Warriors, GM Bob Myers 'bracing' for breakup, report says
The drip-drip of rumors about Warriors general manager Bob Myers continued Wednesday night with a report from The Athletic. The general takeaway: Get ready for the Mike Dunleavy Jr. era.
Myers has run the team’s basketball operations since 2012; his contract is up at the beginning of July. His status has loomed over the Warriors for the better part of a year, and head coach Steve Kerr said Tuesday that resolving it needs to be the “No. 1” priority.
Myers and Warriors ownership haven’t negotiated in months, and both Myers and his bosses are “bracing for the likelihood” of a breakup this summer, according to The Athletic. Initially, it seemed that money was at issue. The same Athletic writers reported in January that Myers wasn’t even among the five highest-paid general managers in the NBA, at odds with owner Joe Lacob’s claim that Myers was in the top three.
But according to Wednesday night’s report, Myers may just be out of gas. “Even a competitive market offer — near the top of the executive food chain,” might not be enough to keep him. He launched a podcast in January and has published 12 episodes with boldface guests like Steph Curry, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Disney chief executive Bob Iger. (Like “The Draymond Green Show,” Myers’ podcasting output is intermittent. He hasn’t released an episode since having Kerr on 11 days before the playoffs started.) The Athletic story noted that private equity and other sports leagues have been recruiting Myers.
Days after the Warriors were eliminated, ESPN reported that Myers was “torn” on whether to stay with Golden State. Though Myers didn’t draft Curry or Klay Thompson, he played a key role in elevating and retaining the Splash Brothers, and oversaw all four titles of the Curry era. Curry and Green, in particular, have not been quiet about their desire for Myers to return.
If Myers leaves, a first-time GM will almost certainly be navigating the Warriors’ pivotal summer. Mike Dunleavy Jr., currently a vice president of basketball operations, is the obvious candidate to replace him. Dunleavy was the Warriors’ representative at the NBA’s GM meetings in Chicago, earlier this week, according to multiple reports. The minute the Warriors were eliminated last week, The Athletic dropped a story saying that Myers’ replacement would probably come from in house, and that Dunleavy, in the immortal formulation of the NBA scoop, “has been pegged by many as the natural successor.”
Dunleavy occupies a funny place in team history. Golden State drafted him No. 3 overall out of Duke in 2002, and he quickly became the avatar of that ugly era. Some representative headlines from the time include “Why Does Mike Dunleavy Get Booed So Much?”, “Tough crowd, especially for Dunleavy” and “Dunleavy poster child for booing by own fans.” Dunleavy, 42, joined Myers’ front office in 2018. He’s the son of longtime NBA coach Mike Dunleavy Sr.
Source: SFGATE
