Warriors Owner Surprised Frustrated Fan With Honest Email Reply About Team’s Struggles

A frustrated fan emailed Warriors owner Joe Lacob, and he replied minutes later.

Warriors owner Joe Lacob surprised a fan by replying to his email. / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

Like many Warriors fans, 27-year-old Justin Dutari was feeling frustrated after the team’s 136-131 loss to the Trail Blazers last Sunday. Despite Steph Curry scoring 48 points in his second game back from injury, the Warriors still couldn’t garner the win and instead fell to 13-14 on the season.

So Dutari decided to do something about his frustration. He ended up emailing Warriors owner Joe Lacob to vent, saying, "Dear Joe, Please do something about this team. What [does] Steph [Curry] need to do every night to win? Drop 50 points? Team is [in] need [of] a real second option. Jimmy [Butler's] tools are being underutilized because he is playing as a power forward due to the small position players. We have no true center.I am so frustrated. Thanks, Justin.”

Much to his surprise, Dutari received a response from Lacob just two minutes later. Lacob emailed back, “You can’t be as frustrated as me. I am working on it. It’s complicated. Style of play. Coaches desires regarding players. League trends. Jimmy is not the problem.”

Dutari ended up sharing the email exchange on Reddit, helping it go viral. The SF Gate confirmed through Warriors spokesperson Raymond Ridder that the reply did indeed come from Lacob.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was notably critical of his own coaching following the loss to Portland. "We gave up 24 points off turnovers, so we've got to find a way to connect the game,” Kerr told reporters. “That's my job. I'm not doing my job well this year, and we're 13-14. We have enough talent to be much better. We're losing all these close games, so I've got to find a way to help these guys."

Kerr said Tuesday that he did not learn about the email until Ridder mentioned it to him, and said it wasn’t a big deal. “I’m not concerned about anything like that,” Kerr said. “We’re all frustrated. Joe is frustrated, I’m frustrated,  Steph and Dray, everyone’s frustrated. This is kind of how the league works.

Steve Kerr on the Joe Lacob email leak about his current frustrations (included “coaches desires regarding players”)

“Not a big deal.”

“Imagine if everyone’s emails were posted publicly, how tough that would be to live.”

“Joe supports me. I support him.” pic.twitter.com/8FzyRIXyV8

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 16, 2025

“I hate when people are gonna post private emails,” Kerr continued. “Imagine if everyone’s emails were posted publicly, how tough that would be to live our lives. Joe supports me 100%. I support him. We have a great connection and we’ve had so much continuity here and our organization is one of our strengths.”

The Warriors will look to rebound from two straight losses when they next take the court on Thursday against the Suns. In the process, they’ll try to ease some of the frustrations of Dutari and the rest of the fanbase.

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