SAN FRANCISCO — Joe Lacob hoped Bob Myers was joking.
Until Tuesday morning, the Warriors owner operated under the assumption that his president of basketball operations/general manager would be working the 2023-24 season. Myers put an end to that hope on Tuesday, as he announced he would be stepping down from his post. As Lacob told reporters, Myers still has a month left on his contract, so he’s not quite ready to kick his feet up yet.
Another eyebrow raising quote from Lacob? He also said he’ll leave the door open for Myers, if the 48-year-old ever wants to return.
“We are going to miss him incredibly,” Lacob said. “I wish him the success. All the success in the world in whatever he decides to do. Who knows, maybe he'll be back with us at some point in the future. I don't know, I'm not going to give up that easily. He may think so, but I'm not.”
The Warriors Boss celebrated Myers’ accomplishments and even said he was like a fifth son of the Lacob family, but also said he didn’t understand why anyone would leave in Myers’ position.
“I'm not going to sit here and tell you I understand it, because I don't. It's not in me to do that,” Lacob said. “I'm so competitive and I know he is, too. It's a really hard thing for me to understand why but it's really not for me to understand why. I just want him to be happy.”
Ultimately, Myers wants to take a step back to be more present for his family, as he made sure to tell reporters his decision had nothing to do with money. Myers also admitted it’s going to take some adjustments getting out of the NBA fray.
“I'm probably semi-addicted to the competitiveness, maybe more than I think,” Myers said. “This is an intoxicating thing. I will probably have a hard time with it. Games become part of your life.”
If he ever gets the itch again, the 48-year-old sounds like he has an open invitation to return to the helm of the franchise.
“We have had historic success, not only as a business but obviously on the basketball court,” Lacob said while sitting next to Myers. “And you're a tremendous part of it, a huge part of it. Four championships, six Finals in 12 years. I don't know, if you ever do this again, I think you will in some capacity because you're too competitive, but if you ever do this again, it will be hard to keep that record going. It's just an incredible accomplishment.”
