Bob Myers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Agent Rob Pelinka Frontrunner For Lakers’ GM Job

February 21st, 2017 at 1:48pm CST by Luke Adams

With general manager Mitch Kupchak and executive VP of basketball operations Jim Buss having been relieved of their duties in the Lakers’ front office, new president of basketball operations Magic Johnson will call the shots in L.A. However, the club remains on the lookout for a new GM, and according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical and Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report (Twitter links), longtime player agent Rob Pelinka has emerged as a frontrunner for the position.

ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne first reported (via Twitter) that Pelinka, who represents Kobe Bryant and many current NBA players, was on the Lakers’ radar for a front office role. If the team decides to hire Pelinka, he would have to divest himself of his representation business, which would take some time, as Wojnarowski notes (via Twitter).

Several other rumors are swirling as the Lakers’ front office undergoes major changes, so let’s round them up…

Assuming the Lakers haven’t already decided on Pelinka, there are a number of other potential candidates believed to be on their radar, per Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter links). According to Amick, Blazers GM Neil Olshey, former Cavs GM Chris Grant, Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard, and Pacers VP of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie are worth keeping an eye on.
ESPN’s Marc Stein reports (via Twitter) that another veteran player agent – Arn Tellem – is also said to be a potential target for the Lakers. However, as Rod Beard of The Detroit News tweets, Tellem – who formerly represented Kobe Bryant – has been very involved in the Pistons‘ move to downtown Detroit and seems unlikely to bolt in the middle of that project.
Magic Johnson has previously talked about wanting Bryant to have a role in the Lakers’ front office. Shelburne tweets that the future Hall-of-Famer is “happy doing what he’s doing,” but would be available to the organization if needed.
Jerry West hasn’t been approached by the Lakers about a role in the team’s front office, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times. According to Ding (via Twitter), West won’t be a part of the club’s new management group.
According to Tim Kawakami of The San Jose Mercury News (Twitter links), one reason the Warriors were motivated to give GM Bob Myers a promotion and a raise last summer was to avoid making him a target for the Lakers.

Trade Notes: Warriors, Gibson, Raptors, Okafor

February 15th, 2017 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors haven’t been involved in many trade rumors in recent weeks, which makes sense, since it’s hard to find many areas the team needs to improve. According to Anthony Slater of The San Jose Mercury News, general manager Bob Myers intends to keep an eye out for possible deals, but is happy to stand pat if nothing materializes.

“We don’t want to disrupt what we have,” the Warriors GM said. “Doesn’t mean we won’t answer the phone, doesn’t mean we won’t explore possibilities. But reality is, we like who we have and, even if we didn’t, our options are somewhat limited. Utah has our first (round pick) this year from the (Andre) Iguodala transaction back in 2013. So we’ll see what happens. If we end up not doing anything, that would be a fine outcome as well.”

Here are a few more trade-related notes and rumors from around the NBA:

Before the Raptors traded for Serge Ibaka on Tuesday, the team had been engaged in discussions with the Bulls about Taj Gibson. According to Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com, Terrence Ross wasn’t believed to be a part of those talks, though the two sides were discussing a package that included a first-round pick. Having sent Ross and a first-rounder to Orlando, the Raps are now almost certainly out on Gibson, though the veteran power forward acknowledges there will likely be more chatter up until next Thursday.
Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun wonders if the Raptors are considering a follow-up move after trading for Ibaka. As Wolstat points out, Toronto will have a crowded frontcourt when Patrick Patterson gets healthy, and Cory Joseph might be expendable if the club has confidence in its other point guard options behind Kyle Lowry.
Having been pulled from the Sixers‘ lineup for the last two games, Jahlil Okafor admits he thought there was a “good chance” he’d be traded to another team by now, as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer details. However, he’s ready to focus on his return to the court tonight in Boston.
A handful of ESPN insiders, including Kevin Pelton and Amin Elhassen (Insider link), examine the Pacific division and make a few suggestions for what sort of deals the Clippers, Kings, Lakers, Suns, and Warriors should consider.

