Bob

Myers

It goes without saying that Bob Myers will go down as one of the best front office executives in NBA history. Myers, a two-time executive of the year, is regarded as the architect behind the Warriors dynasty run over the last decade which has included six trips to the NBA Finals and four championships. It is unclear at the moment whether he will command another team’s front office or ride off into the sunset. However, this could be the first brick to fall in what has been an impressive run for the Warriors franchise.

The NBA forbids team governors from discussing collective bargaining agreement negotiations, hence the hefty fine for Lacob. He also stated that the current luxury tax system is “very unfair.” Still, the more significant concern as far as the league is concerned are Lacob’s comments on the negotiations between the NBA and its players’ union. “The hardest thing of all is navigating this luxury tax, unfortunately,” Lacob said on the podcast, which is hosted by Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner. “I went back to New York this week for labor meetings. I’m on the committee. And you know, obviously, the league wants everyone to have a chance and right now, there’s a certain element out there that believes we ‘checkbook win. ...’ We won because we have the most salaries on our team.”

Golden State currently has just 14 players under contract for the 2021-22 season, but Myers said this week that luxury tax implications might prevent them from using their final roster slot. “I don’t think we use it,” Myers said in a radio interview. “I think we tried; we put it out there for some players we thought were difference-makers. But it’s not wise, and I would almost protect (owner Joe Lacob) from himself if he said go spend it on anyone. It does cost us about $25 million to spend the $5 million, which again I laugh, I know listeners or fans don’t care about that part, but we have to.” The Warriors had been rumored to be a suitor for Paul Millsap, but that now seems unlikely.

Golden State has the No. 7 and No. 14 pick in the draft, but Myers doesn’t sound optimistic about packaging them to move up. “Based on conversations, I think it’s going to be hard,” he said. “And I don’t say that specific to the Warriors. I just think that’s probably the league. I think it’s going to be tough.” With his team vying for a championship during Steph Curry’s prime, Myers confirmed that the Warriors want any draft picks “to be supplemental and to be playable,” which likely rules out many of the rawest prospects. Warriors writer Wes Goldberg mentions Davion Mitchell, Chris Duarte and Trey Murphy III as potential options who could contribute immediately.

The Dubs have made it clear that they’re willing to part ways with the No. 2 overall selection, but with lots of analysts suggesting this is a rather weak draft class, there may not be a ton of clamoring from other teams to move up from their current draft position. That said, it’s still possible that Golden State could package the No. 2 pick with Andrew Wiggins to try and bring in a player that would better suit the roster and be ready to immediately compete for a championship. Stay tuned.