Kurtenbach — Warriors’ jersey sponsorship pact lucrative.
Green touts the way ownership keeps its together
OAKLAND >> The two teammates stared at each other’s jerseys in awe. Moments later, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala stood up and showed off their customary white and blue uniform for everyone else to admire.
The familiar image featured a new twist: after agreeing to a three-year, $60 million deal with Rakuten, the Warriors will wear a 2.5-by-2.5 inch badge of the Japanese tech company. After Warriors and Rakuten officials spoke glowingly of their new partnership, Iguodala addressed how it impacted him besides his uniform’s design.
Iguodala suggested such a deal indirectly ties into the Warriors willingly signing him this summer to a three-year, $48 million deal.
“There’s a premium on great brands coming together,” Iguodala said as a he stared at Warriors general Bob Myers. While Green belted in laughter, Myers shook his head out of amusement.
“This is what I was dealing with,” Myers said. Moments earlier, Myers jokingly teased Iguodala for his free agency becoming “somewhat difficult.”
“The better the player, the more they cost to be honest. They deserve it, by the way, and so we want to give it to them,” Myers
said. “The more revenue for the league, the more revenue for the players, and the thing that’s exciting about a partnership like this is the whole NBA benefits. The players benefit, the ownership benefits.”
The rest of the NBA might not feel the same way.
The Clippers traded Chris Paul because he didn’t want to be there, while the Houston Rockets acquired him in hopes it could put a dent in the Warriors’ championship armor.
Indiana shipped Paul George because he had no plans to stay there, while the Oklahoma City Thunder acquired him in hopes a one-year rental would lead to a long-term commitment.
And at Kyrie Irving’s request, the Cleveland Cavaliers traded him to Boston for Isaiah Thomas partly because Irving reportedly no longer wanted to play with LeBron James.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say it surprised me. I would say more than anything, it’s the respect level I have for him,” Green said of Irving.
“That’s tough to do. I don’t think people take into account that he put so much pressure on himself by doing that. But the willingness to do that, knowing the pressure that comes with that and saying, ‘I’m ready to do it; let’s do it.’ That’s what stood out to me more than anything.”
It stood out to Green partly because of the obvious implications. The Warriors beat the Cavaliers in the 2017 NBA Finals in five games, both rectifying the previous year’s loss and securing their second league championship in the past three years. But Green also found Irving revealing “a lot about who he is as a competitor and his character.”
“Most people would probably say, ‘LeBron is the greatest player in the world,’” Green said. “I don’t say this in disrespect to LeBron. But speaking of Kyrie, to say, ‘I don’t want to play with him no more. I want to do my own thing.’ You have to deliver with that. He’s basically saying, ‘I’m ready to deliver.’ That’s big. That says a lot.”
It also says a lot that the Warriors kept their championship roster intact, while also filling positional needs. The Warriors re-signed Stephen Curry to a record fiveyear, $201 million contract. While Kevin Durant willingly took a relative paycut in his two-year deal, the Warriors rewarded Iguodala. While retaining Shaun Livingston, Zaza Pachulia, David West and JaVale McGee, the Warriors also added bench scoring (Nick Young) and backcourt depth (Omri Casspi). Oh, and the Warriors still have Green and Klay Thompson.
“The most important thing is to keep the core together, especially for a championship team. We were able to do that. I think it’s special,” Green said, before crediting general manager Bob Myers and coowners Job Lacob and Peter Guber.
“It says a lot about Bob as a GM and getting things done and our ownership group.”
The Warriors believe business deals, including their latest one with Rakuten, will help them remain special.
Yet, the Warriors stress their roster-building strategy does not hinge on dollars and cents.
Case in point, Warriors chief marketing officer Chip Bowers said the team declined a bigger financial deal so it could sign with Rakuten. The Warriors won two NBA titles in the past three seasons partly because they kept and bolstered their championship roster in hopes for more champagne celebrations.
“It’s never been about making a profit,” Myers said.
“It’s been about trying to win championships, and for someone like me in my position, that’s the greatest gift you can have is go try and win, what do you need to go do that. But certainly partnerships like this do help, and hopefully we can do as many as we can.”