Tag: Bob Myers

Here’s every ESPN NBA announcer for the 2024-25 season

ESPN’s NBA crew features some familiar names.

ESPN is broadcasting NBA games for a 23rd consecutive year this season, and the announcers set to rotate between games will be familiar to many fans, with the team of Mike Breen, Doris Burke and Cassidy Hubbarth getting joined by Richard Jefferson (at least to start the season). JJ Redick is off the top team given that he’s coaching the Lakers now.

Although we wish we could list the announcers for every game, that’s impossible, especially when there’s some mixing and matching throughout the season.

That said, here’s a look at ESPN’s entire lineup of broadcasters, including play-by-play announcers, analysts and sideline reporters.

Play-by-play

  • Mike Breen
  • Michael Grady
  • Mark Jones
  • Dave Pasch
  • Ryan Ruocco

Analysts

  • Cory Alexander
  • Jay Bilas
  • Hubie Brown
  • Doris Burke
  • Richard Jefferson
  • Tim Legler
  • Bob Myers
  • Stephanie White

Sideline reporters

  • Katie George
  • Angel Gray
  • Cassidy Hubbarth
  • Monica McNutt
  • Lisa Salters
  • Jorge Sedano

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Bob Myers claims Rich Paul told teams Bronny James will play in Australia if a non-Lakers team drafts him

This doesn’t sound like an empty threat from LeBron James’ agent.

With Bronny James still sitting on the board during Day 2 of the 2024 NBA Draft, it left the door open to a potentially wild turn of events. For example, a team like the Boston Celtics could’ve taken the young man for “ransom.”

However, ex-Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers may have just taken a needle to that spiteful balloon.

During ESPN’s draft show, Myers succinctly explained the current situation with Bronny. If a non-Los Angeles Lakers team drafts Bronny in the second round, then LeBron James’ agent, Rich Paul, has threatened them that Bronny will go play Australia instead of reporting to his new NBA team.

If I’m being candid, that doesn’t sound like a strategy someone would bluff about.

If it is true, it’s quite a gambit to try to ensure that Bronny plays with his dad in the NBA. However, given the tremendous influence Paul has on the league with Klutch Sports, it’s probably going to work:

At this point, if Myers’ claim is fact, I’m not sure if it’s worth it for another team to draft Bronny. With the Lakers and Paul seemingly so hellbent on getting him on the roster, it might just be best to let L.A. conduct its desired business.

Featured image courtesy of ESPN

The Lakers should pursue Bob Myers to fix their front office and reputation

Could Bob Myers be the man to rectify the Lakers’ front office problems and get them back on track?

Back in the day, the Los Angeles Lakers were seen as something of a model franchise in the NBA. Former owner Dr. Jerry Buss set the general vision and ran the financial side of the organization, while he delegated the actual basketball operations and personnel decisions to his basketball people: Bill Sharman, Jerry West and Mitch Kupchak.

During Buss’ 34 years as the Lakers’ owner, the team won 10 NBA championships and went from a bridesmaid franchise to the worldwide gold standard of basketball.

But ever since his death in 2013, the franchise has come off as anywhere from a lacking operation to an outright clown show to the rest of the league, as well as to basketball fans, including even Lakers fans.

Jeanie Buss, the daughter of Dr. Buss, has been in charge since the latter’s passing. Although the team won the 2020 championship, during the younger Buss’ 11 years as controlling owner, it has missed the playoffs seven times and lost in the first round of the playoffs twice, despite having LeBron James for the last six seasons.

It has all led to a perception that the team’s front office doesn’t know what it is doing. Charges of nepotism (the main people in the front office are general manager Rob Pelinka, who was the late Kobe Bryant’s agent, and Kurt Rambis, a former player and head coach) have been made, and some feel there is no clear vision or plan.

Perhaps that is why the younger Buss and Pelinka made a generous offer to Dan Hurley, the decorated head coach of the University of Connecticut, to be not only their head coach but also a program-builder of sorts. Hurley said no to a reported $70 million over six years, which has led some people to accuse Lakers management of being cheap, an accusation that has been made multiple times in the past.

