A week ago today, it was reported by a source close to the San Jose Mercury News that Warriors GM Bob Myers signed a three-year contract extension to remain with the team through the 2017-18 NBA season.
What a meteoric rise it has been for Myers since he was first hired as Assistant GM back in April 2011.
Taking a look back at all the front office transactions in his short tenure, it is clear to see why Myers has gained so much respect from Joe Lacob, who is as desperate to win a championship as any owner in the league.
Through crafty trading, intelligent and aggressive negotiating, and a general status of respect around the league, Bob Myers has turned the Warriors into a genuine contender for the foreseeable future.
2012
After playing an integral part of the trade deadline deal that netted Andrew Bogut, Lacob was confident that Myers was ready to take over basketball operations earlier than expected.
With only one season under his belt as Assistant GM, Myers replaced Larry Riley as General Manager on April 25, 2012, and a new era of Warriors basketball was born.
It didn’t take long to make his presence felt as Myers nailed the 2012 NBA Draft by selecting Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli, Ognjen Kuzmic, and landing the steal of the draft in Draymond Green.
With a logjam at small forward after the draft, Myers showed his first flash of trade creativity by executing a three-team deal with Philadelphia and New Orleans that sent away Dorell Wright and netted Jarrett Jack. Weeks later, Myers was able to sign veteran Carl Landry at a cheap price of $4 million/year.
Both of these moves proved to be crucial for the 2012-13 season as Jack and Landry were integral parts of the team’s run to the second round of the playoffs.
However, the new GM’s final big move of the year turned out to be the most important.
On November 1, 2012, the Warriors pulled off one of the biggest steals in recent NBA history by signing Steph Curry to a 4-year, $44 million extension locking down the face of the franchise through 2017.
2013
Midway through the 2012-2013 season well in contention for a playoff spot, Bob Myers proved that he was very cap conscious as a GM as well.
In an effort to avoid paying the luxury tax for the first time in franchise history, Myers dealt Charles Jenkins and Jeremy Tyler in two separate transactions for cash and future draft considerations to barely stay under the tax threshold.
By doing so, he ensured that the Warriors would not be eligible to be repeat offenders for at least one more year, which ultimately can save a lot in the big scheme of things.
After the exciting 2013 playoffs came to an end, the Warriors felt more confident in their franchise than they had in years. That sure didn’t stop Myers and Lacob from getting even better.
After a quiet draft that landed Nemanja Nedovic through a series of trades, the Warriors became one of the most aggressive players in free agency with their prime target being Dwight Howard.
In order to increase their chances of obtaining the star center, Myers pulled off an almost unfathomable salary dump trade that sent the expiring contracts of Andris Biedrins, Richard Jefferson, and Brandon Rush along with a boatload of draft picks to the Utah Jazz and cleared the way for the team to sign Andre Igoudala to a 4-year, $48 million contract.
Even though the Warriors eventually came up just short on Dwight Howard, they now had one of the most well rounded starting lineups in the NBA with Curry, Thompson, Igoudala, Lee, and Bogut.
Perhaps just as impressive was that the franchise finally mattered again. It had been years since marquee free agents considered the Warriors as a destination, but Myers was able to make that happen in just a year’s work.
2014
Early in 2014 was the first time where Myers faced some real adversity as you could feel tension between head coach Mark Jackson and the front office slowing building.
The strange reassignment of Brian Scalabrine and shocking firing of Darren Erman made the media and fans question if the team truly had things under control.
Reports of Jackson coaching for his job began to surface, and heading into the playoffs with the tough injury loss of Mark Jackson, there was a lot of uncertainty of how the situation was going to shake out.
Following a heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Myers was left with his most difficult decision to date. Despite a strong backing by the team’s players, most notably Stephen Curry, Myers and Lacob decided that Mark Jackson was no longer the man for the job.
Needing to hit an absolute home run with their head coaching hire due to the flack they were taking from firing the coach of a 51-win team, the front office was miraculously able to do so.
Beating Phil Jackson in anything is difficult, but Myers was able to do just that by inking Steve Kerr as the Warriors new head coach early in the 2014 offseason.
Things certainly did not slow down as the Warriors immediately entered serious trade discussions with the Timberwolves centered around power forward Kevin Love.
After much negotiating, Myers and the front office took another big risk by refusing to include Klay Thompson in a deal for Love, and chose to stick with the current core that they clearly believe in.
Which brings us to the present day.
A few weeks out of training camp, Bob Myers has signed an extension that he has more than earned. In two mere seasons, he was able to turn the Warriors franchise into one of the most promising teams in the league.
Was firing a coach that the players loved a risk? Sure. Has Myers taken heat for refusing to include Klay in a trade for Love? Absolutely.
But at the end of the end, Myers and Lacob have done enough to earn their trust and make fans believe in their vision.
He now has a squad that he feels can compete for a title, a coach that he hired and believes in, and a four-year window to make something happen.
The Warriors are in a good place through the 2018 season under the guidance of Bob Myers and his staff. With championship aspirations higher than ever, it’s going to be a fun ride.