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Warriors Notes: Thompson, Looney, TJD, Myers

March 8th, 2024 at 10:00am CST by Luke Adams

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype spoke to eight executives around the NBA to get their predictions for Klay Thompson‘s next contract. Of those eight execs, three projected Thompson would make $18-20MM annually on his next deal, while the other five have the Warriors veteran in the $20-25MM range. Half of those executives also expect Golden State to try to line up Thompson’s next contract with Stephen Curry‘s by signing him to a two-year deal, Scotto notes.

Those predictions line up with the offer the Warriors reportedly made to Thompson before the 2023/24 season began. Shams Charania of The Athletic indicated back in December that Golden State had put a two-year, $48MM extension on the table, but that Thompson passed on it. A handful of the executives who spoke to Scotto believe the 34-year-old’s value has dipped a little since then.

“I see him at around $18-20 million a year,” one exec said. “I’m not sure he’ll accept that because he sees himself much higher. If all offers are equal, I think he goes back to Golden State. I feel like his relationship with Steph and being able to play in one place is important to him.”

According to Scotto, seven of the eight execs who weighed in on Thompson’s future believe he’ll ultimately stick with the Warriors, though at least one of those seven had some ideas for potential suitors who could put some pressure on Golden State.

“I think other teams would sign him. If you’re Detroit, wouldn’t you love that level of maturity and experience? (Pistons head coach) Monty Williams wants a grown-up,” the exec said. “If you’re the Magic, don’t you want a grown-up? They need a legitimate shooting guard. Jalen Suggs is a combo guard. I think Gary Harris could be gone this summer. Let the point guard position be a combination of Anthony Black, Suggs, and Cole Anthony. Orlando likes size, which Klay has, and he’d give them shooting.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Warriors center Kevon Looney told Scotto that he and his teammates haven’t discussed Thompson’s contract situation at all with him, but Looney made it clear that he doesn’t want Klay going anywhere. “We know we want Klay to be here forever,” he said. “He’s a Warrior for life no matter what. Even if he did go somewhere, he’s still going to be a guy that has a statue and jersey in the rafters. … Hopefully, he gets to stay forever. That’s one of my goals as well. Hopefully, this core gets to ride it out.”
Rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis showed in Wednesday’s win over Milwaukee that he deserves serious consideration for postseason minutes in a crowded Warriors rotation, writes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. The big man had 15 points (on 7-of-8 shooting), six rebounds, and four blocks – including three on Giannis Antetokounmpo shot attempts – and was a +20 in 19 minutes of action. “We’ve got to get Trayce more minutes to get him ready for the playoffs because he needs reps. He needs more time,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “You can see what he did (on Wednesday). He has an ability to finish and to block shots that gives us a different look.”
Former Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers was the subject of a tribute video and received a standing ovation from fans in Golden State after being introduced by his three daughters during Wednesday’s game vs. the Bucks (Twitter video links via NBC Sports Bay Area and Kendra Andrews of ESPN). Myers, who was making his first public appearance in the Chase Center since leaving the Warriors in 2023, was working the game as an ESPN analyst.
In case you missed it, we’re waiting for an update on the severity of Stephen Curry‘s ankle injury, which forced him to exit Thursday’s loss to Chicago early. Curry is having imaging done on his right ankle on Friday, tweets Andrews.

Warriors Notes: Wiggins, Kuminga, Green, Myers

January 8th, 2024 at 8:04am CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors haven’t been effective with Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga on the court together, but their athletic potential is so tantalizing that coach Steve Kerr tried the combination again Sunday night, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

Kerr employed his 13th different starting lineup of the season, using Wiggins and Kuminga as the forwards, but the results were disappointing again as Toronto jumped to an early 24-12 lead that Golden State was never able to overcome.

“We’ve talked about trying to get (Wiggins and Kuminga) together,” Kerr said. “Theoretically our two longest, most athletic players. We have not been a good defensive team this year, so we wanted to try it. It hasn’t connected, really. But we’re experimenting. We’re trying to find a two-way lineup that can help us. But obviously that lineup didn’t click.”