If the Lakers realize they need to bring in someone such as Hurley to be a program-builder and improve their reputation, as well as give them some much-needed gravitas, there is one other man they should aggressively go after — Bob Myers.

Myers, of course, is the former general manager of the Golden State Warriors. Like Pelinka, he started out as an agent under Arn Tellem, Bryant’s first agent. When Myers was hired by the Warriors in 2011 to be their assistant general manager (he was promoted to general manager in 2012), they had been considered a laughingstock for many years, but they had a promising young star named Stephen Curry.

Not too long afterward, they won their first NBA championship since 1975. Three more would follow in the next seven years, making them a legitimate dynasty.

Myers decided to hire Steve Kerr to be their head coach in 2014 instead of sticking with Mark Jackson. In three years under Jackson, the Warriors had improved, but he had reportedly divided the locker room by flaunting his devout religious views.

Myers also resisted the calls to break up the starting backcourt of Curry and Klay Thompson and trade Thompson for a big man such as Kevin Love. Instead, Myers stuck to his basketball vision, and it ended up changing the NBA from a league dominated by slowdown basketball to one where pace and space offenses have become the norm.

If Myers were ever to join the Lakers, he wouldn’t necessarily have to be the main man or dislodge Pelinka. They could keep Pelinka, who is reportedly unlikely to lose his job, and the two could work in tandem in some type of arrangement where both could focus on their respective strengths.

Myers could help handle their ongoing coaching search while crafting a coherent plan to turn what is currently a good roster into a championship-caliber one this summer. He could also craft a plan to retool once James leaves and make Los Angeles a contender again soon afterward.

More than anything else, Myers could at least give the appearance that the franchise has gotten its you-know-what in order, which would make it that much more attractive to prospective free agents right away.

Since leaving the Warriors last year, he has been a part of ESPN’s NBA broadcast crew, and he has also served as an advisor and consultant to the NFL’s Washington Commanders.

The Commanders are another pro sports team that, like the Lakers, used to be a flagship championship franchise but has been considered a laughingstock for a while. Now, with the help of Myers and a new ownership group led by billionaire investor Josh Harris and Lakers legend Magic Johnson, they seem to be headed on the right track.

Perhaps Johnson should encourage the younger Buss, who was his boss when he was the Lakers’ president of basketball operations from 2017 to 2019, to go after Myers for a similar role.

Watch: Bob Myers jokingly references LeBron James’ famous chase down block vs. Warriors during Lakers vs. Nuggets broadcast

“I remember he did that one time in Oakland.”

Since leaving the Golden State Warriors front office, Bob Myers has joined ESPN’s broadcast team. For the first time, Golden State’s former general manager is serving as an analysts for NBA playoff games.

On Saturday, Myers found himself in a familiar situation while on the call for Game 4 of the series between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers. During the game, LeBron James chased down Jamal Murray for an emphatic block at the rim.

When talking about the block, Myers jokingly referenced James’ famous block in the fourth quarter of Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals against Andre Iguodala and the Warriors.

That’s more impressive to me than the scoring. Chasing down a blocked shot. I remember when he did that one time in Oakland, but I didn’t like it, Dave.

Via @ESPN on X:

James finished with 30 points on 14-of-23 shooting from the field with five rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block as the Lakers finally secured a much-needed win over the Nuggets, 119-108.

Game 5 between the Lakers and Nuggets is Monday at 7 p.m. PT in Denver. The Nuggets hold a 3-1 series lead over the Nuggets in the first-round playoff series.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and X! 

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Former Warriors GM discusses Steph Curry’s genius

Bob Myers recently shared his thoughts on Steph Curry’s ‘genius’ during an interview with JJ Redick.

Steph Curry is undoubtedly one of the best point guards in history. He’s unequivocally the best shooter in history, too. Therefore, it’s no surprise he’s been at the forefront of the Golden State Warriors dominance for more than a decade and continues to spearhead the franchise’s championship hopes, despite being 36 years old.

