As soon as the Cavaliers won the 2016 NBA Finals, Bob Myers pulled off a pretty incredible stunt by acquiring Kevin Durant for the Golden State Warriors. Adding the Slim Reaper to a squad that already possessed the talents of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala, the San Francisco-based franchise instantly became one of the best teams assembled in the history of basketball. In fact, this team was so deadly, Paul George even ranked them above the LeBron James-led Miami Heat.
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During his days at the Indiana Pacers, PG13 faced the All-Star trio of LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh in the regular season as well as the playoffs. Switching to the Oklahoma City Thunder during the KD-GSW era, George also had several battles with Steve Kerr’s boys.
Having played against both the superteam, Paul is one of the best people imaginable to judge and rank them.
“The Kevin Durant era is by far the toughest Warriors team”: Paul George
With the announcement of Bob Myers stepping down as GSW’s franchise president and general manager, George had a brief discussion about the Warriors 2016-2019 team on the latest episode of the “Podcast P with Paul George”.
The Los Angeles Clippers star would start by ranking the Warriors as the tougher team he’s played against than the 2010-2014 Miami Heat.
“The KD era, that is by far the toughest Warriors team. That team is up there for the best team that I’ve played. That’s gotta be 1A, 1B with the Miami Heat team.”
Further, the 6-foot-8 swingman broke down Steph and Durant’s games. Explaining the difficulties in guarding both of them, the two-way star revealed just how dangerous the Warriors were on the offense.
“Steph has, because he’s dangerous the second he crosses halfcourt and he don’t need the ball to kill you. KD’s isolation, KD’s pick-and-roll, fast break, transition stuff. He’s gonna make shots. Whereas, with Steph it’s like he’s gonna fly around the court. He’s gonna pull up from 40 feet. I think you have to game plan more towards Steph. You lose Steph and now Klay’s open.”
Bob Myers really constructed a team for the ages when he added KD to the Warriors 🤯 pic.twitter.com/CCYfQrtn0h
— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) May 30, 2023
A team with the 3rd scoring option averaging 22 PPG?! That’s tough to match up against.
Who are the potential replacements for Bob Myers?
Bob played a crucial part in building the Warriors’ legacy. However, with Myers parting ways with the GSW, who could be the potential replacement for him?
As of now, the team hasn’t announced any replacement. But, several reporters have been predicting VP of basketball operations Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Executive VP of basketball operations Kirk Lacob will be given more prominent roles in the front office.
Woj is reporting that with GM Bob Myers leaving, Warriors owner Joe Lacob wants to elevate the role of his son Kirk and VP of Basketball Operations Mike Dunleavy Jr. #dubnation
— Kylen Mills (@KylenMills) May 30, 2023
As for Myers, he isn’t sure what the next move for him will be.
Bob Myers says “he doesn’t know what is coming” after walking away from his role with the Dubs pic.twitter.com/MID313XN56
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 30, 2023
We wish Bob Myers all the best. Given how much he did for Golden State, it’s obvious no matter which franchise he goes to next, they will rise to the next level. For the Warriors, we wonder if they can keep the dynasty going under these circumstances at all.