According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Golden State Warriors and general manager Bob Myers are not close on a contract extension. Myers, the architect of the Warriors’ dynasty, is on the last year of his deal, which expires June 30. If Myers and the Warriors are unable to reach an agreement, this might spell the end of the dynasty in the Bay.
It would be foolish to discount the Warriors as a dead dynasty if they fail to retain Myers, because they still have Stephen Curry who plays at an All-NBA if not MVP level.
Bob Myers Is More Than A GM
But Myers’ presence is critical. He is the bridge between ownership and players/coaches. Known as a great relationship builder, he is connected to the core players and head coach Steve Kerr in a way most general managers aren’t with their players and coach.
Draymond Green, the team’s second-most important player after Curry and their vocal leader, is a difficult employee. He runs hot and his emotions get the better of him often. We all saw him knock Jordan Poole out in training camp.
It is Myers and his empathy and relationship with Green that pulls the emotional star back from the brink time and again.
“The guy’s a force. He’s unique. He’s a leader,” Myers said of Green during this year’s playoffs. “He will tell you that he’s made mistakes. You cannot hide from them, they’re out there for everyone to see. He has a good heart, I know that. But that doesn’t mean he’s mistake-free.”
The relationship is a two-way street.
“Y’all don’t always get to see Bob’s work, other than putting the team together,” Green said after an important game to end the regular season as the Warriors were fighting to stay out of the play-in. “But he’s so important to everything that we do. I can’t imagine … and I know, I watch this league. GMs don’t keep a pulse on the team like Bob keeps a pulse of this team. Maybe two other GMs in the league right there would come down to the bench and say something. And that’s also someone who I have the utmost respect for.”
“If Bob comes and tells me something, that’s Bible to me,” Green added. “I’m going to listen to that. But that’s a relationship that has been built over the last 11 years, and that is a relationship that will continue to grow over the next 40 years. For him to come down in that moment and say something to me, you gotta honor that, and it was huge.”
This goes beyond basketball.
Warriors Have Real Concerns This Offseason
Team owner Joe Lacob has already said he does not want to have a $400 million salary and tax bill, which is what he’ll have if Green and Klay Thompson get extensions.
If Myers is the team GM maybe he gets Green and Thompson to take a little less so they can keep the championship run going.
Maybe Myers convinces Lacob to move Jordan Poole and Jonathan Kuminga to get veteran players and some athleticism that can continue Curry’s extended prime.
The players and coaches want Myers back and they all want to keep the train rolling, because they believe they can still win titles.
“Our organization has a lot to sort through this summer,” Kerr said Tuesday during his end of season press conference. “My contract situation is not, nor should it be, at the top of the list. Right now Bob’s contract situation is No. 1 because that influences a lot of the player decisions that have to be made, contracts, draft, free agency. We will get to my stuff whenever that happens, and I’m in no rush for that.”
If Myers doesn’t return it will be a different tenor and mood around the organization. Assistant GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. is expected to be the front-runner if Myers leaves. While the organization believes in him, he doesn’t have the equity with the players and Kerr that Myers built over the years.
In that respect there would be no replacing Myers, and if that’s the case Lacob may want to go forward with Curry and the younger talent and look toward the future.
