Adding Kevin Durant in free agency hasn't turned Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers arrogant. Unlike owner Joe Lacob, Myers has never suggested that the Warriors are "light-years ahead" of the rest of the league, and in an interview with KNBR's Murph & Mac on Wednesday, he tempered expectations for the superteam.
Here's Myers saying Golden State will have to deal with an adjustment period, via KNBR:
"I think a lot of people think we signed Durant and everything is great, which in reality, that is a really good thing. But we have a lot of new parts. This is not a team like last year's team, where we could just hit training camp in stride. As much as we like our roster, it's gonna take some time to evolve with guys like Durant, David West, [Zaza] Pachulia. We lost six guys. So even though we're happy with the offseason, I do think we're gonna have some turbulence. Because the other thing is, I think the scrutiny on the team is gonna be so high that any loss, anything that happens in a negative way, is gonna be exaggerated, right? It's just gonna be, 'I can't believe they lost a home game,' or 'I can't believe they lost two in a row, they never did that last year.' I mean, last year I think we started out 24-0 or something crazy. So if we start out, whatever we start out, it's not gonna be that, I imagine. So people might write or say, 'Oh, they're not as good as last year. [...]
"It takes time to develop chemistry. And that doesn't happen in one day or one week or one month. It's exciting. I think it's gonna be a great process to watch unfold. But I do think because of the expectation level, probably the highest expectation you can ever put certainly on a Warriors team -- even though I think a lot of people thought we would win the championship last year, I think people now are even having higher expectations. When you have that level of expectation, that's where you want to be as an organization, but it also magnifies any adversity or any stretch of losing. So it's good, it's fine, but you have to be aware of it, and not be shocked when it comes."
A few thoughts:
- Myers is the most likable member of the Warriors braintrust, right? He keeps saying he can't believe Durant actually joined the team, and throughout his team's ascension, he has always sounded like part of him is waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's easy to hate the team that's at the top, but no one seems to hate Myers.
- In the coming weeks, you'll probably hear similar stuff from other people of the organization, maybe even the (extremely confident) players. With the amount of hype that surrounds Golden State, there is nothing to gain by ramping up expectations. If the Warriors have growing pains or injury issues, they cannot panic like they are about to turn into the 2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers.
- I'm not sure if I actually agree with Myers. Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are the three best shooters on the planet. Draymond Green is a unicorn. Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston are two of the smartest players in the league. Pachulia and West know exactly what their roles are. The stars will have to adjust to having fewer shot attempts than normal, but the pieces fit. If Golden State does develop chemistry in training camp and start the season on an enormous winning streak, I won't be surprised.
