SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Bob Myers can no longer devote all his energies to managing the Golden State Warriors, and that’s why he’s ready to step down as one of the most successful professional sports managers of all time.
“It’s tough, it’s tough. I have so many different things, emotions that I’m still processing,” Myers said, fighting back tears at his announcement on Tuesday. “But the bottom line is that this job that I do requires, and I would say for any professional general manager or coach, that requires total commitment, total effort, 1000%. If you can’t, you shouldn’t be doing it. That is the answer to the question of why.
“…It doesn’t feel right to do something if I can’t give it my all, and that’s what it takes to do what we’ve been doing for the last 12 years.”
Myers is stepping down as President of Basketball Operations and General Manager of Golden State after building a championship team that has won four titles in eight years and made five straight NBA Finals from 2015-2019. He announced his decision to owner Joe Lacob on Tuesday morning.
But basketball is still in Myers’ blood, and the thrill of competition is so ingrained in him that he’s certainly not finished in the business — even if he’s not quite sure what’s next. He knows there will be a huge gap on game day and every other day in between.
He will miss Stephen Curry’s warm-up routine, his close friendship with coach Steve Kerr and all the special playoff runs they experienced together, noting, “I’m proud of what I’ve done and proud of what we’ve done have.”
Myers’ contract, one of the most successful GMs in all sports of the last decade, expires on June 30 and speculation about his future has raged for months as the two sides have yet to agree on an extension or a new contract. Myers added of his decision, “This wasn’t about money, I just want to be clear, it’s not about money, I’m making a lot of money, I’ve been offered a lot of money.”
Growing up in suburban Danville, 48-year-old Myers attended Warriors games on his birthday, played basketball at UCLA and learned important skills on the other side of the business becoming an agent before switching careers and going to the Top NBA managers rise. He did so with a personable manner, regularly attending practice sessions to chat with players, staff, Kerr and his assistants.
Lacob followed a tip from Danny Ainge to consider the unproven Myers, and after months of interviewing other candidates, Lacob realized how much he really liked Myers despite his inexperience. Myers then served as assistant GM under Larry Riley for a year before being promoted a year later.
Kerr has loved working with Myers in a collaborative manner, which can be unusual in professional sports between a front office and a head coach.
“He’s an amazing coach, he’s a top-notch Hall of Famer coach of all time,” Myers said. “One can live a lifetime without meeting such people and without forming such friendships. This is very rare, most GMs and trainers don’t like each other and I can understand why. It’s pretty much designed to fail.”
Myers has been known to talk to players during games, which is rare for a GM. That included working at times to calm down hot-tempered striker Draymond Green.
He has long supported Green through his mistakes, technical fouls and suspensions. In 2016, Green was suspended for a crucial Game 5 loss to LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals after committing too many obvious fouls in the playoffs that season. The Warriors lost in seven games. Myers was seated with Green next to the Oracle Arena at Oakland Coliseum when Green missed the game.
It was Myers who, just a few months later, signed eventual two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant, who played for Golden State from 2016-19 and helped the Warriors win repeat championships in 2017 and 2018.
“We’re definitely going to win, I don’t care about the rules,” said Lacob, who is looking to get as much out of Myers as possible in the final month of the GM.
Lacob’s son Kirk and Mike Dunleavy Jr. are potential internal replacements for Myers, who will help in an assisting role in the upcoming NBA draft.
“There’s a good chance it’s an internal candidate,” Lacob said of filling the position.
Spurs manager Gregg Popovich in March commended good friends Kerr and Myers for their commitment to attracting players who come first as a team and don’t just want to focus on individual success.
“He and Bob brought people who can understand that,” Popovich said. “Not every player can play this game, they just can’t. But they brought in people who understand and will play their part to win, to win big.”
Myers spoke to the players and heard from Durant – in Monaco – and will always appreciate the relationships, which aren’t always so amicable everywhere. Myers said that I would watch and work with superstars Curry, Green, Klay Thompson and Durant: “I would do that for free.”
After becoming a GM in 2012, Myers built the roster that won the championship in 2015, the franchise’s first title in 40 years. As a father of three daughters, he might become a fan again, which he says is a lot easier than doing his job.
“This team is in great shape,” Myers said, “great shape.”
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