If you had to name some of the best up-and-coming general managers in the NBA, Bob Myers of the Golden State Warriors should certainly be on that list.
One of the younger GMs in the league, Myers has made quite a name for himself in just one season on the job. He orchestrated an exceptional draft in 2012 and picked up key pieces in the offseason that helped propel the young Warriors to a wildly successful postseason run.
Despite all the success, Myers stayed busy this past offseason. To help offset the loss of key bench players in Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry, Myers swiftly moved on to pick up relevant pieces like Toney Douglas, Maurice Speights and Jermaine O’Neal. The biggest move, however, came when he shockingly acquired the services of Andre Iguodala.
The move could ultimately help the Warriors become one of the true juggernaut teams of the Western Conference – which is saying a lot given how stacked the conference is – but getting there wasn’t cake walk for Myers. Sean Deveney of Sporting News has details on what motivated him to go after what appeared to be so unlikely:
“Andre was still a longshot, too,” Myers told Sporting News. “And it looked like more of a longshot as we were going through the process. I remember walking into my house late at night, just about every night that week, and telling my wife, ‘This is disappointing because no one cares about the work you put in, they just care about the result.’ We were ready to not get the result. You can say you tried really hard, but no one wants to hear that. Many times it looked futile. I killed it, five, 10, 20 different times. I said, ‘We’re not getting him, we can’t do it.’”
“After meeting him and talking with him and seeing his desire to join our team, his eagerness, it almost served as a motivating factor to get the deal done,” Myers said. “He wanted it badly and was willing to make economic concessions to do it. Not like most free agents—90, 95 percent of free agents go where they get the most money. The fact that he was willing to do that served as a motivating factor us, and also as a sign of respect for how our organization is viewed by players. It was a big moment for us. It was great to see a player choose us when he had other options.”
“We felt in a sense, like we were moving the needle and getting closer for a moment like signing Iguodala,” Myers said. “That doesn’t mean it is going to happen. The odds were very long on that, though, for a multitude of reasons. It could have fallen apart at any moment. We had to create cap space, create flexibility, and then still had to be able to convince a player with a healthy number of options, like Iguodala had, to come here. Everything has to line up and break right. Fortunately, they did.”
Bringing in Iguodala presents an interesting situation for the Warriors, since they already have the talented duo of Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes at the wing positions. In all likelihood, Barnes will have to move over to the bench to make room for Iguodala in the starting lineup, but these are the types of issues great teams want to have. Whoever comes off the bench is bound to make a strong impact as a sixth man – another thing great teams tend to have. Thanks to Myers’ brilliance, the Warriors appear to have it all now.
Myers also chimed in on Andrew Bogut’s ankle situation, from Deveney:
“I think the initial thought is he is healthy, and play him as much as you want,” general manager Bob Myers told Sporting News. “If something obviously were to develop, something unforeseen, you have to react to it. At this point, you treat him like he is 100 percent healthy, that is what he is saying, that is what the medical staff is saying, so, you don’t treat him any other way. Maybe the question is, do you want to play him 35 minutes? But that is a question for any center. It is not due to anything with his injury. We’re approaching it like he is healthy.”
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“He has had tough injuries, but the good thing is our trainer said all is well,” Myers said. “That is how we’re looking at Andrew now. He is healthy.”
This, of course, is critical. One of the main reasons the Warriors have a chance at greatness is due to the presence of Bogut. It was obvious that he was nowhere near 100 percent during the team’s remarkable playoff run, but he still made the biggest impact on the defensive end of the floor. It’s reasonable to argue that Golden State would never have made it out of the first round without the center, so to hear that he is going to be 100 percent is huge for the team.
With Stephen Curry’s offensive prowess, Bogut’s defense and great overall depth, the Warriors are truly one of the most intriguing teams to watch heading into the season.
Onto other news from around the league: