Steinmetz: Guber, Lacob Talk of Change

Nov. 15, 2010STEINMETZ ARCHIVEWARRIORSPAGEWARRIORSVIDEO
Matt SteinmetzCSNBayArea.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- As I watched Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, the new Warriors' owners, address about 100 media members at a press luncheon on Monday afternoon, I couldn't help thinking one thing:Chris Cohan would never do this.I don't know if Lacob and Guber are going to be any better at running the Warriors than Cohan, who went to the playoffs just one time in 16 NBA seasons, but they'll certainly be different.At least that's the way they're talking. Of course, that remains to be seen.To say that Cohan didn't like the limelight would be an understatement. But Lacob and Guber are very different when it comes to that. Lacob is more than comfortable in front of a microphone and camera.And Guber? Hey, he's a Hollywood guy; he thrives in front of those things.It seems apparent that Lacob and Guber are going to be visible, accessible and involved. Heck, Lacob already has shown he's going to be a factor. He did so by initiating the Jeremy Lin signing and being the impetus behind firing Don Nelson.Lacob said his son, Kirk, will be the team's director of basketball operations.Cohan went years without speaking to the media. It's doubtful Lacob or Guber will go a month without some kind of statement or weigh-in on the state of the team.Lacob already is talking about big moves, winning championships and a possible arena in downtown San Francisco. Guber wants to know how to get more kids to games at Oracle and spoke of improving the quality of the in-house entertainment during games.Lacob already has been sitting in the first row for most of the Warriors' home games -be they regular season or preseason. Cohan rarely made his way down to his courtside seats, instead preferring to stay more secluded in his luxury suite above halfcourt.During a 45-minute question and answer period, Lacob stressed that this was a "new day" for the Warriors. And seeing he and Guber on-stage, taking questions and answering them, it sure seemed that way.And yet it was impossible not to notice Lacob and Guber were escorted into Epic Restaurant on the Embarcadero by team president Robert Rowell. And all of the team's top level executives were present.Bob Fitzgerald, the Warriors' play-by-play announcer, presided over the day's proceedings.Lacob talked of "assessing" and "evaluating" and "taking some time," to get a full grasp of the lay of the land. That's how he addressed personnel changes and front-office changes.So, yeah, on the one hand, there was a tangible feeling of change with the Warriors. Lacob and Guber are nothing like Cohan, that much is obvious.But what everyone wants to know is whether they're different than Cohan when it comes to running the team.
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