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Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob’s short interaction with a fan via email has now gone viral after it was made public following a 136-131 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night.
As a result, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was asked about Lacob’s email exchange with fan Justin Dutari, which he didn’t see as a major issue.
“Not a big deal,” Kerr told reporters about the email exchange, via ESPN. “Not concerned about anything like that.”
Dutari sent the email to Lacob critiquing the Warriors’ play, saying that the team needs a “real second option,” while believing veteran All-Star Jimmy Butler’s “tools are being underutilized.”
“I am so frustrated,” Dutari’s email concluded, via ESPN.
It’s not uncommon for fans to voice their frustrations with teams to the owner, but it usually doesn’t warrant a response. This time, it did, as Dutari published the interaction on Reddit, and the Warriors later confirmed that it was Lacob who responded.
“You can’t be as frustrated as me. I am working on it. It’s complicated,” Lacob responded in the email. “Style of play. Coaches [sic] desires regarding players. League trends. Jimmy is not the problem.”
Based on Lacob’s response, Kerr was surely going to be asked about it considering the “coaches desires regarding players” portion of it.
But Kerr is clearly sweeping this one under the rug and continuing to focus on the team.
The Warriors find themselves 13-14 entering Tuesday, which puts them eighth in the Western Conference. Kerr is also in the final year of his contract, and he announced before the season that he wasn’t seeking a contract extension. He wanted to see how the season played out before talking about his future with the team.
Kerr’s work with the Warriors has led to four NBA Finals victories since the 2014-15 season, though the team has not made it past the Western Conference Semifinals since they won it all in 2022.
Kerr has been firm running his team’s offensive play around Steph Curry and Draymond Green, given their chemistry together. However, some argue there should be change considering the younger pieces on the roster.
“We’re all frustrated,” Kerr added. “Joe is frustrated. I’m frustrated. Steph and [Green], everybody’s frustrated. This is kind of how the league works. I hate when people are going to post private emails. Imagine if everyone’s emails were just publicly posted, how tough that would be to live our lives.”
Lacob and GM Mike Dunleavy continue to support Kerr despite the current results this season, while Curry has also expressed desire to have Kerr remain on staff past this year.
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