S.F. arena, team, staff — it’s all coming together
An edited transcript of the conversation between Warriors owner Joe Lacob and KNBR’s Brian Murphy and Paul McCaffrey: Murphy: I want to talk about a couple things. One, the (new San Francisco) arena. I was listening to Tim Roye on KNBR ... and he said, “We’ll be there in 2017.” So, Joe, are we going to be there in 2017? Lacob: Well, 2018 is the official date and I think the more likely date. We’ve said if we can try to get there earlier we would. This is San Francisco; need I say more? Murphy: But you guys got over a huge hurdle by buying the land right? Lacob: Yeah, we did. We just tried to take as many hurdles out of the process as possible. We’re not getting one dime from public funds, which is obviously unusual in sports these days. ... We’re doing everything we can to get this thing done. We’re going very, very fast. Murphy: What about losing that vibe at Oracle? Lacob: I think it’s a very fair question, and I worry about it. ... We’re very, very cognizant of it. We have an incredible vibe. ... So we have to do everything we can to keep that. I think a lot of our fans will stay with us. We have a very good product and the new arena I will tell you from a design standpoint is going to feel very small and intimate because of the way we’re designing it: one row of luxury suites — even Oakland has two currently — so the ceiling will be lower. It’s going to feel tight, exciting, all of that. Murphy: Draymond Green has been one of the breakout stories of the year, and of course his contract comes up, and everybody wants to know, will the Warriors do what it takes to keep him even if it means you have to go into the luxury tax?
Lacob: Well, I’ve stated it over and over again, and I have to be careful what I do say because the league has rules about this kind of thing. We can’t imagine Draymond not being a part of this team. He’s been called “the heartbeat” by Steve Kerr and he is one of our favorites, absolute favorites. He’s a great guy. He has added such a dimension to this team. I think you can rest assured that we’ll do whatever it takes.
Murphy: Speaking of the guy who called him “the heartbeat,” Steve Kerr. You made a move, some people said, “Wait, you just got rid of guy who won 51 games?” There were some bruised feelings.
Lacob: Mark ( Jackson) did a great job for us. It was a very difficult decision among certain dimensions. But we knew what we needed to do to go to that next level and we really thought Steve Kerr was going to be a great coach. ... I think he has been everything we could have expected and more. I’m absolutely elated with the job he’s done, with the staff he picked. ... I’m a very fortunate guy. Got an incredible president in Rick Welts — I think the best in the league. Bob Myers, I think the best GM in the league — he is a young, superstar GM. And Steve Kerr is fantastic. I don’t think he’s getting enough credit for the high pressurepacked situation he came into and (he) has delivered.