During a recent appearance on JJ Redick’s “Old Man and the Three” podcast, former Warriors GM Bob Myers shared his thoughts on Curry’s genius and what makes him such a special player, both on the court and in the locker room.

“Playing at this level, so much emphasis is put on winning a championship, and when you’re in it, you realize that you have to make that sacrifice,” Myers said. “It’s not fun, and it doesn’t have to be fun, but Steph, the genius of Steph is he can make winning fun. … Magic Johnson, Stephen Curry, the reason they’re so revered, applauded, and beloved is that they had fun doing it. Genuinely, it wasn’t fake. Everybody wants to love playing a sport. I never said I laughed a lot when I played basketball. … So you got Steph doing that, what that does is through the hard parts of the season or a playoff run, Steph keeps it light. Not an agenda, it’s who he is.”

Curry’s style of play makes him a unique threat to other teams. His relentless movement when playing off the ball and his limitless shooting range have ensured his presence within Golden State’s rotation has struck fear into the heart of defenses throughout the league.

Earlier this season, Curry noted how he hasn’t ruled out playing into his 40s. If he can still find and spread the joy within the locker room, while continuing to make a positive impact on the floor, there’s no telling how long he will remain in the league. Furthermore, it’s highly unlikely he would ever leave the Warriors; he means too much to the franchise and its fans.

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Bob Myers explains his role for the Commanders at the 2024 NFL combine

Bob Myers gives some excellent insight into his time at the NFL combine.

Everyone was confused when Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris announced in January that he was bringing aboard former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers. Myers and former Vikings GM Rick Speilman were hired as consultants to help Harris search for a new head of football operations and head coach.

After all, for as brilliant as Myers is and was in building the Warriors into a dynasty, what did he know about building a football franchise?

The answer was always easy. You don’t get to the top of a professional sports franchise and remain there without being brilliant. For Myers, it wasn’t about 40 times or 10-yard shuttles but about relationships. Myers knows how to build organizations, choose winners, and build an organizational culture.

Harris raised some eyebrows when it was revealed he attended the 2024 NFL combine and was in on the interviews with the top quarterback prospects. It was much ado about nothing. Why wouldn’t Harris want to sit in and listen on potentially meeting the next potential face of the Washington franchise?

Myers also sat in with Harris on the interviews. However, general manager Adam Peters and coach Dan Quinn led the meetings. Harris and Myers were present but reportedly just to listen and learn.

Myers explained his role at the combine.

“Meeting with Dan, meeting with Adam about free agency,” Peters said. “Meeting with Josh, spending time with him while he was there. Just honestly being aware that there was a lot I didn’t know. Asking questions in areas that I might see commonality, I would offer, ‘This is the NBA’s version of how we approached free agency.’ Sometimes, when you ask questions, it helps the leaders of the Commanders find answers themselves.”

Myers referenced the 15-minute formal interviews all 32 NFL teams had at the combine.

“Sometimes we talked a little bit about these interviews, these 15-minute interviews or these short snapshots,” Myers said. “Sometimes, you overreact to a good or bad interview, realizing that’s a mistake. That’s not smart. It’s making a determination on a big decision in 15 minutes is never smart. So just sharing ideas like that, sharing experiences, because the NFL and NBA combine have a lot of common threads to them, they have a lot of similarities.”

This is really good stuff from Myers. Harris values critical thinkers, which is why they are both outstanding leaders. Myers wasn’t there to step on Peters or Quinn but to give them an extra sounding board. For instance, if someone came out of one of those interviews believing that the player was their guy, Myers was there to remind them that a 15-minute period isn’t enough to make a complete determination.

Leadership isn’t an issue for the Commanders anymore.

Steve Kerr and Kyle Shanahan recommended Dan Quinn to Commanders

Dan Quinn received some high-profile recommendations before landing the Commanders’ job.

“It’s not what you know; it’s who you know.”

