https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/annkillion/article/Warriors-GM-Bob-Myers-17120213.php

In 2060, when some producer pitches a docuseries on the Warriors dynasty, Bob Myers assumes he’ll be in the shadows. While HBO’s look back on the 1980s Lakers, “Winning Time,” has been less than flattering to some key participants of the Showtime era, Myers — surrounded by big Warriors names — thinks he’ll be unscathed.

“I’ll just be the guy in the background,” he said with a laugh.

Really? Sunday is the 10th anniversary of Myers’ ascent to Warriors general manager. And, during the decade that he has been in charge, he has been a lot more than just the tall guy in the background.

“Bob is our moral compass,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “There’s so much chaos. So much noise. But Bob keeps everyone calm and moving forward.

“It’s like the duck gliding on the surface, but its legs are paddling like crazy. Bob’s the one working his ass off to make sure it all looks smooth.”

Ten years ago, when Myers was introduced, few knew much about him or even that he had been with the team for a year as an assistant GM. He was a young guy who had been a walk-on at UCLA, gone to law school and worked for super agent Arn Tellem. And, now, he would run a team.

Good luck, young fella. The Warriors weren’t exactly on anyone’s radar, at least not in a good way. They had an interesting young player in Stephen Curry who couldn’t seem to stay healthy. They were missing the playoffs for the 17th time in 18 seasons. They were a month removed from an embarrassing incident when — on what was supposed to be a night to honor Chris Mullin — the owner of the team was excoriated by fans for trading away the team’s only star, Monta Ellis.
From left, Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers, Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, and coach Steve Kerr speak during practice for the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors Tuesday, June 4, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. Game 3 of the NBA Finals is Wednesday, June 5, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

From left, Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers, Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, and coach Steve Kerr speak during practice for the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors Tuesday, June 4, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. Game 3 of the NBA Finals is Wednesday, June 5, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Ben Margot / AP

Did the new guy have anything to do with that? Yes. Did the Warriors look like a team heading toward greatness? No.

A decade later, Myers, at 47, is considered the best in the business. He put together one of the greatest rosters in NBA history and oversaw a dynasty in the process.

Along the way — despite big personalities like Draymond Green, Joe Lacob and Kevin Durant, he has helped create a cohesive culture.

“I’m not a big collector of mementos,” Myers said. “I collect relationships.”

Kerr, hired two years after Myers, calls him a master at communication with everyone: ownership, players, coach, reporters, league officials.

“He manages in every direction,” Kerr said.

Now Myers stands on a bridge, trying to straddle two eras. And he is attempting to do the hardest thing in sports: rebuild and win at the same time.

“We’re trying to thread that needle,” Kerr said. “It’s a difficult equation. And it doesn’t happen very often in the NBA.”

What also doesn’t happen a lot in the NBA is for a general manager and a coach to stay on the same page. The league is littered with toxic relationships, and the push-pull between playing veterans or youngsters is a place where coaches and general managers can vehemently disagree.

But Kerr and Myers’ close relationship has helped smooth the process.

“It would be easy for me as a coach to just say, ‘I’m going to play the vets because we’ve got to win,’” Kerr said. “Bob can empathize but also says, ‘These young guys are really talented and we may need them in the playoffs, so let’s talk about ways to incorporate them.’ It becomes a very matter-of-fact conversation with Bob. We have so much trust in each other.”

Myers said it is simply about trying to figure out how to win.

“You can’t just have all 30-year-old players, but you need them to win,” he said. “But we also like our youth. Jordan (Poole) is now in the spotlight, and a year ago he was not considered any part of the core. So it’s fascinating to see what will happen.

“Part of the joy is not knowing the answer to the question.”
Warriors GM Bob Myers, left, stands with the Warriors All-Stars, Stephen Curry (30), Draymond Green (23) and Klay Thompson (11) as they were presented with their Western All-Star jerseys before the first half of the game between the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, February 9, 2016.

Warriors GM Bob Myers, left, stands with the Warriors All-Stars, Stephen Curry (30), Draymond Green (23) and Klay Thompson (11) as they were presented with their Western All-Star jerseys before the first half of the game between the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, February 9, 2016.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

For much of this season, the answer was cloaked in the injury report. Myers worked hard to put together a roster and finally saw — at least partially — what he had envisioned in the first two games of the playoffs.

“You really couldn’t believe that Draymond, Steph and Klay (Thompson) would play together for only 11 minutes the whole season,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed seeing it close to completion. Minus James.”

Ah, yes, James Wiseman. Few would have predicted that the Warriors could be here, as 53-game regular-season winners and the No. 3 seed, with zero contributions from their No. 2 overall draft pick from 2020.

But Wiseman was also part of the injury scourge: he played in just 39 games in his rookie season and missed this past season with lingering knee issues.

“It’s frustrating for him and for us,” Myers said. “We had him in our plans. We thought he would be a big part of the year. Next year will be completely different. We envision him being helpful..”

The draft is a crapshoot. Thanks to the team’s success, Myers has often drafted low in the first round. The No. 28 pick from 2018, Jacob Evans, made no impact, was sent to Minnesota in the 2020 trade for Andrew Wiggins, and was back with the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League this season. Their No. 28 pick from 2019, Poole, struggled his first two seasons, spent time in Santa Cruz, and is now the Warriors’ breakout star.

“That’s a good snapshot of the business,” said Myers, who will have the No. 28 pick again this June. “Sometimes you get it right and sometimes you don’t. I guess we’ll be judged again at whether we’re good at picking No.28.”

The draft pick is just one question Myers faces. When will Wiseman contribute? What is the future for Wiggins? When should they extend Poole? How do they continue to develop Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody?

“I told myself before the season, there will be time for all that,” Myers said. “I’m going to enjoy this season.”

His job — shaping the roster — is constant. There’s never a “set roster” for a general manager; everything is in play, and as Myers says, “there are no boundaries.”

“It’s what keeps you up at night,” he said.

One of his few regrets in the past decade was constantly grinding and not fully enjoying the experience and exhilaration of winning.

“I wish I had enjoyed it more,” Myers said. “Going to the Finals five years in a row, it’s hard to breathe. The season bled right into the draft and free agency. It’s a high-class problem to have, but I think I’m in a better place to take it all in now..”

Myers used to feel that there was no acceptable outcome except winning. He was once startled when an opposing GM congratulated him on a regular-season win. It was all about titles.

Now, after two years of missing the playoffs, Myers is trying to have more perspective and be more present. As a father of three. As a husband. And as a general manager with 10 years of experience, a dynasty in his rearview mirror and an unknown future ahead.

“I’m thankful I got to see the top of the mountain and the bottom of the mountain,” he said. “It gives you perspective on what a championship means.”

During the third quarter of Game 2 of the current playoff series with the Nuggets, as the Warriors were dazzling on court, the crowd was roaring, and Chase Center was filled with joy, Myers turned to his assistant, Mike Dunleavy, and had a flashback to the dynasty days.

“If you want to know what it was like,” he told Dunleavy, “this is what it was like. This is the closest thing.

“I didn’t know if we would ever see it again.”

He’s seeing it again.

And this time, Myers has learned to appreciate it.