Kerr pulled the plug on the experiment by intermission, as the Raptors scored 76 first-half points and held a 27-point lead. He replaced Wiggins, Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis with Brandin Podziemski, Dario Saric and Kevon Looney to start the third quarter.

“I didn’t want to go back to the same lineup,” Kerr said. “The only thing I was interested in in the second half was just competing. What that means — you can say compete, but what does that mean? It means talking on defense. I didn’t hear anything. It was silent in the first half. We needed to have some talk, some chatter. So I went with that lineup because I felt they would give us that.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

Kerr will have to juggle his rotation even more when Draymond Green returns, Slater adds. Green, whose suspension was lifted Saturday after 12 games, was in the arena with his teammates Sunday night. Green is expected to miss at least one more game while working on his conditioning, according to Slater, but he should be back on the court by the end of the week.
With the trade deadline now just a month away, the front office is facing a crucial decision on Kuminga, who likely has the highest value of any of the Warriors’ available players, notes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. Kuminga’s athleticism makes him an intriguing prospect for rival teams, and he’s only 21 with another year remaining on his rookie contract. There are no signs that management will consider breaking up the long-standing trio of Green, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Poole adds.
The NFL’s Washington Commanders have hired former Warriors general manager Bob Myers as part of their search team for a new head of football operations and head coach, per Adrian Wojnarowski and Adam Schefter of ESPN. Myers, who left Golden State when his contract expired last summer, will be part of an advisory committee that also includes former NBA star Magic Johnson. Myers will continue his studio work with ESPN on NBA games.

Pacific Notes: Myers, Curry, Davis, Huerter

November 19th, 2023 at 7:48pm CST by Tristan Tucker

First-year general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. had an eventful offseason, adding veterans and young players who aided the Warriors in jumping out to a 6-2 start. But Dunleavy is now experiencing his first batch of bumps in the road as GM, with Golden State losing six straight amid a Draymond Green suspension and minor Stephen Curry injury.

Former Warriors head of basketball operations Bob Myers is all too familiar with the ups and downs of holding that prestigious position, having accumulated four titles with a couple retooling years in between. Myers spoke to The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami for an in-depth conversation about the Warriors and what Myers has been up to.

“If that’s me, I’m saying (to Green), ‘That’s it, you’ve made your mistake in Game 10, so now you can’t make any more,‘” Myers said on Kawakami’s podcast (Apple Podcasts link). “I would assume he’d look me in the eye and say, ‘Yeah, OK.’ Kind of used up your mulligan early. So now we’ve gotta get through the rest of the 18 holes. And I think he would agree, he would say, ‘You’re right, it’s not good for the team, it’s not good for [me].’ I don’t think he’d push back on that.

“The best thing about Draymond and the thing people may not know, at least my relationship with Draymond, he will listen. He does listen. If I ever felt like he wasn’t listening, I wouldn’t waste my time. But he will listen. I think that’s the misconception with Draymond — [that] he doesn’t listen to what anybody says, just does what he wants. I think he listens, but he still makes mistakes.”

Myers went on to talk about more of the Warriors’ struggles this season, relating to the need to push through a difficult stretch.

“This is a tough moment — Curry’s hurt, Draymond’s suspended,” Myers said. “You’re going to go through that stuff. We went through that every year. I’m trying to think of a year, ’14/15 we probably didn’t have any, which is crazy to say, that first championship. And then ’16/17, [Kevin] Durant’s first year. Those years out of 12 for me were the only ones where it felt like a smooth ride without any bumps. It’s normal to have adversity, so it’s here. Now this adversity could’ve come 20 games into the season, it could’ve come 40, it could’ve come 60, but it’s coming for every team. So to fans, I would say, this is the moment.”