We’ve all heard this numerous times in life. Sometimes it is meant as a negative complaint that some people receive jobs when they actually aren’t qualified, but know someone who helped them obtain the job.

Other times, it is referenced because two or more candidates for a job might seem to be so evenly matched, but when a certain person vouches for one of the candidates, that is a good thing, and you feel confident in choosing them for the job.

John Keim, ESPN Washington Commanders insider, reported Saturday that during the Commanders’ recent coaching search, NBA Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr recommended Dan Quinn for the Commanders’ job.

Keim wrote that Kerr, a four-time NBA champion head coach for the Warriors, had begun a friendship with Quinn. Apparently, their agents work for the same company. As Kerr and Quinn interacted and became better friends over the years, Kerr began to believe in Quinn.

Thus, knowing Bob Myers was on the Commanders advisory committee, Kerr texted Myers: “He’s your guy; you’ve got to hire him.”

Richard Sherman, who played for Quinn in Seattle, texted newly hired Commanders GM Adam Peters and Kyle Shanahan, Quinn’s offensive coordinator in Atlanta, highly praised Quinn to Peters as well.

Keim reported, “Perhaps the biggest endorsement came from Falcons owner Arthur Blank. Blank, who fired Quinn in 2020 after six seasons with the Falcons, reached out to Harris unsolicited on Quinn’s behalf. ‘To have Atlanta endorse Dan was powerful,’ one person involved said.”

Championship coaches like Kerr can recognize certain qualities or beliefs another coach may or may not possess. And working under a coach, as Shanahan did, provided an opportunity to hear how one may have expertise in their field. The recommendations from Sherman and Shanahan might, more importantly, reveal how one exercises their power rightly or wrongly.

Apparently, Kerr, Shanahan, Sherman, and Blank confidently affirmed their belief in Dan Quinn as a leader, coach, and human being.

Commanders’ advisor Rick Spielman likes Drake Maye ‘a lot’

Spielman believes all three of the top QB prospects will be successful in the NFL.

When Josh Harris announced on Jan. 8 that he had fired Washington head coach Ron Rivera, he also announced an advisory committee that consisted of Harris, some of his minority owners, and two outside executives: Former NBA two-time executive of the year Bob Myers and longtime Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman.

The purpose of the advisory committee was to help Harris find his next general manager and head coach. Within one week, the Commanders found their GM, Adam Peters.

After interviewing eight candidates, Washington landed on Dan Quinn as its new head coach. Since then, Quinn has hired an impressive coaching staff.

Now, Washington’s front office and coaching staff are examining the roster ahead of free agency and the 2024 NFL draft.

With the coaching search over, what is Spielman’s role? He isn’t involved in the day-to-day operations of the Commanders. Peters is over personnel. But we do know the former GM loves projected No. 1 pick Caleb Williams. Spielman called Williams a “franchise-changing quarterback” in an October interview before he took on the advisory role in Washington.

The Commanders have the No. 2 overall pick, and if, as expected, the Bears take Williams as No. 1 overall, they’ll be deciding between Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels.

Who does Spielman think is the next-best QB behind Williams?

“I like Drake Maye a lot,” Spielman said on the PFF NFL podcast recently. “I had the ability to watch him play live down in Miami last year. And his size, I think he is very athletic, I think he has arm talent. I think he’s another one; he didn’t have the same talent around him this year. He made some poor decisions turning the ball over or forcing the ball over where he probably could have kept it.”

What does he think of Daniels?

“Jayden Daniels is an incredible story,” Spielman said. “Coming from where he started at, at ASU, Arizona State, where he was still developing. You could say, “God, this guy will never be a first-round pick.’ But when he transferred to LSU and the strides he made from last year to this year. And how much better he has improved. I think all three of these are going to very successful quarterbacks in the league. I think there is a drop-off into the next tier.”

While Spielman will not be making decisions on which quarterback the Commanders will take in April, he’s likely had a conversation or two with Peters about each of the top passers in the 2024 draft.

