Green, Myers celebrate awards, special GM, player relationship
If this was the final stop on their team’s victory tour, Warriors forward Draymond Green and general manager Bob Myers savored Wednesday’s joint appearance at Monte Vista High School in Danville.
Green and Myers sat on a makeshift stage in the gym where Myers once played. They were there to hold a news conference in the wake of Monday night’s NBA awards show, when Green was named Defensive Player of the Year and Myers was tapped as the league’s Executive of the Year.
Green’s high school coaches, Lou Dawkins and Julian Taylor, surprised him by traveling west from Michigan and told stories about his famous feistiness. Myers’ high school coach, Jeff Koury, told stories about his habit of rebounding his own missed shots.
This was all in good fun, but the scene also conveyed the uncommonly close relationship between Myers and Green — a measured, likable front-office leader and his combustible, invaluable power forward.
“I don’t know how a guy from Alamo and a guy from Saginaw came together, but we did,”
Myers said.
Wednesday’s event, in some ways, served as the dividing line between more than two weeks of post-championship euphoria — party in Las Vegas, parade in Oakland, awards show in New York — and the impending start of free agency. That craziness commences Friday at 9:01 p.m. PDT.
It actually began Wednesday in a sense, when the Houston Rockets acquired point guard Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers. The Rockets leaped into action, one of many contenders trying to chase down the Warriors after Golden State won its second NBA title in three years.
“If teams are making moves to beat us, then make the moves,” Green said after the news conference. “We just play our game, and sit back and watch.”
As for the pairing of Paul and James Harden in Houston, Green said, “Two great players. It’s not really my job to dissect their trade or figure out how it works. That’s on them. But you definitely have two great players and two great competitors.”
The Warriors are in the enviable position of trying to maintain their roster more than upgrade it. Ten Golden State players will become unrestricted free agents Friday night, though All-Stars Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are widely expected to stay put.
Still, the status of forward Andre Iguodala and guard Shaun Livingston — key cogs in both championship runs — spins in uncertainty. Iguodala reportedly plans to seriously consider offers from other teams.
Myers mostly sidestepped talking about free agency, beyond acknowledging it’s “pretty intense” given the small window of time between the Finals (which ended June 12), the draft ( June 22) and Friday. Green offered his confidence in the front office, but also insisted he will not try to persuade players to stay.
“I’m not going to say, ‘Hey, Andre, someone is offering you more money; don’t take that money, stay here,’ ” Green said. “He’s a grown man and he’s going to make the decision he wants to make. He obviously knows how bad we want him here, and how much we love playing with him.”
Green and Myers clearly enjoyed their interaction on stage, in front of bleachers full of Monte Vista students. Green explained why he’s comfortable talking to Myers about virtually any subject, from fatherhood to Green’s penchant for picking up technical fouls.
Green also described how Myers calms him when he’s angry and wants to “go nuts” to the media — essentially saying, “You can do that, Draymond, but I would do it this way.” Green usually realizes Myers’ suggestion makes more sense.
“I don’t know if many players, or any, can say they have the relationship with the general manager of their team that I have with Bob,” Green said. “He’s a life coach, a big brother, all of that. He helps me with life in general.”
The mood still was more light than introspective for most of Wednesday’s gathering. Myers turned self-deprecating when reflecting on his high school career.
“I played on this court, and it wasn’t anything special,” he said, sparking laughter. “My freshman coach seriously said to me, ‘We are better if you don’t shoot.’ ”