I highly recommend checking out the conversation in full if you have a subscription to The Athletic or the time to listen to the podcast episode. Myers goes on to talk about a plethora of topics, including his television appearances, the people he misses the most, his relationship with Curry and the future of head coach Steve Kerr, whom he expects will agree to an extension with the club.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Curry also spoke about the Warriors‘ recent losing streak, stressing it’s important to reverse the recent trend, Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes. “There’s urgency, for sure,” Curry said. “Any time you’re at this many in a row, it’s a problem you gotta fix. You don’t want to develop a losing mentality at any stretch of the season. That’s a stink in the locker room you don’t want to have.“
Lakers star center Anthony Davis is hampered by a lingering hip injury, but that isn’t stopping him from anchoring L.A.’s defense, Khobi Price of The Orange County Register writes. “I’m all right,” Davis said. “Unfortunately this thing, it’s still bothering me but I’m going to try to go out there and compete. Obviously not being who I am offensively. My shot’s not falling and the leaping abilities and all that stuff just [aren’t] back to where it was, but I try to just make up for it on the defensive end and try to impact the game other than scoring.“
Kings guard Kevin Huerter missed his first game of the season on Sunday, The Kings Beat’s James Ham tweets. He suffered the injury on Friday but told The Sacramento Bee’s Jason Anderson the injury shouldn’t be “bothersome long term.” Chris Duarte, who averaged 4.5 points in 11 games entering Sunday, earned the start in Huerter’s place.

And-Ones: Rivers, Myers, ESPN, Flowers, Tillman

August 14th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Rory Maher

ESPN has officially hired former Sixers head coach Doc Rivers to join its top broadcast team, the network announced in a press release written by Ronce Rajan. Rivers, who signed a multiyear contract to be an analyst, will work alongside fellow analyst Doris Burke and play-by-play announcer Mike Breen.

ESPN decided to shake up its top broadcasting group after releasing former analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy.

In addition to Rivers, ESPN has also signed longtime Warriors executive Bob Myers, who left his post a couple months ago. Myers will serve as analyst on NBA countdown and will also call games during the season, per Rajan.

The signings of Rivers and Myers were previously reported by The New York Post.

ESPN also announced a new secondary broadcast team comprised of play-by-play voice Ryan Ruocco alongside analysts — and former NBA players — JJ Redick and Richard Jefferson. Jefferson received a multiyear extension, Rajan adds.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Forward Trentyn Flowers, who had committed to Louisville, has decided against playing for the Cardinals and will instead head overseas in an effort to make the NBA. Flowers announced on Twitter that he’ll be joining the NBL’s Next Stars program and will play for the Adelaide 36ers. The NBL features nine Australian teams and one based in New Zealand. As Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report tweets, Flowers is one of a handful of potential 2024 first-round picks who have decided to play in the NBL.
Greece’s AEK Athens has officially signed big man Justin Tillman, according to Eurohoops.net. Tillman never actually got in an NBA game, but he signed a 10-day hardship deal with the Hawks a couple years ago and has been a highly productive player in the G League. The former VCU star has had several other international stops during the course of his professional career.
In case you missed it, we passed along several World Cup notes this morning.

Bob Myers Reportedly Nearing Deal With ESPN

August 11th, 2023 at 9:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Former Warriors general manager Bob Myers appears headed to television rather than another NBA front office. Sources tell Ryan Glasspiegel of The New York Post that Myers is close to a deal to become an analyst for ESPN’s “NBA Countdown.”

Myers announced in May that he was leaving Golden State at the end of his contract after spending 12 seasons with the organization. He put together a roster that won four NBA titles and has been able to sustain a high level of success for most of the past decade. Myers, who also was named the team’s president of basketball operations in 2016, is a two-time Executive of the Year winner.

There has been speculation that other teams would pursue Myers, even though he stated that he wanted a break from the league when he announced he was stepping down from the Warriors. He reportedly turned down offers from Golden State that would have made him one of the NBA’s highest-paid executives.

Glasspiegel notes that Myers has a previous connection to ESPN through a “Lead By Example” podcast that he hosted last season. ESPN distributed the show on its multimedia platforms.

ESPN has made several changes to its coverage team since the NBA playoffs wrapped up in June, Glasspiegel adds. It was reported this week that Malika Andrews will replace Mike Greenberg as “Countdown” host for the NBA Finals, and longtime analyst Jalen Rose was released as part of the network’s layoffs earlier this summer.

Also, ESPN decided to shake up its top announcing team, replacing Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson with Doris Burke and former Sixers coach Doc Rivers.

