Myers' tenure with Warriors may be coming to end soon
Bob Myers is using the final month of his contract to decide if he wants to return to Golden State as head of basketball operations or leave.
Myers might already have a foot out of the door, according to The Athletic. Citing sources, the report indicates that Myers and Warriors ownership are “far apart” on contract extension talks and that Myers may not seek a similar position elsewhere in the league. His contract is up on June 30.
If Myers leaves, the Warriors will be without a pillar of their dynasty. He joined Golden State as an assistant general manager in 2011 under Larry Riley and became general manager within the next year.
Here's a handful of Myers' most consequential moves as GM and president of basketball operations. DRAFT DRAYMOND GREEN >> Myers started off his tenure as GM with a 2012 NBA Draft second-round pick that was the steal of a generation. Draymond Green, picked 35th overall, became (and still is) one of the catalysts and foundational pieces in the Warriors' dynasty. He's one of four Warriors players to win four titles, including Steph Curry and Klay Thompson — drafted in the years before Myers took the helm.
TRADE FOR ANDRE IGUODALA >> Myers flexed his big three-team trade in 2013 when he acquired Andre Iguodala from the Denver Nuggets for guard Randy Foye and signed him to a three-year deal.
The complicated trade sent Richard Jefferson, Andris Biedrins and Brandon Rush — clearing $24 million in payroll while still holding those salaries into trade exceptions — to the Utah Jazz along with four draft picks and cash.
Iguodala took the Warriors defense to a new stratosphere and legitimized a burgeoning Warriors team. Golden State won three titles and made five Finals with Iguodala before he was traded to the Grizzlies at a time when the Warriors were offloading contracts following a catastrophic 2019 Finals end and Kevin Durant's exit.
After a stint with Miami, Iguodala returned in 2022 to win a fourth title.
BRING ON STEVE KERR >> Kerr and Myers are very close friends — a rare relationship between coach and GM that's blossomed over a decade-plus. That relationship, along with Myers' relationship with Curry, Green and Thompson, created a culture of stability in the Warriors franchise.
The Warriors fired head coach Mark Jackson after an early 2013 playoff exit and lured then-television analyst Kerr — who had an offer from his mentor Phil Jackson to coach the New York Knicks — to Golden State's sideline. Kerr is credited for unlocking Curry and turning the Warriors' offense into a juggernaut. Up until their second-round playoff exit in 2023, Kerr hadn't been eliminated by a Western Conference foe in eight playoff runs.
SIGN KEVIN DURANT >> Perhaps one of the most league-altering signings in NBA history; Myers was at the helm when Durant signed with Golden State after their Finals loss in 2016.
Myers had to make a few tough decisions to clear some space for Durant, who signed a two-year, $54.3 million contract with a player option. That meant renouncing rights to restricted free agent Harrison Barnes and trading center Andrew Bogut to the Dallas Mavericks. Durant and the Warriors became the NBA villain and superteam, winning back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018 and coming up short in 2019 to the Toronto Raptors when Durant suffered an Achilles tear in Game 5 and Thompson an ACL tear in Game 6.
Durant left the Warriors for Brooklyn in a sign-and-trade that offseason.
But those Warriors teams featuring Curry, Durant, Thompson, Green and Iguodala will go down as one of the most dominant teams in NBA history, winning an average 61 games over the three seasons Durant spent in Golden State with dominant playoff runs in their back-to-back title years.
TRADE FOR ANDREW WIGGINS >> Wiggins was a buy-low player — a disappointing former first-overall pick deemed a bust who couldn't find his place on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Without Thompson for significant time and Durant forever — and eventually without Curry in the 2020 season due to a wrist fracture — Myers could get creative in re-tooling the roster to find the next iteration that could keep the dynasty alive. The Warriors sent Durant in 2019 to Brooklyn in a sign-and-trade that netted them guard D'Angelo Russell.
When the Russell experiment fizzled, Myers flipped him to Minnesota for Wiggins. The fan base wasn't thrilled and the Warriors were paying a pretty penny for a mediocre team between 2020 and 2021, worsened by the financial restrictions the pandemic brought.
But the move paid off and Wiggins thrived next to a superstar in Curry, fully blossoming as a defender and shooter in 2022 where he became a key factor in their most recent championship.
HONORABLE MENTIONS >> Myers drafted Kevon Looney with the 30th pick in the 2015 draft. Looney spent most of his early career injured or rehabbing, but evolved into a rebounding savant and cornerstone of the modern iterations of this dynasty.
Myers also brought in fan favorites and key role players such as Shaun Livingston, Leandro Barbosa, Mo Speights and David West. He drafted Jordan Poole along with lottery picks Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. CURRY HONORED >> Curry was named the winner of this year's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. presented to “a player, coach or athletic trainer who shows outstanding service and dedication to the community.”
Curry is the first Warriors player to win the award, which was established in 1974 and is given out by the Professional Basketball Writers Association.
Other finalists included Lakers center Wenyen Gabriel, Clippers forward Paul George and Celtics forward Grant Williams.