Warriors Rumors: Durant, Jones, New Arena

December 1st, 2016 at 7:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kevin Durant has quickly assimilated himself into the Warriors’ offense and his production is comparable to his MVP season in 2013/14, Sam Amick of USA Today points out. Durant is on pace to have the most efficient season of all time for a player averaging at least 25 points a game, Amick notes. The perennial All-Star forward has posted a player efficiency rating of 30.7, higher than the 29.8 PER he had during that MVP season with the Thunder. Unlike the struggles of the Heat’s Big Three during their first season together, the Warriors are already maximizing the talents of Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, as they are taking nearly the same amount of shots, Amick continues. The Warriors are averaging 117.6 points a game, which would make them the most prolific offense since the 1991-92 Warriors, Amick adds.

In other Warriors news:

First-round pick Damian Jones is unlikely to claim a rotation spot this season, GM Bob Myers said in a radio interview that was relayed on CSNBayArea.com. Jones has been shuttling between the Warriors and the team’s D-League affiliate the past two weeks after recovering from a pectoral injury. The 7-footer out of Vanderbilt has yet to make his NBA debut. He is averaging 2.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks over 19.4 minutes per contest with the Santa Cruz Warriors. “It’s gonna be hard to crack our rotation,” Myers told radio station 95.7 The Game. “He hasn’t played basketball in seven months. He needs to play a lot more basketball. But we’re encouraged.
Rockets star guard James Harden wasn’t upset that Durant left the Rockets off his list of teams that he visited during free agency last summer, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com writes. “It would have been nice for a visit,” Harden told Watkins. “For himself and his family, he made the decision, and he’s very confident about it.”
Rick Welts, the team’s Chief Operating Officer, said in a statement the franchise plans to break ground soon on a new arena now that another legal hurdle has been cleared, according to Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com. The California Appeals Court upheld a previous ruling that declared the Environmental Impact Report for the team’s site on San Francisco’s Mission Bay met all required standards. The ruling is likely to be appealed by the Mission Bay Alliance to the California Supreme Court, Poole continues. The Warriors plan to vacate Oracle Arena after the 2018/19 season and move into Chase Center in 2019, Poole adds.

Warriors Announce Front Office Promotions

September 20th, 2016 at 9:57pm CST by Luke Adams

9:57pm: In addition to his promotion, Myers received a substantial pay increase and a contract extension, though the exact length and amount are currently unknown, Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group reports (Twitter links).

3:59pm: The Warriors announced a handful of new titles for members of their front office today, with several executives receiving promotions. The most notable of the changes within Golden State’s front office was a promotion for Bob Myers, who was named the team’s president of basketball operations and general manager. Myers had previously just been the Warriors’ GM.

In addition to giving Myers a new role, the team also elevated Travis Schlenk to VP of basketball operations/assistant GM, Kirk Lacob to VP of GSW Sports Ventures/assistant GM, and Larry Harris to assistant GM/director of player personnel.

Given the Warriors’ success in recent years – winning a title in 2014/15 and setting the regular-season wins record in 2015/16 – it comes as no surprise that the franchise wanted to reward members of the front office. Myers, in particular, has been instrumental in building the most talented roster in the NBA.

Myers was hired by the Warriors as an assistant general manager in 2011, with the club drafting Klay Thompson in the first round of that year’s draft just a couple months later. In 2012, Myers received a promotion to general manager — during his first offseason as Golden State’s GM, Myers used a second-round pick to select Draymond Green and inked Stephen Curry to a four-year, $44MM extension.

The Warriors have a 238-90 (.726) regular-season record since Myers took over as the team’s GM.

Western Notes: Kings, Clippers, Rockets, Warriors

February 11th, 2016 at 2:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Kings will try to make defensive improvements at the trade deadline, GM Vlade Divac said on “The Grant Napear Show” on CBS Sports 1140 in Sacramento, tweets James Ham of CSN California. The Rockets would prefer to add a shooter via trade, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link). The Clippers are expected to assess their need for a backup point guard with Austin Rivers injured, according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter). The Warriors, meanwhile, aren’t looking to fix what isn’t broken, as GM Bob Myers said in a radio appearance on 95.7 The Game, as Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group relays (Twitter link).