Former Warriors Exec Bob Myers Likely To Get Job Offers

July 29th, 2023 at 9:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bob Myers indicated that he wanted some time away from the game when he stepped down as president of basketball operations and general manager of the Warriors, but fans should expect to hear his name mentioned in connection to any openings that arise in the next few months, writes Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

The most obvious team for Myers, according to Fischer, is the Clippers because of his longtime association with team consultant Jerry West and the working relationship they developed during their time together with Golden State. Myers spent more than a decade with the Warriors and helped to win four championships, so Fischer believes he’ll be among the first names that any team will call if it decides to shake up its front office.

Fischer identifies a few other former general managers who may be in line for a second chance, including ex-Utah GM Dennis Lindsey, who is currently working in the Mavericks‘ front office, Kings assistant GM Wes Wilcox, who has rebuilt his reputation after his experience in Atlanta, and former Orlando GM Rob Hennigan, who is VP of basketball operations with the Thunder.

Fischer passes along more information about rising stars in NBA front offices:

Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon was among the candidates to become the Wizards’ president of basketball operations and he’ll likely be considered for similar jobs in the future, Fischer writes. Raptors GM Bobby Webster, Cavaliers GM Mike Gansey and new Clippers GM Trent Redden all appear headed for team president roles someday, Fischer adds.
Jeff Peterson, the Nets‘ assistant GM, is considered one of the league’s best young executives, according to Fischer. Peterson interviewed for the Pistons’ GM slot in 2020, and Fischer hears that he’s viewed as one of the favorites to take over the Hornets if they decide to replace Mitch Kupchak, who’s in the final year of his contract. Pelicans assistant GM Bryson Graham could be first in line to replace Langdon if he leaves, but league sources tell Fischer that he might get an opportunity with another team before that happens.
Tayshaun Prince is a valuable member of the Grizzlies‘ front office and has received overtures about running other teams, according to Fischer. Among other former NBA players, Jameer Nelson has built a strong reputation in the Sixers‘ front office for his work with their G League affiliate, and Acie Law appears headed for a promotion with the Thunder after Will Dawkins was hired by the Wizards.
Fischer identifies CAA’s Austin Brown as an agent who might move into a front office role, noting that he was a candidate to run the Bulls in 2020. Fischer also singles out agents Jason Glushon and Todd Ramasar, along with Kirk Berger, a legal counsel with the players’ union.

Warriors’ Lacob Not Ready To Name Myers’ Successor

May 31st, 2023 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on Tuesday at the press conference announcing Bob Myers‘ departure from the Warriors, team owner Joe Lacob told reporters that he wasn’t ready to announce a successor for the team’s longtime head of basketball operations, as Kendra Andrews of ESPN.com relays.

“We’ll make a decision as soon as we can, but I want to make sure that we make the right decision, and if it happens in a week, great. If it happens in a month, great,” Lacob said. “We’ll make that decision through the natural course, have the right process. I think we are preparing for the draft and free agency and all those things regardless, and we’ll be ready.”

Myers’ contract with the Warriors runs through June 30 and he’s expected to remain around the team for the next month to fulfill the rest of his deal. However, Myers said on Tuesday that he’ll be operating in a support role, so it remains unclear who will be taking the lead on draft night (June 22) and at the start of free agency (June 30).

Multiple reports leading up to Myers’ announcement on Tuesday indicated that the Warriors’ next top basketball executive would probably be promoted from within — VP of basketball operations Mike Dunleavy Jr. was frequently cited as the most likely candidate. Lacob didn’t confirm or deny that plan on Tuesday, though he did express confidence in the group that Myers will leave behind.

“I will say that we do have a very strong organization, and there’s a good possibility it could be an internal candidate,” Lacob said, per Andrews. “But haven’t made a decision, so can’t really give you an answer. We are going to work on that.”

In one obliquely worded section of her report, Andrews cites sources who say that “power struggles” within the Warriors, including between ownership and the front office, may limit Golden State’s ability to bring in a big-name executive from outside the organization, making an in-house promotion more likely.

