"Man," Guber said, "we got to do this."
And with that, the franchise's new vision started to come into focus.
The Warriors, NBA Commissioner David Stern and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee officially announced Tuesday that the Bay Area's only NBA team will try to move back to scenic San Francisco. The earliest the team could leave Oakland would be 2017, when it can escape its lease at Oracle Arena.
"We can turn this dream into a goal by giving it urgency," said Guber, the movie mogul and Mandalay Entertainment's chief executive. "We will play here in 2017. Take that as a promise that we will fulfill. There will be a world-class entertainment venue. We're all-in."
The still-in-the-works project has a spot picked out that few can match.
The Warriors unveiled some of the plans for the estimated $500 million, privately funded arena on a sun-soaked day at Piers 30-32. The waterfront site near the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge — one of the most beautiful views in one of the world's most beautiful cities — is just blocks from the Giants' ballpark and the downtown financial district.
"This natural amphitheater is second to none anywhere in the world," California Lt. Gov. and former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said.
A city fire department boat shot off water cannons and San Francisco-themed songs blared in the background at the end of an event that was all about smiles — and not shovels — with the project several years and road blocks away from reality.
Under the proposed deal, the city will provide the site and the Warriors will repair the crumbling piers at a cost of $75 million to $100 million. There will be no new taxes and no money from the city's general fund.
"Absolutely, they have the money to do it," Stern said of Golden State's ownership group.
Little else about the financing plan has been announced — mostly because it's still in its infancy.
Renderings of the building on display show an arena with near floor-to-ceiling windows on the main concourse overlooking the towering Bay Bridge. The team and the city also hope the proposed arena will attract NCAA Tournament games, concerts and other major events.
"We intend to build the most spectacular arena in the country for all Bay Area residents, not just San Francisco, to be proud of," Lacob said. "An architecturally significant building on truly an iconic site. It doesn't get any better than this."
The announcement came as no surprise to Bay Area fans.
Lacob and Guber have been working to return the team to the City by the Bay since buying the Warriors for a league-record $450 million in 2010. The Warriors played in San Francisco from 1962 to 1971 after moving from Philadelphia.
The proposed move is still sure to upset some in Oakland, the center of the area's basketball prowess. Many NBA players past and present — Bill Russell, Gary Payton and Jason Kidd, among scores of others – rose to basketball fame in Oakland.
And one aspect that hasn't been a problem is the fan support.
Despite only one playoff appearance since 1994, the basketball-booming Bay Area has supported the Warriors surprisingly well. The team ranked 10th in attendance this past season, averaging 18,857.
Lacob said the team has more season-ticket holders who live in San Francisco than Oakland and the fan base is split between 50-50 between the East Bay and the San Francisco Peninsula. The franchise — once called the San Francisco Warriors — has no plans to change its name, Lacob said, "until further notice."
"It's the Golden State Warriors and it's going to remain the Golden State Warriors for the foreseeable future and maybe forever," Lacob said. He later added, "It comes down to what the fans want."
The Warriors are counting on the 16-mile drive between the team's outdated Oakland arena and the waterfront site in San Francisco to make all the difference.