Who Wants To See A Billionaire?

Just so we're clear, Warriors fans are currently pinning their hopes and dreams on a guy whose name plus the word "asshole" yields 10,800 Google hits. (We had a screenshot here originally, but try it for yourself!) You really have to tip your hat to Cohan; as we've mentioned before, not many people could turn Larry friggin' Ellison into a white knight.

Anyway, Earth's fourth-richest dude will be sitting courtside for Monday's Cavs game. Matt Steinmetz reports that Ellison has not only never attended a Warriors game, he's never even been in the arena that bears the name of the company he founded. He's going to the game with his nephew! Awww. And the speculation is running hot and heavy that a sale may soon be in the offing; Ellison's interest in buying the team has long been rumored, and Kawakami reported that Cohan and Ellison had serious discussions over the summer.

I'd be all for a new owner. Ellison, while a douche, would at least be a different douche, and though I don't think he'd be a panacea, I doubt he could be much worse. But I'm gonna say there's not much behind this visit, for two reasons:

1) The value of the franchise has only gone down since July. Attendance has been flagging, the on-court product stinks, and the brand is more battered than ever. Several of the company's most valuable assets -- Monta and Maggette, in particular -- have appreciated in value since the summer, and Jack's contract has been cleared from the books. But Biedrins's injury makes him a somewhat dicier proposition than he was before, Curry is not the impact rookie many hoped he'd be, and Randolph, excellent production notwithstanding, has not lived up to the excessive hype of the summer. We spent the summer hoping one of these young guys would take a big step forward, and none of them has done it clearly enough to get the fans excited and spending money again. Bottom line, if you didn't want to buy this team in July, you're sure as hell not going to want to now. And there's no indication that Cohan's willing to budge on his asking price.

2) The official explanation for Ellison's visit makes perfect sense. The Warriors braintrust is out in front of this story. As a matter of fact, Robert Rowell's even quoted in the Steinmetz piece that (as far as I can tell) broke it, saying, "I wouldn’t read anything into [Ellison's attendance]. He’s the CEO of the company that is our biggest corporate sponsor. Of course we’re going to roll out the red carpet for him.” Rowell also mentions that he (Rowell) canceled a trip to New York just to attend this game. Steinmetz says that Rowell "confirmed" the story; if anything, it almost seems like Rowell may have leaked the story.

Now, I'm not going to tell you that Robert Rowell is incapable of lying; when he tells you not to read into something, that doesn't necessarily mean you shouldn't. But it's not the Cohan/Rowell style to comment on smoke when there's actual fire behind it. If some sort of announcement really was imminent, I don't think we'd have heard anything from them yet. This is a notoriously tight-lipped organization. Why would Rowell go on record with a phrase like "roll out the red carpet", and acknowledge that he's changing his schedule just to accommodate the guy?

The only rational way to make sense of these tea leaves is to take them at face value. A big sponsor is coming to town; Cohan and Rowell are clumsily and nakedly kissing his feet in anticipation. This sponsor may also be interested in buying the team, but nothing about the handling of this suggests that that's soon in the offing. We should all hope for an entertaining win tomorrow night, but we should not expect deliverance.