The Golden State Warriors are juggling more than trade whispers this offseason. Stephen Curry’s quest for a fifth ring carries the urgency of sealing roster gaps. At the same time, the head coach faces the puzzle of shuffling his deck on the hardwood. Yet the plot thickens. Just as they weigh bold moves, the franchise reels from a fresh blow that could shake their plans before the season tips off.

It was a blow that seeped from the Warriors’ court straight into Joe Lacob’s living room. Kent, armed with resolve, booked his father like a headliner and drove to Atherton with a heart that outran his Porsche Panamera. Each mile tightened the moment. This was no casual visit. They met in the guarded home office, where ambition clashed with blood and they began the talk that sealed a moment forever.

KENT LACOB QUIT. Just weeks before the NBA Draft, Joe Lacob sat there, blindsided. The Warriors VP just quit. The words hung between them like a fastball he never saw coming. He locked eyes with his son, let the weight sink in, then finally broke the silence. “Well,” Joe said, “that took some b—-.” But of course, the Warriors exec had his reasons to walk away.

He told The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson, “I’m very curious about what else, what other type of perspective I can gain from stepping outside of that. I understand how it’s attractive in many ways. Yeah, it’s very comfortable. And I’m incredibly fortunate to have this. Not by my own doing. But I have stepped into a world that just put me in this situation to have all this around me. I’m incredibly grateful for it. But I also don’t think that it necessarily gives me a fully robust perspective on life and what it is that I ultimately am going to want when I, like, reflect on what I did with my life.”

Kent swears there is no family feud hiding behind his exit. He insists it is born from love for basketball, the Golden State Warriors, and the legacy his family shaped. Yet privilege always lingered beside him, whispering of doors already open and shadows he could never outrun. Even the golden glow of the franchise could not erase the weight of his father’s name.

For a decade, Kent lived deep in the NBA grind. The flights. The empty hotels. The sweaty gyms and endless calls. He collected three championships and shared the ride with his brother inside the empire their father built. But turning 32, on the brink of marriage, he felt the pull to try life on his own terms, away from Joe Lacob’s towering world.

And yes, amidst all the headaches with the Warriors currently, surely Lacob didn’t need another one to breathe down his neck. The trade market is wide open for him to explore, but Jonathan Kuminga’s restricted free agency has barred all the doors for now. Sure, they have a chance to trade him for Malik Monk from the Sacramento Kings, but they seemingly don’t want to risk it all that way. And yes, Al Horford is still in conversation, even when many people believe that the veteran big man could retire.

Now, the Warriors stand in the middle of another storm as the seat of the Vice President, Basketball Operations, remains vacant. Who will fill it? Another Lacob? Or someone outside the family? Well, the Lacobs surely have enough faces to take on the chair. However, the question remains: Will they?

The Golden State Warriors & Joe Lacob need to find Kent’s replacement

Well, the Lacob siblings seem to click best when chasing identities that live beyond the walls of the empire. Kirk Lacob, the 36-year-old eldest, stands firmly in the family empire, though the road here took a few detours. Fresh out of Stanford in 2010, he had dreams of launching a tech company, until his father bought the Warriors. Four months later, he was running basketball operations. Each time he pondered leaving, his father’s mantra echoed: never toss aside a dream because of its origin.

Kelly, 35, steers clear of the NBA entirely, running her own startup far from the court’s spotlight. Kayci, 30, went all in on filmmaking, pouring years into Everything to Me, a coming-of-age tale inspired by her Silicon Valley childhood. She fought to finish it without leaning on her father’s power, carving her own lane with stubborn grace, and now it is ready for its theater debut.

The Warriors love a good plot twist, but this one came from inside the house. Kent Lacob’s exit leaves a chair to fill and a legacy to uphold, all while trade talks and free agency dramas swirl. The family has faces for the role, yet the lure of lives beyond the empire keeps tugging. Now, the next move could define everything.