WATCH: Commanders’ advisor Bob Myers at the NFC Championship game

Bob Myers was on the sideline for the Lions and 49ers on Sunday.

The Washington Commanders are in the middle of a search for their new head coach. On Sunday, a key figure in Washington’s search — advisor Bob Myers — was in Santa Clara for the NFC Championship between the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers.

Why was Myers in attendance? The former two-time NBA Executive of the Year with the Golden State Warriors is from the Bay Area and has been to many 49ers’ games over the years.

But Sunday was a bit different.

Myers was a part of the committee that helped bring new Washington GM Adam Peters to the Commanders. Of course, Myers helped build the 49ers, who will be playing for the Super Bowl in two weeks.

On the other sideline was Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Johnson is considered by many to be the frontrunner for Washington’s head coaching position.

While it’s doubtful that Johnson was able to meet with Myers or Peters over the weekend, his first-half performance in charge of Detroit’s offense was the perfect audition. While the Lions lost, Johnson solidified his stock as a top head coaching candidate.

With the Lions and Baltimore Ravens eliminated from the playoffs, Washington should have its head coach named later this week. Will it be Johnson?

Josh Harris’ advisors played key role in Commanders landing GM Adam Peters

Josh Harris’ search for a new GM was “thorough and rapid,” and his advisory committee

Thorough and rapid. That’s how Washington Commanders managing partner Josh Harris described his search for a general manager last week.

Harris met with the media last Monday — the day after Washington’s season-ending loss to the Cowboys. By Friday, he had hired San Francisco 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters as the team’s new general manager.

Over two days last week, Harris and members of his advisory committee, Bob Myers and Rick Spielman, met with five assistant GMs from other franchises. After the initial set of interviews, Harris narrowed the list to Peters and Chicago Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham.

Peters and Cunningham would undergo another interview, with Harris and his advisors meeting with minority partners Mitchell Rales, Magic Johnson, and David Blitzer to finalize their decision.

In his weekly column for Sports Illustrated, Albert Breer highlighted the impact of Myers and Spielman in the process of hiring Peters.

Breer noted that Spielman began working with Harris on the weekend of Week 16. That’s the week when the Commanders played the New York Jets on Christmas Eve. However, it was Myers, a longtime friend of Harris from their time in the NBA, who first reached out to Spielman to gauge his interest in meeting with Harris.

Harris made it clear no decision had been made on head coach Ron Rivera’s future, but he wanted to have a list of candidates ready if he moved on from Rivera. So, Spielman, the longtime Minnesota Vikings general manager, accepted Harris’ offer to join his advisory committee, along with Myers, Harris, and his minority owners Mitchell Rales, Magic Johnson, and David Blitzer.

Spielman went to work on creating a list for a new head of football operations and a head coach.

Spielman’s work through the final two weeks of the season was done quietly. He made calls but didn’t tell folks who he was working for, gathering information discreetly. Then, the Monday after Week 18, once Harris let Rivera go, Spielman drove to Miami and got to work talking with folks such as former Arizona Cardinals GM and Fritz Pollard Alliance exec Rod Graves, former New York Giants GM Jerry Reese, former Jacksonville Jaguars exec Michael Huyghue and former Pittsburgh Steelers GM Kevin Colbert, all whom worked in the league for decades, and attended last month’s accelerator program.

He was on the phone from 7:30 a.m. to about 11 p.m., checking every box on the five guys he’d identified, all of whom carried assistant GM titles: Peters, as well as Kansas City’s Mike Borgonzi, Cleveland’s Glenn Cook, Chicago’s Ian Cunningham, Philadelphia’s Alec Halaby.

Breer’s column included more, detailing the impact of Myers and Spielman on Washington’s search.

Washington fans were concerned, even upset, throughout the season when Harris chose not to fire Rivera. He was correct all along. What would firing Rivera in Weeks 10, 12, or 15 have done for the Commanders?

Instead, behind the scenes, Harris was ahead of the curve, preparing for the most important offseason, arguably, in franchise history.