After another gut-punch loss for the Golden State Warriors - this time a 136-131 defeat at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers - one frustrated fan decided to go straight to the top. And to his surprise, team owner Joe Lacob answered.
The fan in question is Justin Dutari, a 27-year-old Warriors diehard originally from Panama who fell in love with the team during the early 2010s, drawn in by the magic of Stephen Curry at Oracle Arena. After watching Curry drop a jaw-dropping 48 points in Sunday’s loss - and still come up short - Dutari had seen enough.
He fired off a direct email to Lacob with a simple plea: *“Please do something about this team.” *
Dutari wasn’t just venting - he had opinions. In his message, he questioned whether Curry would have to score 50 every night just for the Warriors to have a shot, and he pointed out what he sees as roster construction issues.
One of his biggest gripes? That Jimmy Butler - recently acquired and expected to be a major piece - is being played out of position.
He also made the case that the team needs a true center to anchor the middle.
“Our roster is, like, not very well constructed at the moment,” Dutari said in a follow-up interview.
He figured the email would get lost in a spam folder. Instead, just two minutes later, Lacob responded.
“You can’t be as frustrated as me,” Lacob wrote. “I am working on it.
It’s complicated. Style of play.
Coaches desires regarding players. League trends.
Jimmy is not the problem.”
Signed simply “Joe,” the message came with the unmistakable “Sent from my iPhone” tag - and it quickly went viral after Dutari posted about it on Reddit. While some questioned its authenticity, a Warriors team spokesperson confirmed the reply was indeed from Lacob himself.
Now, let’s unpack that response, because while it may seem like a polite brush-off on the surface, there’s more going on between the lines.
Lacob’s message directly addresses the Jimmy Butler criticism, defending the veteran star and making it clear he’s not the issue. But it’s the rest of the note - particularly the mention of “coaches desires regarding players” - that carries some weight.
That line echoes the ongoing internal tension within the Warriors’ organization, especially when it comes to Jonathan Kuminga. Lacob has long been one of Kuminga’s biggest supporters, vocally backing the young wing through contract drama and flashes of untapped potential. But head coach Steve Kerr has a different vision - one that requires Kuminga to adapt his game to better fit alongside Curry and within the Warriors’ motion-heavy system.
At the start of the season, it looked like Kuminga might finally have carved out a role. But lately, he’s found himself back on the outside looking in.
He didn’t log a single minute in Sunday’s loss. And while the Warriors can’t trade him until January 15 due to offseason contract rules, all signs are pointing toward a potential move once that window opens.
Lacob’s brief but telling email may be the clearest public signal yet of the internal friction - not just about Kuminga, but about the broader direction of the team. It’s a reminder that the Warriors, even as they try to squeeze one more run out of the Curry era, are navigating a delicate balance between the present and the future, between the front office’s vision and the coaching staff’s reality.
As for Dutari, he’s not looking to become Lacob’s pen pal. He got his reply, and that was enough.
“I’m not gonna bother him no more,” Dutari said. “My goal was to just get some frustration out of me.”
Mission accomplished - and in the process, he may have shined a light on some of the deeper issues bubbling beneath the surface in Golden State.