Golden State Warriors: From NBA wasteland to NBA wonder

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In July 2010, when forward David Lee agreed to a sign-and-trade deal sending him from the New York Knicks to the Warriors, his friends back home in St. Louis posed a simple question: Why?

“They knew the organization hadn’t won anything in forever,” Lee said. “A lot of people were saying, 'Where is Golden State?’ Nobody knew it was in the Bay Area.”

The Warriors counted as an NBA wasteland, with a long history of raging futility — on their way to only one playoff appearance in 18 seasons, stretching from 1994 to 2012.

And just look at them now.

As 2014 draws to a close, the Warriors are one of the league’s best, most dynamic teams. They sport an NBA-best 23-5 record, feature a captivating star in guard Stephen Curry and lean on a deep collection of skilled players.

So how in the name of Rick Barry did this happen?

The transformation of a once-threadbare roster began with the decision to draft Curry in June 2009 and acquire Lee, a free agent, 13 months later. A week after the Lee deal, venture capitalist Joe Lacob and Mandalay Entertainment CEO Peter Guber struck a $450 million deal to buy the franchise from previous owner Chris Cohan.

Cohan was notoriously frugal; Lacob and Guber are not. This willingness to spend money — lots and lots of money — helps explain Golden State’s remarkable rise from also-ran to potential championship contender.

The Warriors draft guard Stephen Curry in 2009. The Warriors draft guard Stephen Curry in 2009. Photo: Paul Sakuma / AP Photo: Paul Sakuma / AP Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close Golden State Warriors: From NBA wasteland to NBA wonder 1 / 13 Back to Gallery

But the rise also required calculated risks, shrewd decisions and occasional good fortune.

Landing the cornerstone

Curry carried Davidson, an unheralded school in North Carolina, to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament in 2008 and led the nation in scoring a year later. Then-Warriors general manager Larry Riley and coach Don Nelson, loved Curry’s passing skills and likened him to two-time MVP Steve Nash.

“Steph had total composure and tremendous confidence in what he was doing,” said Riley, now the team’s director of scouting. “And that doesn’t even speak to his shooting ability.”

But the Knicks also coveted Curry, as did then-Phoenix general manager Steve Kerr (yes, the same Kerr who now coaches the Warriors). Riley was especially worried that New York, with the No. 8 pick — one spot behind the Warriors — would swing a trade to move in front of Golden State.

Curry preferred to play for the Knicks, given their need for a point guard and up-tempo style (and the Warriors’ perpetual ineptitude). But New York couldn’t complete a deal, Minnesota took Jonny Flynn — now out of the NBA — at No. 6 and the Warriors had their man.

There was some skepticism about Curry, given his slender frame and defensive shortcomings. He’s silenced the skeptics in the five-plus seasons since then, becoming one of the best outside shooters in NBA history and, in February, the Warriors’ first All-Star starter since 1995.

Also worth noting: The longest-tenured member of this team is relentlessly pleasant. This matters, because the best player sets the tone.

“Nobody else is allowed to be a jerk if Steph’s not being a jerk,” Lee said.

New owners take charge

Warriors President Rick Welts likes to say there are three keys to a successful sports franchise: ownership, ownership and ownership.

Lacob brought basketball experience — for five years he was a minority owner of the Boston Celtics, the team he rooted for while growing up in New Bedford, Mass. — and Guber brought an entertainment background. They quickly displayed grand ambition, from overhauling the team’s business operations to renovating Oracle Arena to planning a new arena in San Francisco.

They also spent freely and boldly.

“I didn’t know Mr. Cohan very well, but you have to have guys who are willing to invest in the future, and that’s what Joe and Peter are about,” Curry said. “That shows in the coaching hires and the players they brought in.”

It also shows in the way Lacob and Guber reshaped the front office. They hired NBA legend Jerry West as a consultant; groomed onetime sports agent Bob Myers to become their general manager; and created a decision-making group including assistant GMs Travis Schlenk and Kirk Lacob.

They are not averse to taking chances, whether giving lucrative contract extensions to injury-prone players (Curry, center Andrew Bogut) or firing a successful head coach (Mark Jackson).

“I’ve never been told by anybody in ownership, especially Joe, to make a decision based on economics,” Myers said.

