“ What I learned in this league is that there is a right time and a wrong time to take a position. And Mike (Dunleavy) lies somewhere in between. » Steve Kerr's formulation is sufficiently telling to describe the context in which the Warriors GM took over from Bob Myers.
The latter left the Californian ship at a time when many questions arose around the future of the Warriors. Including a central question: how to capitalize on the last years of their “Big Three”, in particular its central piece, Stephen Curry?
“ It's a different challenge than taking a team at the bottom of the ladder and building it. This job is about saying, 'Hey, we want to keep moving things forward.' It's a challenge, but it's a challenge I'm comfortable with and ready to take on. But yes, it's a lot of work “, agrees the person concerned at the San Francisco Chronicle.
A job started with fanfare when he decided to press the transfer button to send Jordan Poole to Washington, and recover Chris Paul. He then selected two rookies in the Draft, Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis, who will have a significant impact in energizing and rejuvenating this aging squad. Insufficient, however, to find the summits of the West.
A good relationship with Stephen Curry
Believing that I now have a good idea of the team's needs ” to go forward », the manager can expect a new potentially eventful off-season. Especially since several players are reaching the end of their contract (Gary Payton II, Dario Saric), and especially the biggest file, Klay Thompson.
“ The challenge is obviously to find the best possible equation to surround Stephen Curry. Do we need to think about how to build around it, because it won't be there forever? Of course, we have to take all this into account. But there are many other players whose careers could end », asks Mike Dunleavy enigmatically.
The latter, a great communicator as he is described, also works closely with the local superstar. The GM says he respects his player's opinion, without him going so far as to impose his veto. “ He never goes too far and says 'we should do this' or 'we shouldn't do that'. He may support certain things, but there are never any guidelines or requirements. It's not his personality. »
To succeed in this profession, his predecessor believes that it is important to be “ emotionally mature », a maturity that the former NBA player would not lack. It must be said that Mike Jr. went to a good school. His father, Mike Sr., was himself a GM before him, and a coach, with good years, notably with the Blazers at the end of the 1990s.
Father's inspiration
So many paternal experiences which shaped his own. “ I don't think there's much that could upset him. His father was the coach of the Lakers. He heard people say his father should be fired. Mike won a title at Duke. He was drafted very high (editor’s note: 3rd choice in 2002). He was traded. He's seen all the colors. It is important in any job to work without fear. And he's not afraid “, describes Myers.
Criticisms that the Dunleavy son also had to face at the time of the “trade deadline”. While the team was not doing well, he preferred not to move on the transfer market. “ I don't see any trade that could have made us better », Judges the one who still finds the current balance sheet of the Warriors disappointing, on an accounting level.
With a record of 45 victories for 36 defeats, the Californians are condemned to having to go through the play-in before possible qualification for the playoffs. “ There are cycles for everything. Maybe Mike will go through the cycle and arrive at a clean, white page. For now, he continues to build what we all built together. But at some point it will make more of its own mark. He's going to become one of the best GMs in the league, I can't wait to see what he does with a blank slate », Projects Myers.