“It’d have to be something unbelievable to really mess with the chem & the personnel on the team,” Myers said.

See more from the Western Conference:

Divac acknowledged that he was thinking about making a coaching change and had full authority to do so, but simply decided against it, as he said in an appearance on “The Grant Napear Show” on CBSports 1140 in Sacramento, notes Sean Cunningham of KXTV-TV in Sacramento (Twitter link). However, the resistance that Kings minority-share owners put up against eating the rest of George Karl‘s salary also played into the decision to keep the coach, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com said today in an appearance on ESPN Radio’s “Mike & Mike” show (audio link), and as RealGM transcribes. That jibes with an earlier suggestion from Sam Amick of USA Today. Vivek Ranadive owns a controlling share of the team, but it doesn’t constitute a majority of the franchise, Windhorst points out.
Communication with management didn’t go smoothly for former Kings coach Tyrone Corbin last season, as he said this week on SiriusXM NBA Radio’s “NBA Today” show (Twitter link; audio link). “It was a mess. The organization was kind of playing it both ways,” Corbin said.
Bryce Dejean-Jones and the Pelicans have only slightly different figures in mind, Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate hears, advancing his earlier report that the rookie shooting guard is in talks with the Pels and other teams (Twitter links). The shooting guard is seeking a two- or three-year deal following the expiration of his second 10-day contract with New Orleans on Wednesday, Kushner adds. The Pelicans are ineligible to sign him to any more 10-day deals.
The Rockets offered Josh Smith more money in free agency last summer than the minimum-salary deal he signed with the Clippers, Rockets GM Daryl Morey said on the “Chad, Joe & Lo” show on 95.7 The Game in the Bay Area (audio link; transcription via HoopsHype). Smith wound up with the Rockets anyway via trade.

Warriors Notes: Walton, Kerr, Iguodala, Myers

November 24th, 2015 at 2:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Steve Kerr still isn’t coaching the Warriors, but he’s a consistent presence around the team, and GM Bob Myers tells USA Today’s Sam Amick he’s grateful that Kerr and interim coach Luke Walton work together as well as they do.

“We’re talking normally a couple times a day now,” Walton said to Amick about Kerr. “And if it’s a home game, we talk at halftime, we talk pregame, we talk at shootarounds. It’s getting more and more.”

The NBA record-tying 15-0 start officially goes on Kerr’s ledger, not Walton’s, but no one on the team is making that an issue, and Walton remains essentially “the same guy” he was when he wasn’t in charge, Stephen Curry said to Amick. See more on the Warriors before they go for an unprecedented 16th straight win to start the season tonight when they play the Lakers:

The Warriors have a collaborative front office, and that sensibility extends to the coaching staff as well, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com details. Assistant coach Jarron Collins credits Kerr. “If you have an idea and you’re in our organization, he wants to hear about it and he’s willing to listen,” Collins said to Berger. “Steve values input from everybody. When you’re in an environment like that, it makes for a very, very special environment and atmosphere to learn.”
Warriors players, cognizant that Harrison Barnes is headed to restricted free agency this summer, are intent on helping him as much as possible on the court, Andre Iguodala said in a recent postgame interview with Rosalyn Gold-Onwude of CSNBayArea (video link), as Dan Feldman of ProBasketballTalk transcribes.
Before he became Executive of the Year, Myers was an agent at Wasserman Media Group, where he made an impression on chairman and CEO Casey Wasserman, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes in a profile of Myers. “He had impeccable relationships with the clients. More importantly, he became a friend and valuable part of the company,” Wasserman said. “His success he’s having now is no surprise to me or to anyone else who [has] worked with him.”

Pacific Notes: Barnes, Chandler, Clark, Lakers

October 27th, 2015 at 3:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Warriors GM Bob Myers didn’t express trepidation as he told reporters today that Harrison Barnes has chosen to end extension talks, as Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group relays (Twitter link). Golden State will have the right to match offers for Barnes in restricted free agency next summer.

