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The Golden State Warriors dynastic beginnings were a factor of several stars aligning at the right moment, at the right pace, and with the right pieces. Owner Joe Lacob recalled how it all came about, once he and the new ownership group saw what they had in centerpiece Stephen Curry.
As most successful owners do, Lacob recognized there is a luck factor that comes with building dynasties — one that relies on a gut feeling and the relentless pursuit of greatness:
“There’s no way to know that for sure, but I did feel confident that we were putting the right pieces in place, with the right coach, with Steph,” Lacob said, according to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. “We just happened to be right. We could’ve been wrong. But we happened to be right.”
For Curry, who is currently engulfed in this success, it's much tougher to relish the moments, given that there's more to accomplish — choosing to live in the moment instead of looking back:
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“Well, everything’s crazy in terms of where we started,” Curry said. “So definitely have those moments. But we’re still in it, so can’t really think about it too much, because we’ve got more to get, for sure.”
Yet Lacob can quickly recall the doubts and second thoughts that came with trading the franchise's most popular player and biggest star for someone who had yet to live up to the expectations of being a No. 1 pick in Andrew Bogut:
“The season itself, I think we had a lot of hope,” said Lacob. “And to be honest, I was also very nervous because we had spent two years, although one was the strike-shortened season, and had not made the playoffs. And I knew we needed to make a jump. And I felt we would, but there was no guarantee.
“We’d made the big Monta Ellis (trade) in the spring of 2012 for Bogut, and, of course, what came with that. So I had a lot of hope going into that season, but also nervousness, because we needed to turn the corner. I call it the turn-the-corner year.”
Trading Ellis was a very unpopular decision, but one that ultimately earned Lacob and his team the respect they had sought. It helped turn the boos he once heard when first announced as the new ownership group into the loudest cheers Oracle Arena had heard in its history, as the Warriors made their way to their first title in 40 years in 2015.