The team could become more of a “family business” in the coming years, Andrews writes, perhaps alluding to the fact that Lacob is reportedly interested in having his son Kirk Lacob – the Warriors’ executive VP of basketball operations – take on a more prominent role in the front office.

Whoever emerges as the Warriors’ next head of basketball operations will assume a role that Myers says requires “complete engagement,” something he felt he could no longer give. Joe Lacob’s expectations in the post-Myers era will remain high, even as the NBA introduces a Collective Bargaining Agreement that will impose more restrictions on the teams with the highest payrolls.

“We are going to win no matter what. I don’t care what the rules are,” Lacob said. “We are going to figure out a way to do it. That’s what good organizations do.”

Bob Myers To Step Down From Position With Warriors

May 30th, 2023 at 4:54pm CST by Luke Adams

4:54pm: The Warriors have formally announced in a press release that Myers will step down at the conclusion of his contract.

11:27pm: Warriors president of basketball operations and general manager Bob Myers has decided to step down from his position with the franchise, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

“It’s just time,” Myers told Wojnarowski.

Myers’ contract with the Warriors is set to expire in June and there had been uncertainty in recent months about whether or not he would reach an agreement to remain with the team. According to Wojnarowski, Myers turned down multiple offers from Warriors ownership that would have made him one of the NBA’s highest-paid executives.

Myers, who told Woj that several factors besides money went into his decision and that he’s unsure about his next move, is scheduled to speak to reporters at 3:00 pm CT for his end-of-season press conference. He’ll presumably go into more detail at that time about his decision to give up his front office position in Golden State, but previous reports have indicated he may step away from the NBA to spend more time with family.

A player agent before he transitioned to the team side of the business, Myers joined the Warriors as an assistant general manager in 2011. He was promoted to GM in 2012 and president of basketball operations in 2016, overseeing the most successful run in franchise history.

Although Stephen Curry was drafted before he arrived in Golden State, Myers was largely responsible for building the rosters that won titles in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022. He was named the NBA’s Executive Year in both ’15 and ’17.

As Wojnarowski notes, Myers built strong relationships with Warriors franchise cornerstones Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green over the years, so his departure will add more uncertainty to an offseason that was already expected to be an eventful one in Golden State.

Thompson is extension-eligible as he enters a contract year, while Green still has to make a decision on a 2023/24 player option. Jordan Poole‘s lucrative new extension will also go into effect in July as more punitive penalties loom for the NBA’s biggest spenders in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Warriors VP of basketball operations Mike Dunleavy Jr. has been repeatedly mentioned as a possible successor for Myers. According to Wojnarowski, team owner Joe Lacob is also expected to seek a more prominent role for his son Kirk Lacob, who is the club’s executive VP of basketball operations.

Stein’s Latest: Myers, Nurse, Sixers, Pacers, Draft

May 29th, 2023 at 1:49pm CST by Rory Maher

Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers was originally going to speak with the media last week for his end-of-season press conference, but it was pushed back to this week. As Marc Stein writes at Substack, there’s a belief that Myers doesn’t want to speak publicly without first deciding whether or not he’s going to stay with the team — the longtime executive’s contract expires at the end of June.

Myers’ presser could come as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday, according to Stein, who predicts that the 48-year-old will step away from his post and take a break from basketball for the time being. The Athletic first reported that vice president of basketball operations Mike Dunleavy Jr. is viewed as Myers’ “natural successor,” and Stein also believes the former NBA player would take over if Myers departs.

Here’s more from Stein:

