Warriors Owner Joe Lacob Made a Mistake Not Trading for Gerald Wallace

Joe Lacob must like the taste of crow.

First he came out and said that real fans are only season ticket holders. Funny, all the Golden State Warrior season ticket holders I know can hardly give their tickets away right now. He quickly backed off that statement. Then came this beauty.

In referring to the deal the Portland Trail Blazers struck to acquire Gerald Wallace, saying that he had a similar deal on the table, Lacob said, “We could’ve gotten Gerald Wallace—he’s not somebody we thought would make us better. I really believe that. He just doesn’t fit for us. He’s good defensive player, rebounder, certain things that do fit, certain things that don’t.”

How could adding Gerald Wallace by trading away Dan Gadzuric and Brandan Wright not make them a better team?

If he meant that Wallace doesn’t fit in because he plays defense, then yes, Gerald Wallace doesn’t fit in with this team.

I said in the past that the Warriors did fine by not doing anything at the trade deadline, but that was before I heard that quote. I didn’t know they could have had Gerald Wallace for two expiring deals and a Happy Meal.

Lacob really dropped the ball on this one, not only by not trading for Wallace, but then coming out and saying that he could have. Adding Wallace would have given the Warriors the defensive-minded presence they needed without breaking up their core players.

Wallace has the perfect game for this Warriors' system, and he is at his best when he is on the run. The Charlotte Bobcats, under Larry Brown, were a half-court team and didn't really utilize Wallace so he could max out his potential.

He would have given the Warriors the energy they needed on their recent losing road trip and could have turned some of those losses into wins. The biggest reason he would help is because he doesn't need the ball to be effective, unlike most of their current players. We can only imagine how many alley-oops Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry would have thrown to him.

Wallace would have been able to guard the opposing team's best player every night, taking a lot of pressure off David Lee and relegating Andris Biedrins to the bench. That last reason alone would have made the Warriors a much better team.

His defensive energy could have inspired the whole team to play better. The Warriors desperately need that. Even if Wallace didn't score one point, he is the type of guy that can still have an impact on a game, which would be a perfect fit since we know the Warriors don't have any problems scoring points.

That is what could have been, and now the Warriors have to face him in their own conference.

If Joe Lacob didn't want to trade for Wallace, that's his call, but why would you come out and say he wouldn't have made the Warriors better, or that you could have added a very talented player for nothing to a fanbase that is desperately seeking wins and changes?

With an uncertain future for the NBA, the expiring contracts the Warriors have that under the current collective bargaining agreement would have created cap space may be useless depending on what new agreement is negotiated.

If he were able to add a player like Wallace, wouldn't that have been less of a gamble than expecting cap space that may not be there and that someone would actually come and play for the Warriors under their own volition?

Lacob said that he is focusing on acquiring assets for the future. Well, what would be a better asset for the future: Gerald Wallace or an expired contract that's worth about as much as the paper the contract is on?

Even if Wallace didn't work out, why not just turn around and trade him? He is only 28 and able to opt out of his deal after next year; wouldn't that have been a valuable asset? Facing a weak free-agent class this summer, teams looking to improve would most likely have to do that in a trade.

Joe Lacob has said that he wants change and that he is making himself available to the media as much as he can. With this latest move and other remarks that he has made, maybe he shouldn't be making himself so available.