Report: Joe Lacob expected to seek more prominent roles for son, Kirk and Mike Dunleavy Jr.

Joe Lacob is reportedly expected to seek more prominent roles in the front office for his son, Kirk, and current VP of basketball operations, Mike Dunleavy Jr.

A new era is underway for the Golden State Warriors. On Tuesday, the longtime General Manager and President of Basketball Operations, Bob Myers, stepped down from his role with the Warriors.

With the Warriors now in search of a new general manager and lead decision-maker in the front office, internal names are already beginning to surface for owner Joe Lacob.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Lacob is expected to seek more prominent roles for his son, Kirk and Mike Dunleavy Jr. Kirk Lacob currently serves as an executive vice president of basketball operations with the team while Dunleavy Jr. is the Warriors’ current VP of basketball operations. 

Via @MarcJSpears on Twitter:

Dunleavy Jr. reportedly represented the Warriors at the NBA GM meetings in Chicago in early May. After playing in the league until 2017, Dunleavy Jr. was hired by the Warriors’ front office as a scout in 2018. Dunleavy Jr. has continued to rise through Golden State’s front office, being promoted to assistant general manager and vice president of basketball operations. 

Lacob, the son of Warriors owner, Joe, has been with the organization since 2010. Lacob has been in Golden State’s assistant general manager role along with vice president of GSW sports ventures. Lacob has also worked closely with Golden State’s G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors. 

With a franchise-legend in Myers stepping down, whoever takes over the reigns in Golden State’s front office with have large shoes to fill before a pivotal offseason gets underway in the Bay Area. 

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

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Warriors announce flurry of promotions and additions to basketball operations staff

Before the start of the season, the Warriors announced a flurry of promotions and additions to the basketball operations staff.

With training camp underway, the Golden State Warriors announced a flurry of promotions and additions to their basketball operations staff before the start of the season.

The promotions were headlined by Mike Dunleavy Jr.’s move to Vice President of Basketball Operations. Dunleavy Jr. previously served as Golden State’s assistant general manager. The Duke product played in the NBA from 2002-2017. After his playing career, Dunleavy Jr. has quickly risen through the Warriors basketball operations staff.

Another former Warrior, Zaza Pachulia, has also received a promotion. After spending two seasons as a consultant, Pachulia has been promoted to Golden State’s liaison of basketball and business. Pachulia spent 16 seasons as a player in the NBA, including two with Golden State.

Longtime Warriors staffer Nick U’Ren received a promotion, moving to executive director of basketball operations. U’Ren has spent the last three seasons as Golden State’s director of basketball operations. U’Ren has previously been credited with the idea to start Andre Iguodala over Andrew Bogut in the 2015 NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

View the rest of Golden State’s promotions and additions via @WarriorsPR on Twitter:

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

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Draft Rewind: Warriors select Duke’s Mike Dunleavy Jr. in 2002 first round

In 2002, the Golden State Warriors landed forward Mike Dunleavy Jr. out of Duke with the No. 3 overall selection in the NBA Draft.

With months on the calendar until October’s NBA Draft, Warriors Wire is rewinding through Golden State’s draft history to highlight some of the most memorable selections — trades, surprises, busts, sleepers and everything in between.

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In 2002, the Golden State Warriors were on the clock with the No. 3 overall selection in the NBA Draft.

June 26. 2002

Despite an ugly 21-61 record in 2001-02, the Golden State Warriors had the making of a solid young core. In the 2001 draft, the Warriors were able to add a trio of contributors in Jason Richardson, Troy Murphy and Gilbert Arenas. The 2002 draft was Golden State’s opportunity to build off their successful selections from the previous year.

The Houston Rockets opened the 2002 draft making 7-foot-6 center Yao Ming the first overall selection. Following the Chicago Bulls taking Jay Williams, the Warriors eyed another member of the Duke Blue Devils. General manager Garry St. Jean landed Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s product Mike Dunleavy Jr. with the No. 3 overall selection.

