SAN FRANCISCO — Tears welled up in Bob Myers’ eyes Tuesday afternoon, as he reflected on his big decision.
Those tears weren’t just because he walked away from his 12-year tenure as with the Warriors. They were because he just used to be a kid in the East Bay who loved the Warriors. Now he’ll forever be known as the architect of the Dubs Dynasty.
An emotional Myers started Tuesday’s hour-long press conference with a 20-minute opening statement, where he largely thanked everyone involved in his journey with the Warriors, from his family to ownership, the front office, coaching staff, players and the fans. Technically, he still has a month left on his contract – as owner Joe Lacob reminded reporters – but Myers issued a heartfelt goodbye on Tuesday.
“To the fans, oh, boy,” Myers said, pausing to gather himself. “I grew up a fan of the Warriors. I was like the 10-year-old kid in the upper Oracle. I would get Warriors tickets for my birthday, and you know, months in advance, this is when you actually got the hard tickets. There was no digital tickets. So my brother and my dad I would go. I was born in '75, and that was the last championship.
“To feel like I had helped give this fan base and this community, did my part, not perfectly, but as best I could to get some more of those things and Joe (Lacob) said it when he got hired -- or not hired, Joe didn't get hired -- when he bought the team (laughing) that we're going to have more of those. I remember looking at thinking, how are you going to do that? And boy, did he do it. It's crazy to see those four new ones up there and where the organization's come. I'm so thankful.
“Part of me wishes I could have been a fan during it all. I might have enjoyed it more, and I hate saying that, but I might have, sitting up there in the upper deck or whenever I was sitting.”
Instead of sitting up in the 300 section during games, Myers usually had seats about 10 rows up from the Warriors bench. His office was perched atop the Warriors practice facility court. But his handiwork now hangs in the rafters, in the form of four championship banners.
The 48-year-old initially joined the Warriors in 2011 as assistant general manager under Larry Riley before getting promoted to GM a year later. That summer, he drafted Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green and Festus Ezeli. The rest is NBA history.
His relationships with players were unparalleled in terms of NBA GMs. With the nucleus of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond and Andre Iguodala, the Warriors have reached the Finals in six different seasons during Myers’ tenure. Myers was the chief negotiator of the franchise-changing 2016 Kevin Durant deal and molded the 2022 championship team which had been largely written off.
Myers said he initially had thoughts about changing his career after the 2019 NBA Finals, when the Warriors lost to the Toronto Raptors. Not only were Klay (ACL) and Durant (Achilles) lost to devastating injuries, but Myers could feel the burnout from five straight Finals trips – an extra 10 months of combined basketball.
We knew Myers’ contract was expiring this summer, but the grind eventually caught up.
“This is tough. This is hard,” Myers said. “I have so many different things, emotions that I'm still processing. But the bottom line is, this job … requires complete engagement, a complete effort, a thousand percent, and if you can't do it, then you shouldn't do it, and so that's the answer to the question of why. I can't do that to our players. I can't do that to Joe and Peter (Guber) . Really, I can't do it to myself. … I've only known how to do things one way my whole life, is kind of all the way, and it doesn't feel right to do something when I can't give it everything, and that's what it takes to do what we've done over the last 12 years.”
What’s next for Myers?
The 48-year-old said he’d like to be more present for his three young daughters. Beyond that, he hasn’t made any huge plans.
“Well, my wife said we're going to get a drink maybe on the way home,” Myers said.
All the mileage adds up eventually. It’s time for Myers to step away, but he’s still confident in Steph, Draymond and Klay to keep carrying the franchise forward.
“It’s not goodbye,” Myers said. “But it's more like, you know, you guys -- they are going to keep going. This is just my stop. The train is powerful. This thing is moving. It's just, I've got to get off. It's hard.
“It's funny, I was talking to Steph a little bit, and I go, ‘I feel like you're not really trying to change my mind.’ He started laughing. He goes, ‘No, it hurts,’ but he understands.”
Related