There was growing buzz linking former Raptors head coach Nick Nurse to the Sixers‘ coaching vacancy late Sunday night, Stein writes. Nurse has interviewed for several open coaching jobs this spring, including Philadelphia, Phoenix and Milwaukee. He’s a finalist for the Suns’ opening and had been a finalist for the Bucks’ lead job until he reportedly withdrew from consideration, leading to speculation that he either knew he wasn’t going to land the position or that he may have had an offer elsewhere. Keith Pompey reported Saturday that Nurse was evaluating his options between the Suns and Sixers.
“The rumbles are rising in volume” that the Pacers have designs on moving up in the 2023 NBA draft, according to Stein, who points out that Indiana controls three first-round picks — Nos. 7, 26 and 29. They also have two second-rounders — Nos. 32 and 55. Stein is at least the third reporter to suggest the Pacers might look to package their picks in some fashion.
As Stein details, one thing that could be beneficial for the Pacers is there are rumors the Hornets (No. 2), Trail Blazers (No. 3), Rockets (No. 4) and Pistons (No. 5) could be candidates for win-now deals with their own picks. It’s hard to envision what a deal would look like from the Pacers’ perspective in that scenario though, because presumably the rival teams might not be looking for extra draft picks if they want to win now. There aren’t that many win-now players on Indiana’s roster. Not that the Pacers don’t have good players, but several are young and aren’t going anywhere. Maybe Buddy Hield or T.J. McConnell would fit the bill? I’m not sure how enticing that would be, even though they’re both good players in different ways. Myles Turner would draw interest, but I’d be a little surprised if he’s moved after Indiana renegotiated and extended his contract.

Warriors’ Kerr Talks Kuminga, Moody, Klay, Dunleavy, Curry

May 21st, 2023 at 9:58am CST by Luke Adams

After telling reporters earlier in the week that Jonathan Kuminga can earn a bigger role going forward by becoming a more versatile player, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr explained his thinking in more depth during an appearance on Tim Kawakami’s podcast on Friday.

“He’s a four,” Kerr said of Kuminga. “For him to take the next step, he needs to be able to play the three as an offensive player. He can play the three defensively; he can guard, really, one through four. But offensively, to play the three you’ve got to be really skilled in this league today, you’ve gotta see the floor, you’ve gotta be able to make plays. And right now, I think he’s much more of a four than he is a three on the offensive end.”

Kerr added that there’s a path for Kuminga to claim regular playing time as the team’s primary backup power forward next season.

Asked about a report stating that Kuminga’s representatives would talk to the Warriors this offseason in the hopes of their client getting either consistent minutes in Golden State or a change of scenery, Kerr downplayed the importance of that story.

“That’s standard in the NBA,” he told Kawakami.

Here are a few more highlights from Kerr’s podcast appearance:

While Kuminga fell out of Golden State’s rotation in the postseason, fellow second-year player Moses Moody saw regular playoff minutes despite an up-and-down role in the second half of the season. According to Kerr, Moody earned his postseason playing time based on what he showed in practices. “Moses had a real breakthrough late in the season in the pickup games that our guys play and in 3-on-3 and the individual work,” Kerr told Kawakami. “You could see he realized a lot of things — how to use his strength, he realized how hard he had to play, how hard he had to go after loose balls, rebounds. That translates. … That’s what you look for — you look for someone who’s got perseverance and stays with it and keeps working and eventually breaks through. But you just don’t know how long that process is going to take.”
Klay Thompson is coming off a subpar postseason by his standards and is entering his mid-30s, so Kerr wants to talk to the veteran sharpshooter about how his game can continue to evolve. But removing Thompson from the starting lineup won’t be a consideration next season. “He’s still a great two-way player. He’s got so much left to offer,” Kerr said. “… He just had a particularly great second half of the season. He’s still a starter in this league, for sure.”
Kerr told Kawakami that he and Warriors executive Mike Dunleavy Jr. talk “pretty frequently” and that Dunleavy and president of basketball operations Bob Myers are “best friends.” Dunleavy is viewed as a logical candidate for a promotion if Myers doesn’t remain in Golden State. “I like to get his thoughts,” Kerr said of Dunleavy. “He had a long playing career, he’s been in the NBA his entire life, basically, with his dad being a coach and general manager and player. So Mike’s got a great feel for the league, great perspective, and he’s someone I really trust.”
Kerr, the NBA’s third-longest tenured head coach, credited Stephen Curry for solidifying his job security during his time in Golden State. “Generally speaking, a long-tenured coach is beholden to (a superstar) like Steph Curry,” Kerr said. “So I’m completely aware that the only reason I’ve been here nine years is that I get to coach one of the all-time great players and human beings in NBA history.”