Warriors G.M. Myers taking the long-road approach to season
G.M. preaches patience, recommends book of social commentary
Five straight wins turned to 10. Ten turned to 15. Before 15 had hit 20, the awareness was up and the chase was on. The Warriors started last season by rattling off a record 24 victories in a row.
By the time that historic streak ended, talk of another record had already picked up. Could Golden State win 73 games to pass the ’96 Bulls? Yes. They did, eclipsing the mark on the final day of the regular season.
It was exhilarating, but it was draining. The Warriors faced attrition in the playoffs. Some guys looked a bit weary. They learned from it.
That’s why, among other reasons, general manager Bob Myers preached patience with this year’s Warriors squad, despite the expectation that — with megastar Kevin Durant in tow — they should ultimately be better.
He’s already hinting that the team may take a more Gregg Popovich-ian approach to resting players.
“The last two years I think have taught all of us within the organization that, everybody says it’s a marathon, but it really is,” Myers said Thursday. “I think we all have to take, us and the organization, have to take the approach that it’s a long road. We gotta have some juice.”
No one is predicting any type of extended struggles for this team. But Steve Kerr is tasked with sorting through a tricky balance. As the season drags, finding pockets of rest will become important. But early on, developing comfort and on-court chemistry is paramount. The difficulty in just striking a match and creating that is the other reason Myers warns fans to avoid extreme, record-breaking optimism.
“Last year, I know I said there was no way we’d win 73 games and we did,” Myers chuckled. “But I don’t see us being 24-0. I don’t see it. And it’s completely fine. I hope we see growth. I hope we see development. But getting to know each other is going to be the challenge.”
The Olympic experience, Myers said, helped. It at least provided Kevin Durant a sliver of familiarity about playing with Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. But it was also an example of how a team with new parts can often run jagged in its infant stages.
“If you took a group of five of us and just had us play basketball and then you looked at us in a month, we’re gonna be so much better,” Myers said. “Just by knowing each other and getting to know what each other does well, what each other does differently.”
One source of optimism for Myers: Kerr. He’s seen him meld teams together quickly.
“We will turn the ball over,” Myers said. “We will probably be overshar- ing. We’ll be too selfless. At times, we may be too selfish when we try to overcorrect. But like I said, Steve is really good at finding ways to expedite that process. It’s been written and said, he won a championship his first year. That’s really unique. Because he was brand new, had never coached at any level. So I think we have the right guy to do it. But it’s going to be a process.”
Andre Iguon dala gave Myers a book last season. It was titled “Between the World and Me.” It’s by Ta-Nehisi Coates, a popular social commentator, written as a letter to his teenage son about the realities facing African-Americans in the United States.
Myers read it during the Oklahoma City series. It opened his eyes.
“I thought I understood because I’m around basketball and it’s a pretty diverse culture and environment that we’re in,” Myers said. “I thought I had an understanding to some of the issues you might be referring to. (After the book), I real- ized how little I do know.”
As the NBA season nears, the country awaits the reaction from the league’s stars. Will they join Colin Kaepernick and other NFLers in protesting the national anthem? Will they speak out in other forms? It’s a topic that’ll only gain more traction over the next few weeks.
But some of Golden State’s brass is already getting out in front of it. Kerr spoke during a session with reporters Wednesday, advocating nonviolent protests, saying America should be ‘disgusted’ by some of the recent killings of unarmed black males and hinting that he would support social activism from his players.
Thursday, Myers echoed a similar sentiment and then sent a message of education. The book Iguodala suggested helped educate Myers on the issues. He wants others to do the same — to both seek out information and help them find it.
That includes his players and staff. With Kerr and others, Myers has been discussing the idea of setting up an expert panel at some point in the preseason. The date, time and panelists haven’t been sorted out. But Myers said if they have to skip practice one day, that’ll be worth it.
“If you’re looking to make change, the first thing you need to do is get educated on the issues,” Myers said. “And that’s what’s happening now. Then it becomes what are you going to do, what am I going to do? Not what am I going to do with our players, what am I going to do to effect change? That’s important.
“What we’re talking about now, talking with the NBA — and they sent out a memo last night — of working with the players union, encouraging leaders to come speak to our team. That actually wasn’t happening a month ago. That’s all good. The conversations we are having with our players, that’s good. What’s happening out in society, that’s not good. It’s much more important than dribbling the basketball and making shots.
“What we’re going to try to do as an organization is take some opportunities to try to have these conversations.”