Warriors owner Joe Lacob offers swift response to frustrated fan email, says Jimmy Butler 'is not the problem'

The Warriors fell below .500 after a loss to the Trail Blazers on Sunday

The Golden State Warriors have gone 4-6 in their last 10 games, and are now under .500 after a demoralizing 136-131 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. Stephen Curry poured in 48 points and yet it still wasn't enough to beat a Blazers team that had lost six of seven entering that matchup.

The loss puts the Warriors (13-14) further behind in the Western Conference standings, as they sit eighth with 4.5 games separating them and the sixth-placed Minnesota Timberwolves. With the team struggling, fans are not only airing their grievances on social media, but taking it to the top of the ladder. 

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Justin Dutari, a 27-year-old fan from Panama, emailed team owner Joe Lacob about his frustrations with the team. In speaking with SF Gate, Dutari said he searched to find Lacob's email, and shot him a message.

"Please do something about this team," Dutari's email said. "What [does] Steph 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."

To Dutari's surprise, Lacob replied within two minutes.

"You can't be as frustrated as me," Lacob wrote in response. "I am working on it. It's complicated. Style of play. Coaches desires regarding players. League trends. Jimmy is not the problem."

It's not every day a team owner responds to a fan's email with actual sincerity. And while he only called out Butler by name and said his play has not been the problem, it doesn't take a genius to guess who Lacob is referencing with his "coaches desires regarding players" line. The Warriors have had a tumultuous relationship with Jonathan Kuminga for quite some time, and a contract standoff this past summer only heightened things. 

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Through the first 12 games of the season, it looked like things had been smoothed over between Kuminga and Golden State's coaching staff. He started every game, was averaging nearly 15 points and while the Warriors only went .500 during that stretch, it appeared as though Kuminga found his place in Steve Kerr's lineup.

Since then, Kuminga's registered more DNP-CD's than games played and could find himself once again the subject of trade rumors before the Feb. 5 deadline. Trading Kuminga, though, isn't a cure all for the Warriors, unless they're getting someone like Giannis Antetokounmpo in return. That's no guarantee, but it's clear that change has to happen if Golden State wants to be more than just a first-round exit, regardless of how well Curry is playing.

Perhaps Lacob will take Dutari's words and be more aggressive on the trade market as the deadline approaches. Until then, the Warriors will have to hope they can find a temporary solution to stay afloat in the gauntlet that is the Western Conference.