Portland two #1's to get him, shows the Warriors weren't in the bidding because they couldn't match anything like that. He also said Wallace is way too expensive and a black hole on offense; he'd only want him if his salary was a lot lower.

This is part of the "poor pitiful me" act that is getting a little tiring.

Here's what his comments have amounted to:
No we didn't pass on a trade for Gerald, because we didn't have anything Charlotte wanted.
But if we had been in the running, we would have passed, because we don't like Gerald's game.

And then he doesn't understand why people who think Wallace could help the Warriors are upset with him. "It's all the media misquoting me!"

[KR4]

He also said he never said, as was reported, that the Warriors passed on a trade for Gerald Wallace and the fact that it cost Portland two #1's to get him, shows the Warriors weren't in the bidding because they couldn't match anything like that. He also said Wallace is way too expensive and a black hole on offense; he'd only want him if his salary was a lot lower.

This is part of the "poor pitiful me" act that is getting a little tiring.

Totes Mcgotes.

[Hunta]

Why can't both things be true? The trade rumor was false. And he didn't like dealing for Gerald Wallace anyways. Makes sense.

[510TWSS]

With that being read, Nene would be fine with me. Hopefully no more than 4-61.