The bar is lower in Oakland.
Monta Ellis only played in 11 playoff games in his six years with the Golden State Warriors, but apparently that was enough for fans to deem him untouchable. At the jersey retirement ceremony on Monday for Warriors great Chris Mullin, fans made clear their disapproval of last week’s trade that sent Ellis to Milwaukee by mercilessly booing owner Joe Lacob.
Now, the Warriors have done little in the first two years of Lacob’s ownership to prove that he knows how to run a successful NBA franchise. That is difficult to contest. Using the one-shot “amnesty” provision on Charlie Bell instead of $9 million man Andris Biedrins was one strike; failing to sign DeAndre Jordan and settling for Kwame Brown was strike two; trading for Stephen Jackson, even if the Warriors did turn around and immediately trade Jackson to San Antonio, may have been strike three.
And Lacob’s choice to speak after Mullin, after the emotion of the ceremony had already hit its peak, reeked of a tone-deaf CEO trying to steal some of the star athlete’s shine for himself.
So, normally, Warriors fans would be well within their rights to boo away. This night was about honoring Mullin, though, and wasn’t quite the forum to their express displeasure over trading away a slightly above average two-guard who was never the leading scorer on a playoff team.
