The Warriors architect is stepping down after 11 years on the job.
The rumor that has circled the Golden State Warriors for the last year has finally come to fruition: president and general manager Bob Myers is stepping away from the team.
With an end-of-season press conference set for Tuesday afternoon, ESPN reported that Myers had made a decision to leave the organization, quoting the longtime exec as saying, “It’s just time.”
All signs pointed in that direction. Myers had a dream GM job in the Bay Area, where he was respected and loved by the organization and its players, had an opportunity to add more rings to his hand, and had an offer from Joe Lacob to be the most handsomely paid GM in the NBA. It was reported for quite a while that Myers was torn on whether or not to say, so the logical conclusion was that he was likely to walk away.
Myers had spent more than a decade with the organization, joining them as an assistant general manager in 2011, taking over as GM in 2012, and later adding “president” to his title. He was one of the key architects of a dynasty, oversaw the drafting of Draymond Green, Kevon Looney, and Jordan Poole, signed Kevin Durant, swung trades for D’Angelo Russell and Andrew Wiggins, and was the decision maker for four championship teams.
He also had close personal relationships with Draymond Green and Steph Curry, which will be hard if not impossible to replicate.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that, “Myers described the decision-making process that led him to leave the franchise after 12 years as including several factors beyond money. Myers, 48, said he’s unsure of his future professional pathway, but should he someday decide to return to the team side, he’s expected to become the one of the most pursued executives in modern North American professional sports history.”
Prior to joining the Warriors, Myers was a respected agent. It’s been reported that he has several offers on the table for prominent executive positions outside of the sport, if he’s looking for a change of pace. Then again, it might just be time to take a year off with his family, and avoid the rigors of professional sports and the corporate executive world.
The Warriors now have to appoint a new GM, presumably before the draft on June 22. The Athletic has reported that the team will likely hire from within, with assistant general manager (and former Warrior) Mike Dunleavy Jr. seen as the most likely successor.
Thanks for everything, Bob. You’ll always be the person who built the dynasty.