The date: July 15, 2010.



Bay Area newspapers receive a curious press release from California’s richest man, Oracle founder and tycoon bon vivant Larry Ellison. It was assumed that Ellison was to buy the long-suffering Warriors from then-owner Chris Cohan. But something had happened.



“Although I was the highest bidder, Chris Cohan decided to sell to someone else,” Ellison’s email read. “In my experience this is a bit unusual. Nonetheless, I wish the Warriors and their fans nothing but success under their new ownership.”



Fans could be forgiven for some confusion. That day’s edition of the San Francisco Chronicle included a story entitled, “Ellison reportedly close to buying Warriors.” Ellison was indeed close to buying the Warriors. Or at least he thought he was close. “Someone else,” it turned out, was, out of desperation, playing by an entirely different set of rules.



Now flash-forward...