“We ended discussions in a very healthy place if that’s possible, and I say that in all sincerity,” Myers said.

See more on the Warriors amid the latest from the Pacific Division:

Tyson Chandler is hopeful that he can remain with the Suns for the duration of his four-year contract and finish his career with Phoenix, as he said in a response to a question from Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. “It’s been tough. I want to, honestly,” Chandler said. “I wanted to do it in Dallas. Now I want to do it in Phoenix. It’s a lot of stress on kids and the family, even myself. I would love to continue to grow with this franchise and try to elevate it, especially with these young players. I think I can be huge here as far as the impact I can make. That’s my goal.”
Ian Clark picked up a $473,636 partial guarantee that’s worth half his full-season salary Monday, when the Warriors made him part of their opening night roster. His contract had been non-guaranteed. He’d lock in the full amount on the leaguewide guarantee date in January. Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders first reported the terms of his deal.
The Lakers upgraded their roster over the summer, but co-owner and executive VP of basketball oeprations Jim Buss indicated to USA Today’s Sam Amick that improvement in the standings this season isn’t his goal. “[Jerry Buss] taught me for all these years, we’re always looking three to five years ahead,” Buss said, referring to his late father, the longtime Lakers owner. “Right now, I’m not looking at this season … I don’t care about making the playoffs and getting eliminated in the playoffs. What I care about is getting the core players, because we want to get to the top, and the only way we can get to the top is to have the core players, get the free agents, have flexibility in our [salary] cap, and we’ll be there within three years. Not a problem. Boom.”

And-Ones: Lockout, Gentry, Pointer

June 16th, 2015 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

Commissioner Adam Silver signaled Sunday night that he doesn’t anticipate a lockout taking place in 2017, when the league and the union can opt out of the collective bargaining agreement, as Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com details. Players association executive director Michele Roberts said last week that the sides will begin negotiations this summer toward a new labor deal.

“I think we have a very fair deal right now,” Silver said. “I think the deal is designed to pay players a percentage of revenue so it self-adjusts as revenue goes up. And when the new television deal kicks in in 2016/17, the players are going to be averaging over $8MM a year. I think, again, it’s a fair deal. If there’s things they want to talk about, of course we’ll talk about them. But I’m not overly concerned. I think we’ve got a great thing going right now. I think both sides recognize that.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Warriors GM Bob Myers admits that if there hadn’t been such a lengthy break before the start of the NBA Finals, the team might not have allowed Alvin Gentry to have the second interview with the Pelicans that led New Orleans to hire him as head coach, as Myers tells TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip for NBA.com.
The Lakers, Wizards and Sixers are the upcoming teams on the predraft workout docket for St. John’s small forward Sir’Dominic Pointer, reveals Josh Newman of SNY.tv.
St. Bonaventure center Youssou Ndoye, if drafted, is willing to sign overseas and become a draft-and-stash prospect if an NBA team so desires, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. Ndoye faces long odds to hear his name called on draft night, as neither Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress nor Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him. He worked out for the Clippers on Monday and is set to do so for the Jazz today after showing off for the Knicks last week, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Charania adds the Sixers, Mavericks, Heat, Spurs and Wizards to the list of teams working him out, which includes previously reported auditions with the Nets and Grizzlies.
Shooting guard Bobby Ray Parks Jr., who took the unconventional route of playing collegiately in the Philippines rather than the U.S., will work out for the Mavericks, Hawks and Celtics in addition to previously reported workouts with the Nets and Jazz, as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune details.

Draft History: Bob Myers

May 7th, 2015 at 8:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The 2015 NBA draft is less than two months away, and for teams that aren’t still participating in the NBA playoffs, the focus is on using that event to build toward a better future. The exact draft order won’t be known until the May 19th lottery, when the simple bounce of a ping-pong ball can alter the fate of a franchise. Of course, having one of the top selections in any draft doesn’t guarantee that a team will snag a future All-Star. Team executives and scouts still have the difficult task of making the correct call with their picks.

