New co-owner Joe Lacob just did an interview on KNBR with Ralph and Tom. One of the interesting tidbits in it was about what he’s going to do with the coach. But he has a bit of a a dilemma.
Lacob said what everybody else already knows: the Nellie era is done. And Lacob said in the interview that he wants a young coach in the new era (he listed Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks as an example). But the question he has to answer is when will the era end? Now? Or after this coming season?

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The Warriors, according to agent Mark Bartelstein, have reached an agreement with free agent guard Jannero Pargo.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound combo guard gets a two-year deal at the veteran minimum, which is $1.14 million for him this season ($1.27 million next season). Pargo, 30, is entering his eighth season. He played scarcely for Chicago last season, averaging 5.5 points in 13.2 minutes.
Pargo gives the Warriors a veteran point guard who can score, which is what they lost when they signed and traded C.J. Watson to Chicago. Pargo will compete with Jeremy Lin for minutes behind starter Stephen Curry. Pargo’s presence give the Warriors some reliability at the position while Lin develops.
Pargo’s best years came during a two-season stretch with New Orleans. He was a vital bench player for the Chris Paul-led Hornets, averaging 9.2 in 2006-07 and 8.1 points in 2007-08. He spent 2008-09 overseas.

Wanna know how big time Jeremy Lin is?

Houston Rockets center Yao Ming is having his annual Charity basketball game in Taipei on Wednesday. All-World center Dwight Howard is playing.  So is rookie point guard sensation Brandon Jennings. And NBA’s Most Improved Player Aaron Brooks.

But with a lineup like that already set, Yao Ming felt the need to pick up the phone and call Lin personally to invite him to play. Lin accepted and is leaving tonight. Not bad for a guy who would be doing well to get 10 minutes a game as a rookie.

LIN: “I’m extremly excited and honored to have been personally invited by Yao Ming to participate in his charity game. I can’t wait to meet him and be a part of this special event.”

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I caught up with Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, who is in Las Vegas for Team USA training camp. Curry has a good chance of making team as one of the most consistent shooters in camp. If he does, he will play in the World Championships in Turkey next month. The last Warrior to represent the U.S. was Chris Mullin on the Dream Team.

I got his opinion on various Warriors topics. He did say he is supposed to meet with new owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber on Friday at a Team USA function. He said he hasn’t heard from them yet, but looks forward to talking with him. Tried to find out if he would suggest any front-office moves, but he wouldn’t bite. Anyway, Curry’s take on a few things …

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I got an email from a reader the other day. The amount of exclamation points tipped me off to the excitement of the sender.

The Warriors fan said he emailed new owner Joe Lacob asking Lacob to sign Jeremy Lin, the Palo Alto-bred guard from Harvard. And the fan could not believe that Lacob took the time to respond to his email. So you can imagine how excited that fan will be when he finds out that Lacob not only answered the email, but he also … excitement warning … ANSWERED HIS REQUEST!!!!!

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A team source confirmed reports that C.J. Watson’s days as a Warrior are nearly over.

It’s not official yet. But the combo guard Golden State discovered in the D-League, who grew to be a reliable reserve the last two seasons, is likely heading to Chicago in a sign-and-trade. The Warriors are getting a future pick (I’m told second-round, but haven’t confirmed that) from the Bulls, while Chicago gets a back-up for star guard Derrick Rose. They are still working on details right now.

UPDATE: Watson is signing for $7 million over two years three years, $10.2 million with a team option on the third year, a source said, with the Warriors, who will then trade him to Chicago. If they don’t get a player in return, the Warriors should get a traded player exception.

Sorry for posting this so late. After I wrote my article, at Starbucks of course, I had lunch and went to see Inception with my wife. Somehow, after talking with Peter Guber, new co-owner of the Warriors, I had a craving to go watch a film.

I had a good conversation with Guber, who – much like his partner Joseph Lacob – got back to me practically right away. He sounds like you’d expect a Hollywood producer to sound – quick tongue, modern lingo, emotive tone. Not surprising that a guy with such an extensive resume in film production uses movies as points of reference.

Three things I walked away thinking: he’s passionate about this, he is going to be hands-on in making sure this venture doesn’t fail, and – though they’re not saying – they have a strong idea of how they are going to proceed.
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Our Marcus Thompson II will be on hand Friday at 10 a.m. for a live chat to discuss the ramifications of the Warriors sale. Join us then as Marcus breaks down what the team’s next moves may be.

Warriors fans across the Bay Area are celebrating the departure of 16-year Warriors owner Chris Cohan. After years of begging and pleading and venting, they finally got their wish.

What perhaps has gotten lost in it all is that this happened kind of fast. It was only a year ago, or so, that a certain Mercury News columnist was getting ripped for teasing Warriors fans with talk of Cohan selling. A calendar year. That’s all it took. Here is how it went down.

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UPDATE: Here’s some insight on Joe Lacob from the majority owner of the Boston Celtics, Wyc Grousbeck.

“Joe has been a world class partner at the Celtics, honest, team oriented and knoweledgeable.  He has long wanted to own his own team. He brings business accomplishment and has won in business becuase he is a team builder. His record is identifying and building winning teams. He loves basketball, and is a real competitor. He is a great fit for the Warriors. I told him good luck but we will try to kick his tail for the next few decades.”

I’m already a fan of Joe Lacob. I put in a call to him this morning when I heard he was buying the Warriors. And guess what? He called me back! What a refreshing turn of events, an owner calling back the beat writer for the team! And he gave me a few minutes.

God bless you, Joe Lacob.

OK, enough of my selfish rambling. Here is Lacob in his words, Q&A style. (Save you the agony, he declined comment on who is in and who is out.)

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