By Brian Murphy
I say this with love and respect, because we are all one big Bay Area sports family but:
Man. Some of y’all are nuts.
I’m talking to my Golden State Warriors crowd, specifically.
Either my social media algorithm is currently including only the 2026 Roundball Lunatic Fringe, or there is a legitimately sizable chunk of Warriors fans enraged — nay, apoplectic even — over the way Joe Lacob and Mike Dunleavy are running the basketball club.
What in the name of Joey Hassett is going on here?
Must we strap all of you to a chair, eyes pried open ‘Clockwork (Thunder Era) Orange’-style, and watch game footage from — oh, shoot, I dunno, how about April 18, 2001, when the Dubs closed out a 17-win season with a 91-85 loss to the Vancouver Grizzlies?
Corie Blunt played 26 minutes in that one. Scored six points. Was a minus 19.
I exaggerate to make my point: Until Lacob and Dunleavy run this thing into a ditch, and churn out five consecutive lottery teams, I am giving Warriors management and the franchise in general a massively wide berth of understanding.
From what I can gather, the Roundball Lunatic Fringe believe Lacob and Dunleavy have committed a crime against humanity by failing to land Giannis Antetokounmpo or Jaylen Brown or LeBron James. Perhaps it all hurts worse because Bob Myers, now advising the Philadelphia 76ers, landed two of those dudes. I get it, to a point. But my rebuttal to that argument is two words: Jerry. West.
Carry on.
We can healthily debate whether the draft picks and contracts would be worth those moves. Perhaps more importantly, we can debate whether those teams or players were interested in the Warriors’ offers.
But what is beyond debate is that Lacob is quite literally either the second-greatest owner in Bay Area sports history, or tied with Eddie DeBartolo for first. I am willing to entertain Al Davis arguments in our next round of beers, sure.
The man bought one of the most woebegone franchises in American sports, promised a championship, got laughed out of the room, got booed at halftime of the Chris Mullin jersey retirement ceremony, THEN DELIVERED FOUR FREAKING CHAMPIONSHIPS, THE SAME AMOUNT JOE MONTANA AND RONNIE LOTT WON AND MORE THAN TIM LINCECUM, BUSTER POSEY AND MADISON BUMGARNER WON.
He also built Chase Center, and while the Coliseum Arena-heads can fondly recall the old barn off 880 the way Candlestick-heads romanticize the whipping winds in Hunter’s Point, Chase is gorgeous, state of the art and guarantees the Warriors a plush home in San Francisco — where they played from 1962-71, of course.
Lacob built a billion-dollar arena on his own dime!
Shout out Balhalla.
Eddie D, while a living legend, never got that stadium built. Dammit.
The Lacob hate — again, it could just be my algorithm — is just short of astounding. I’m not saying everything he’s done has been golden, but my dudes and dudettes: what are we doing here?
Now, to the question at hand: have Lacob and Dunleavy betrayed Steph Curry’s last five years, thus depriving him of a coveted fifth NBA title?
Even that argument, I don’t buy.
You can debate the merits of the Chris Paul trade, or the merits of the Jimmy Butler trade, or the merits of the Kristaps Porzingis trade, but those are big moves made with big ideas in mind. Maybe you hated the moves. That’s fine. But to assign neglect or apathy to the moves is quite wrong-headed, in my not-so-humble Jock Blog opinion.
If you are despairing that it is quite likely that Steph Curry won’t win another title, I come to you from the back nine of this trail of tears we call life to remind you that legendary careers and team dynasties come to an end, as I was just saying to the rosters of the 2017-2026 San Francisco Giants.
Kevin Durant left. It’s what he does. Klay Thompson’s injury changed his career. Draymond Green punched Jordan Poole. James Wiseman did not turn out to be Nate Thurmond. Jonathan Kuminga . . . well, Jonathan Kuminga.
It’s hard out here for an NBA dynasty. The Jayson Tatum-Brown Celtics won one before disbanding. Nikola Jokic has one, and the road is tough for another. In Kobe Bryant’s last six seasons, the Lakers only reached the Western Conference semifinals twice.
And so Lacob and Dunleavy tried for LeBron, and got rebuffed. Lacob and Dunleavy tried for Giannis, and got rebuffed. Maybe they didn’t try hard enough for Jaylen Brown. We can discuss.
But the Butler trade alone should end any discussion of whether or not the Warriors “betrayed” Steph. As should the nature of sports. As should the fact that we even had this dynasty in the first place.
I love you all. But some of y’all are nuts.
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