With this in mind we at Hoops Rumors will be taking a look back at the draft history of the primary basketball executive for each NBA team. Their names, reputations, and possibly employment will be on the line as a result of the decisions to come on June 25th, and we’ll be examining what they’ve done in previous years in charge of a club’s front office. Note that many of them have played other sorts of roles within a team’s executive structure, but this won’t take that into account. We’ll begin with a look back at the calls made by the NBA Executive of the Year, Warriors GM Bob Myers…

Warriors (April 2012-Present)

2012 Draft

No. 7 Overall — Harrison Barnes: 241 games, 6.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.4 APG. .440/.373/.733.
No. 30 Overall — Festus Ezeli: 124 games, 3.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 0.9 BPG. .487/.000/.579.
No. 35 Overall — Draymond Green: 240 games, 6.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.1 APG. .412/.321/.685.
No. 52 Overall — Ognjen Kuzmic: 37 games, 0.9 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 0.2 APG. .520/.000/.600.

Notable players passed over: Andre Drummond (No. 9) and Khris Middleton (No. 39).

2013 Draft

No. 30 Overall — Nemanja Nedovic *: 24 games, 1.1 PPG, 0.6 RPG, 0.5 APG. .205/.167/.875.

* The Warriors traded cash and a 2014 second-rounder (No. 53 Alessandro Gentile) to the Wolves for Malcolm Lee and the No. 26 overall pick (Andre Roberson). Golden State then dealt the rights to Roberson to the Thunder for the No. 29 overall pick (Archie Goodwin) and cash. The Warriors then completed this chain of events when they dealt the rights to Goodwin and Lee to Phoenix for the rights to Nedovic.

Notable player(s) passed over: Rudy Gobert (No. 27).

2014 Draft

The No. 23 Overall Pick (Rodney Hood) was dealt to Jazz as part of three-team sign-and-trade arrangement that brought Andre Iguodala to Golden State.

Notable players available at draft slot: Shabazz Napier (No. 24), K.J. McDaniels (No. 32), and Jordan Clarkson (No. 46).

Central Notes: Thompson, Griffin, Gibson

May 5th, 2015 at 8:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Tristan Thompson is showing the Cavs his value with his aggressive rebounding and play around the rim during the playoffs, Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders writes. While there is a call around the league for big men who can stretch the floor with their shooting, Thompson is focused on continuing to improve in the paint area, Camerato notes. “You try to come back every year with something better and add something to your game,” Thompson said. “For me, I’m going to continue getting better and working on my game. Who I am now is not who I’m going to be a year from now or moving forward. I still want to get better and add things to my game. But for this year, for this team, which is my priority and my main focus, is how I can be an asset and help.” The 24-year-old can become a restricted free agent this summer provided the Cavs tender him a qualifying offer worth $6,777,589.

Here’s more out of the Central Division:

While LeBron James‘ return certainly revitalized the Cavs franchise, GM David Griffin was the one who laid the groundwork for the team to contend this season, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. The rookie GM finished second to Golden State GM Bob Myers in the voting for Executive of the Year for the 2014/15 campaign.
Timofey Mozgov has fit in seamlessly with the Cavs since being acquired from Denver earlier this season, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes in his profile of the Russian big man. “It does seem like he has been here longer than just since January,” guard Kyrie Irving said. “He is a guy who makes things fun off the court, but you know on the court he is going to have your back. He is tough. That is big for us.”
While the additions of Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic have diminished his playing time and stats this season, Taj Gibson could be the key to the Bulls advancing in the playoffs, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com writes. “Taj is always important,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “That’s the one thing you can’t overlook, what he brings to our team, his defense, his rebounding. He’s probably our best low-post defender. He’s our best guy at moving his feet. Offensively it’s hard to put a small on him — he can overpower you inside with his post game. Second shots. He’s got a good 17′ shot, it’s not like you can disregard him. You’ve got to pay attention to him. He’s critical for our team.“