The scrutiny on the Warriors’ front office is more palpable than ever. And yet, contrary to much online speculation and whispers, what they don’t have is family drama. In a shocking move that caught his own father off guard, Kent Lacob resigned from his position as the team’s Vice President of basketball development. While such a sudden departure from a family-run business might suggest internal strife, Joe Lacob quickly put those rumors to rest with just five words.

Waiting patiently for his son in the study, wondering why on earth Kent put himself in the calendar, the billionaire patriarch quickly got his answer. Lacob Sr. reportedly “stared at his boy, processed the news,” and then responded with pride: “Well, that took some b—-.” That one quote says it all. Kent’s resignation was no act of rebellion, but a courageous and well-considered decision to step out of his father’s shadow.

As Kent Lacob told Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic, “I’m very curious about what else, what other type of perspective I can gain from stepping outside of that. … 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.”

The timing of Kent’s departure also gives a glimpse into the complexities of working in the Lacob-run front office.

The Warriors are currently at a critical point with Jonathan Kuminga, a player whom Joe Lacob remains a fan of and wants to realize his full potential in the Bay, unlike the management’s desire to hold him till the trade deadline. As one rival team’s GM anonymously said, “They have had plenty of chances to trade Jonathan Kuminga in the last two or three years, and even longer than that… But it’s dangerous for a front office when the owner falls in love with a player, and that’s what happened here. What they’re dealing with now is the fallout of that.”

Amid the turmoil of this Lacob-orchestrated ‘fallout,’ the Warriors are losing a key figure in Kent Lacob. So some even speculated online that his dad’s interference in the Kuminga matter was the reason. The truth, though, is way farther than the drama, as we have seen. In fact, almost immediately after news of Kent Lacob’s exit broke, the family clarified the situation.

Although Joe Lacob was surprised, he is very supportive of his son. There was no family drama that preceded this apparently drastic decision. Kent reiterated to the NY Times publication that nothing bad happened. “He loves this so much. Basketball. The Warriors. The family pride. The pressure to maintain the standard of excellence they’ve built,” Marcus Thompson II wrote. The only thing tugging at his core? “Always competing with the privilege.”

A “Nepo-Baby” no more

Kent Lacob’s resume shows he was far more than a figurehead. During his tenure, he rose from a coordinator to VP, and his work was instrumental in some of the Dubs’ most celebrated moves. Kent was a key advocate for the signing of Gary Payton II and was crucial to the development of players like Juan Toscano-Anderson when he was the General Manager of the Santa Cruz Warriors.

Clearly, Kent’s departure will leave a definitive void. And his father? Joe Lacob is far from mad. He is just a proud Dad who is also concerned that his son doesn’t have a backup plan. But as Lacob Jr. proved with his past success stories, he’ll likely have no trouble figuring out his next move.

For now, though, the Warriors front office is left to navigate the Kuminga situation without a Lacob in their midst.