Watch the Dunleavy Jr. draft pick via YouTube:

After winning a championship as a sophomore at Duke, Dunleavy Jr. improved his numbers as a junior to 17.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.3 steals, 2.1 assists and 0.7 blocks per game. In his final season at Duke, Dunleavy Jr. shot 48.3% from the field and 37.8% from beyond the arc. The Duke forward earned back-to-back consensus second-team All-American honors in 2001 and 2002.

As a rookie, Dunleavy Jr. played in all 82 games for new Golden State coach Mike Montgomery, averaging 5.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.6 steals in 15.9 minutes per game. Golden State nearly doubled their win total from the previous season, recording 38 victories in Dunleavy Jr.’s rookie year.

Dunleavy Jr. ended his career playing 16 seasons on six different NBA teams. The former Golden State draft pick currently serves as the assistant general manager for the Warriors.

Other notable members of the 2002 draft class include Amar’e Stoudemire, Connecticut’s Caron Butler, Kentucky’s Tayshaun Prince and Duke’s Carlos Boozer.

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Mike Dunleavy Jr. auctioning one-hour shooting session for charity

Golden State Warriors assistant general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. is auctioning a one-hour shooting session for the Read Ahead charity.

Have you ever wanted to get some shots up with a former top-five NBA draft pick? Mike Dunleavy Jr. is auctioning the opportunity.

The Duke product is auctioning off a one-hour personal shooting session with proceeds going to charity.

Proceeds from the shooting session with Dunleavy Jr. will benefit the Read Ahead program. Read Ahead is a reading-based mentoring program launched in 1991.

The bidding for the auction closes on June 30 at 4:21 PM EST. The shooting session can take place in New York or San Francisco. According to Charity Buzz, the hoops experience has an estimated value of $2,500.

Over his career, Dunleavy Jr. shot 44.1% from the field and 37.7% from beyond the arc. After getting drafted No. 3 overall in 2002 by the Warriors, Dunleavy Jr. averaged 10.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists in five seasons with Golden State.

In 2007-08 with the Indiana Pacers, Dunleavy Jr. averaged a career-high 19.1 points on 47.6% from the field and 42.4% from beyond the arc.

After his retirement as a player, the NBA veteran returned to the Golden State Warriors as a pro scout. Dunleavy Jr. quickly rose through the Warriors’ front office ranks. He currently serves as assistant general manager under Bob Myers.

Watch the Warriors select Dunleavy Jr. in 2002 via YouTube:

Place your bid for the auction on Charity Buzz.

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Report: Mike Dunleavy Jr. in running for Pistons assistant GM position

Mike Dunleavy Jr. could be leaving the Bay Area to take the Detroit Pistons assistant general manager job.

The Golden State Warriors may have one of their front office members leave for another team in the near future.

According to Ian Begley of SNY, Warriors assistant general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. is in the running for the Detroit Pistons assistant general manager position. Along with Dunleavy, Brooklyn Nets director of player personnel J.R. Holden is also being considered for the assistant general manager job.

Dunleavy, the son of former NBA coach Mike Dunleavy Sr., has been in his position with Golden State since last August. He began working with the team as a scout during 2018, per Begley.

The Pistons are also looking for a new general manager, with Oklahoma City Thunder vice president of basketball operations Troy Weaver and Nets assistant general manager Jeff Peterson being the top candidates, according to Begley.

The Pistons are headed toward a rebuild, with former franchise cornerstone Andre Drummond being dealt to the Cleveland Cavaliers during February’s trade deadline. Though Blake Griffin is still there, he is under contract for next season and has a player option of approximately $39 million for the 2021-22 season, per HoopsHype.

Griffin, who missed most of this season due to a lingering knee injury, recently told ESPN’s Sage Steele that he is healthy. If the Pistons were to deal Griffin in a trade, he’d have to rebuild his reputation as a valuable player. Teams would want to see if he can still produce at a relatively high level before taking on his hefty contract.

Still, any front office member headed to Detroit will have some work to do. The Pistons finished the 2019-20 season with a record of 20-46. They currently have a 10.5% chance at the first pick in the 2020 NBA draft, according to Tankathon. Their highest pick odds are at seventh overall, with a 26.7% chance.

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