Warrior Nation, Relax for a Second

The news that the little wanker Chris Cohan plans to sell the Warriors has been some of the best news I've gotten since KFC re-introduced the Tower Burger. For those who don't know, it has chicken, lettuce, cheese, special sauce, and a hash brown. Heaven. I think I'm going to go get one after I finish writing this.

Anyway, the rumour that Oracle Svengali Larry Ellison plans to buy the team has just added to our excitement. While Cohan wasn't as unwilling to spend money as believed (he just never spent it right), we all hope that Ellison can be to the Bay Area what Mark Cuban is to the Mavericks—a billionaire owner who doesn't care what the cost, he just wants to win. Ellison's reputation for ruthlessness and being highly-driven (How else do you become richer than God and Bruce Wayne put together?) only makes us believe even more that he is our saviour if he chooses to buy the franchise.

However, there is a cautionary tale in all this.

Donald Sterling.

What does that old racist sod have to do with the Warriors? He provides an example of the kind of billionaire owner every team hopes never to have—obsessed with the bottom line, penny-pinching, willing to let good players go, etc. It's not like Sterling couldn't afford to build a contender—his net worth has eight more digits than mine right now which can buy you a pretty good team—it's just that, until quite recently (signing Baron Davis, planning to be a 2010 silly season player) he was more concerned with turning a profit than winning. While Ellison doesn't need to make more money, it's just as possible he sees the Warriors as another potential investment, especially considering the loyalty of their fans (crowds are unlikely to fall). Which is only a bad thing if it gets in the way of providing a good product for the fans and winning.

So, to my fellow members of Warrior Nation: Let's celebrate Chris Cohan finally buggering off into the sunset. But let's not get too excited until we're back in the playoffs and sending Kobe Bryant empty-handed back down the Pacific Coast Highway.