Drafting, keeping Thompson

Riley might qualify as the unsung hero in the story of how these Warriors were built. He was still GM when they took Klay Thompson, a 6-foot-7 shooting guard from Washington State, with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2011 draft.

Riley didn’t know Thompson would become one-half of the “Splash Brothers,” but he pushed for his selection after watching Thompson play against UCLA.

“I came away from that game thinking this kid was close to being really special,” Riley said.

Warriors players were impressed with Thompson, but he spent most of his rookie season stuck behind Monta Ellis. Not until Ellis was traded, and Thompson stepped into a starting role, did it become clear the Warriors had a special backcourt in Curry and Thompson.

Still, in the wake of a frustrating playoff loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in May, the Warriors nearly broke up the tandem. They were tantalized by the prospect of acquiring All-Star forward Kevin Love and seriously considered Minnesota’s demand to include Thompson in the deal.

Patience trumped boldness, in this case.

“We wanted to give this roster a chance to develop,” Myers said. “Our team had been to the second round of the playoffs (in 2013) and won 51 games (in ’14). We felt like it had more to give.”

The Bogut trade

Six days after Ellis was traded for Bogut, a deal now viewed as vital to the team’s turnaround, Lacob was booed mercilessly during a halftime ceremony at Oracle Arena honoring Hall of Famer Chris Mullin.

Kerr, watching from afar in his role as a television analyst, understood why fans were upset. Ellis, an electrifying player, offered one of the few compelling reasons to pay attention to the Warriors during their bad, old days.

Kerr also understood why they made the deal. Even if the 7-foot Bogut was an injury risk — then his left ankle, now his right knee — he gave Golden State a legitimate center for the first time in decades.

“For the previous 15 years, and maybe longer, this franchise had been all offense and no defense,” Kerr said. “The Bogut trade was a significant statement: We don’t just want to entertain, we want to win.”

Riley called it the “easiest decision” of his tenure because the Warriors were going nowhere. They finished 23-43 in 2011-12, their 16th losing record in 18 seasons, and a backcourt of Curry and Ellis was too small and vulnerable on defense.

Plus, the Warriors ranked dead last in the NBA in rebounding differential for four consecutive seasons — until Bogut arrived. They finished in the top 10 each of the past two seasons.

“Monta was an unbelievable player here,” Lee said, “but making that move to get a center was one of the big turning points.”

Coaching drama

Jackson, a broadcaster with no coaching experience, helped resurrect the Warriors. They won 51 games last season, knocked off Denver in the first round of the playoffs, and regained respect around the league.

And so the Warriors dumped him.

The short version is Jackson alienated Lacob and others in the front office with his refusal to hire strong assistant coaches and, to some degree, with his deep and open religious beliefs. Lacob also criticized Jackson’s strategic acumen in a speech earlier this month.

Kerr, also a broadcaster with no coaching experience (although he was the Suns’ GM for three years), inherited the challenge of making a good team great. He’s only two months into the process, but the Warriors are playing even better on defense, involving more players on offense and steamrolling opponents — including a franchise-record, 16-game winning streak.

Another move fraught with risk is working out splendidly so far.

“Steve has won championships and played for Hall of Fame coaches,” Myers said. “Winning is a skill, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence Steve has been successful everywhere he’s been.”

Other key moments

There were other key moments in the construction of these Warriors — snagging Draymond Green with the 35th pick of the 2012 draft and signing low-profile free agents Marreese Speights and Shaun Livingston.

Their depth will be tested while Bogut recovers and Lee gets up to speed after a hamstring injury. Still, the team that was a leaguewide joke now stirs realistic dreams of a deep playoff run and possibly contending for an NBA title.

Kerr, who was 9 when the Warriors last won a championship (1975), won’t make any audacious predictions, but he insisted the Warriors “should be good for the next decade,” given their youth and ownership. The fans have filled Oracle Arena for 93 consecutive games and counting. Plans for a new San Francisco arena are forging ahead.

Meantime, Lee’s friends in St. Louis no longer pepper him with questions.

“Everybody knows now this is a really exciting place to be,” he said, “and a really exciting time to be here.”

Ron Kroichick is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: rkroichick@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ronkroichick