Golden State Warriors: Life with a New Owner

With the impending sale of the Golden State Warriors, I thought it would be fun to imagine life with the new owner.

Lets start with the culture.

Winning.  Wow. What a concept!

Most fans are so far removed with the concept of ownership of a major sports team that they forget that this might not be priority number one.

Case in point: Chris Cohan.  

The Warriors have enjoyed the fourth largest media market and one of the steadiest attendance levels in all of sports.  Warriors owner Chris Cohan used that fan loyalty to line his pockets with money, while producing only one playoff team since 1993.

With the new owner in place, we can fantasize about a commitment to winning. This would be a culture that focuses on basketball and about basketball people in roles that allow them to make basketball decisions, not accounting.  

Who wants another organization that is akin to Robert "Stephen Jackson's my man" Rowell and Don "Where's my paycheck"  Nelson?

Give me some Jerry West, some Gregg Popovich, or even Chris Mullin.  

Give me guys who love to eat, drink, and sleep ball.

Don't give me the corporate lackeys who are trying to climb over one another to get the corner office and a timeshare of the corporate jet by cutting costs and squeezing people.

Basketball decisions need to be made by basketball people in order to win.

Lets move on to a coach.

Can they get a coach who isn't so tired by the idea of...you know...coaching?

Don Nelson decided to "groom" his replacement by allowing Keith Smart to coach the defense and most practices this year.  This left ample time for Nelson to get in naps so he could be at his best for his poker games with Willie Nelson.

How about a hungry veteran coach that will be able to groom his players to fulfill their potential?  

Someone that is actually interested in developing his players instead of looking for the next journeyman player to fill spots because he is too tired to coach someone?

Imagine being able to develop draft picks and not have to sign middle level free agents, then using the available money to sign a superstar?  Wow, what a concept!  

This leads me to the next fantasy—a superstar.

Not since Chris Webber have the Warriors had a true superstar.  Baron Davis was the best player on a hot team, but he was not a bona fide superstar.  

Superstars will not come to Golden State because this franchise is dysfunctional and has almost zero chance of breaking into the top eight in the conference.

A new culture of winning, with a front office built for basketball and a coach that works for the team's development and cohesion will attract superstars.  

Oh, what would it be like to have the likes of James, Wade, and Bryant consider Oakland as a destination spot?

First a new owner, then we can start dreaming again.

Don't let the door slam against you on the way out Cohan, you will not be missed.

Slug