Glen Grunwald has shed his interim label.
The New York Knicks announced today that Grunwald has been named executive vice president and general manager. Grunwald had been serving in this role on an interim basis since July.
“Glen has done a terrific job this season,” Knicks owner James Dolan said. “He is an intelligent, seasoned executive and we look forward to him continuing in the role of general manager for many years to come.”
Grunwald joined the Knicks on Sep. 6, 2006 as the team’s senior vice president of basketball operations, following a decade with the Toronto Raptors (1994-2004), including seven seasons as general manager. He has served as New York’s interim general manager since Jul. 1, 2011.
“It has been a great honor to be a part of this storied franchise for the past six seasons,” Grunwald said in a press release. “I would like to thank Mr. Dolan for this opportunity and look forward to building on our commitment to give our fans a team that they can be proud of today, and in the future.”
Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors have promoted Bob Myers to general manager, the team announced today. Larry Riley, who has spent the last four years in the Warriors’ front office – including the last 12 months as general manager/Executive VP of Basketball Operations – will remain with the organization as the team’s Director of Scouting.
Myers, 37, joined the Warriors on April 14, 2011 as Assistant General Manager/Vice President of Basketball Operations following a highly-successful 14-year stint as a representative to numerous NBA players. During the last year with Golden State, Myers has worked closely under the tutelage of Riley on all Basketball Operations matters, including contract negotiations, talent evaluation, roster management, scouting and CBA compliance. In his new role, Myers will report to Co-Executive Chairman & CEO Joe Lacob and will oversee the entire Basketball Operations Department on a day-to-day basis.
“We’re extremely pleased to announce Bob’s promotion as we conclude the 2011-12 season,” said Lacob. “We are confident that he is the right person to guide our Basketball Operations Department into the long-term future and, similarly, through a very important time for this franchise as we begin to prepare for next season. As we acknowledged a year ago, we think his potential as a young executive in this business is outstanding and that intuition was certainly confirmed during his first year with the organization. Bob is a well-respected, intelligent and dedicated executive who has developed many solid relationships in the game of basketball and understands what it takes to be successful in this business. He’s the ideal person for this job.”
A Bay Area native who attended Monte Vista High School in Danville, Myers graduated from UCLA in 1998 with a degree in Business/Economics and later earned his Law Degree from Loyola Law School. As a member of the UCLA basketball team, Myers and the Bruins captured the 1995 NCAA Championship during his sophomore season and advanced to the 1997 Elite Eight two years later.
Prior to joining the Warriors last spring, Myers spent five years at Los Angeles-based Wasserman Media Group (WMG), one of the largest global and sports entertainment companies in the world. He represented a client list of nearly 20 NBA players before his departure from WMG. Myers began his career in 1997 as an intern at Tellem and Associates in Los Angeles – working under long-time sports agent Arn Tellem – and eventually served as Vice President of SFX Sports. He negotiated over $575 million in contracts during his 14 years in the business.
“I’m grateful for this tremendous opportunity and look forward to the challenges that lie ahead,” said Myers. “The last year has been a learning experience for me as I’ve had the chance to familiarize myself with all facets of the organization while working with Joe, Peter, Larry, Coach Jackson, Rick Welts, Jerry West and many other talented individuals. In conjunction with all of those people, we hope to build a team that our great fans can be proud of for a long period of time. I’m convinced that many of the pieces are in place for this organization to be extremely successful, including our ownership group. If you have committed ownership, you have a chance in this league. I’m excited to have that chance and the opportunity to be a part of something special.”