Bob Myers' Final Press Conference Recap
As we approach the NBA Finals, the Warriors dynasty is in unfamiliar territory. This season was their first non-Finals exit in the Playoffs since before their 2015 championship run. Amongst the storylines so prevalent throughout the season, the biggest one with the most potential impact was about general manager and president of basketball operations Bob Myers and his impending contract expiration.
And now, that story has reached its conclusion.
It was reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that the two-time Executive of the Year would be stepping down this morning, and the Warriors held a press conference today where Myers and owner Joe Lacob were able to speak to the media which confirmed the decision for him to step down.
Myers’ run as the architect of a 4-championship dynasty is one for the record books. He was the key decision-maker behind a lot of moves that set the blueprint for the Warriors’ winning ways, including drafting Draymond Green, Kevon Looney, and Jordan Poole, trading for Andrew Wiggins and Andre Iguodala, and of course, signing Kevin Durant in the summer of 2016. A basketball savant, Myers was able to put winning teams around Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson year after year despite the amount of contract and salary cap navigation he had to do to get there.
In his press conference, Myers was able to speak about a myriad of things, but some stood out more than others. The first was in regards to his successor: While that decision ultimately falls to Lacob and the ownership group, the most prevalent name tossed around is Mike Dunleavy Jr., vice president of basketball operations and a former NBA journeyman for 15 years. Dunleavy Jr.’s father was a coach in the NBA and former general manager for the Los Angeles Clippers, but Myers didn’t recruit him to name him as the next man up, instead just liking his fit from a basketball standpoint.
“We’re always looking for people to make us better” Myers said about hiring Dunleavy Jr. “He’s really good, and he would be fantastic if he’s the choice.”
The conference was also a time for reflection on so many years of success. Four championship wins and six total appearances in eight years is no joke, but with it came a lot of expectations. When the Warriors signed Kevin Durant, they reached the Finals in all three of his years with the team and won twice before injuries derailed the potential of a three-peat.
Despite how difficult winning multiple times is, an elite assembly of talent has expectations behind it. For all intents and purposes, the KD years were an obvious success, but it set the standard before he was in a Warriors uniform and certainly after as well. Questions arose about Curry’s ability to win as the best player on the team despite a championship two years prior to Durant’s arrival and the only unanimous MVP selection in NBA history en-route to a league-record 73 wins.
Myers spoke candidly about the gravitas of those expectations, saying “There was no outcome that was acceptable except winning” when it came to the Warriors from 2017 to the present.
While those expectations will always be high (and to a degree, rightfully so) as long as Stephen Curry is lacing up, this season was a departure from the organization we’ve come to recognize. Golden State has, year after year, been a standard-setter in terms of how teams win, but internal strife starting with Draymond punching out Poole set a much different vibe. There were concerns about roster construction, about a lack of commitment to winning now, and a lot of unexpected noise while the team battled to repeat their success from last year.
That didn’t seem to matter much to Bob Myers, however. His decision was never really about whether or not the team was succeeding. As he said, it seemed to be just the right time for him, and regardless of if the Dubs went back to back, then that may not have changed.
“If this was a perfect year, then this might’ve still been the time” Myers explained in his presser.
One big concern moving forward, of course, was whether or not he’d be taking his talents elsewhere. He’s admitted that basketball has been the arrow directing him through much of his life, from his time as a college player at UCLA, to his career as an agent, and finally to the top of the NBA world as the league’s best executive. But even he doesn’t quite know what’s next.
“I don’t know that answer, and I guess I don’t need to know that answer” Myers said candidly to reporters.
There’s a lot of great moments to recollect his time as a GM, so many that have contributed to winning. No matter where his life takes him next, Bob Myers will always have the support of Warriors fans and the organization as well: Some may choose to call him “The Architect”, but with how much turmoil the Warriors faced, “The Fireman” might be a more apt moniker for him.
This offseason will have a lot of choices for Golden State to make. Filling the void Myers leaves behind will need to be a top priority ahead of free agency and the draft to ensure there’s continuity in the vision for next year, but those two will be equally important: Draymond Green’s potential extension still looms, and the Warriors now know that they’re going to need a little more backup to compete with an incredible even playing field in the Western Conference. They hold the 19th pick in the draft this year, which normally could result in a project player, but this year’s class has been touted as deep: There’s a chance that even outside the lottery, the Warriors could end up with a win-now guy who can get involved as soon as possible.
Regardless of the new CBA rules and the looming changes on the near horizon for both the roster and front office, the Warriors know what they’re about. In the words of Joe Lacob at today’s press conference: “We’re gonna win no matter what.” That mindset will carry into decisions made over the course of the offseason, and will be the bar for next season as Golden State takes aim to contend.
(Photo credit: Brian Rothmuller / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)