Warriors GM Bob Myers Stepping Down: How It Could Affect Mavs
According to multiple reports, Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers is stepping down after 12 years on the job. He is expected to officially announce his decision at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. Myers won the NBA Executive of the Year award two times in his time with Golden State.
If that is the case, the natural follow-up question is: What’s next for the Warriors?
After winning four championships in eight years, Golden State’s long-tenured core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green was unable to get past the second round of the playoffs this year. With Green having a player option for this summer, and Thompson being eligible for an extension with his contract set to expire in 2024, the Warriors have some big decisions to make.
The Dallas Mavericks, who met up with the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals just one year ago, have just as many roster questions to answer as they try to build a true contender around four-time All-NBA First Teamer Luka Doncic.
Will the Mavs be successful with their self-proclaimed top priority this summer, which is re-signing star guard Kyrie Irving? Will they keep the No. 10 pick in the NBA Draft, or will they look to trade it for more win-now help? What does the future look like for guys like Tim Hardaway Jr., Reggie Bullock, Maxi Kleber, Dwight Powell and others who have been key contributors over the last few years?
If the Warriors decide to not offer Green a new contract, there’s a chance he could either opt out of the final year of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, or opt in and potentially request a trade. Either way, the Mavs should be interested in acquiring Green if his time with Golden State is near its end.
Green’s stats aren’t eye-popping, but he’s the ultimate glue guy, the straw that stirs the Warriors’ drink. That doesn’t mean he’s a better player than Curry. He’s not. But he’s a great role player who isn’t afraid to do the dirty work without having big numbers to show for it, and that’s exactly the kind of player the Mavs need on their roster after losing Dorian Finney-Smith in the Irving trade earlier this year.
In 73 regular-season games, Green averaged 8.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists while shooting 52.7 percent from the field and 30.5 percent from deep. He also secured his fourth All-Defensive First Team nod, which was also his eighth All-Defensive honor in the last nine years overall.
After having a top-10 defense in coach Jason Kidd’s inaugural season, the Mavs regresses in a big way during the 2022-23 season as they ranked 25th in that category. One player can’t fill all of Dallas’ roster holes, but having a guy with Green’s experience directing traffic and keeping others engaged would go a long way toward getting the Mavs’ defense back to being respectable again.
Green and Doncic have a good relationship and a lot of respect for each other’s games, so Green’s fit with the Mavs would be a seamless one.
“My favorite NBA player to watch besides Steph is Luka,” Green said on an episode of The Draymond Green Show this season. “Luka is different. I mean, the way he sees the floor, scores the basketball, gets to his spot, his pace. It’s Luka for sure.”
But before we get to speculating on what kind of trade package it would take to land the 33-year-old four-time champion, we need to officially get the news from Myers stepping down as GM and see where the dominoes fall from there. Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com for more on this particular scenario as we get closer to the draft on June 22.
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