Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob has made it known several times in the past that he has interest in buying the MLB’s Oakland Athletics from embattled owner John Fisher.
At a recent press conference announcing his ownership in a yet-to-be-named WNBA franchise in Northern California, Lacob doubled down on that in a big way.
“We’ve over the years been obviously very interested,” Lacob said, via The Mercury News. “You all know that I’ve said it, and if for whatever reason [Fisher] decided it wasn’t going to work, sure, we might be interested.”
Lacob had approached Fisher years back, reportedly offering up a stake in the Warriors in the process. The A’s owner declined those overtures.
All of this is on the frontburner with MLB set to vote on potential A’s relocation to Las Vegas after the government in Nevada approved public financing for a new stadium right off the strip.
The backdrop here includes fans in Northern California calling on Fisher to sell due to both his flirtation with Southern Nevada and his cheap ways as owner. The A’s are coming off their worst season since 1916, posting a 50-112 record.
As for Lacob and the Golden State Warriors, he joined “silent partner” Peter Guber in purchasing the NBA franchise for $450 million back in 2010. Since then, the Warriors have won four titles. According to Forbes, the organization is worth a whopping $7 billion. The A’s are said to be worth just $1.18 billion, a number what will drastically change once they do eventually relocate to Las Vegas.
Related: Golden State Warriors standing in Sportnaut’s NBA power rankings
Regardless, there is no indication that John Fisher is going to sell the A’s despite interest from multiple parties. It’s led to a nice amount of drama between the GAP fortune heir and other owners around the MLB world.
Based on Lacob’s commitment to the Warriors and Fisher’s lack of commitment to the A’s, these owners would more than be happy if a transaction were in the cards over the short term. It just doesn’t seem to be in the cards.
