Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson provide thoughts on Mike Dunleavy Jr. as the Warriors’ new GM

Mike Dunleavy Jr.’s tenure as General Manager of the Golden State Warriors has started off on quite a bang.

In just under two weeks as Bob Myers’ successor, Dunleavy has executed the following moves:

• Traded Jordan Poole, Ryan Rollins, a protected 2030 first-round pick, and a 2027 second-round pick to the Washington Wizards for Chris Paul.
• Picked Brandin Podziemski with their 19th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
• Convinced the Wizards to add their 57th pick, which the Warriors used to pick Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Those are pretty significant decisions for someone who’s new to the job. But those are also decisions made with the Warriors’ aging core in mind.

Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green aren’t getting any younger. The window is still there for the trio to lead the team to another title, but they will need the proper supporting cast around them — just like what they had in 2022 — to return to the lofty heights they’ve been to four previous times

Which is why Dunleavy made the moves he did — and will also be the mantra of any moves he will make in the future.

As such, Curry and Thompson provided thoughts on their new GM, per a report by The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. Thompson — who spent time in his youth in Oregon — shared how he watched Dunleavy, who was a stand-out high-school player in Portland:

“Well, I love Mike Dunleavy. I grew up watching Mike play in Portland at Jesuit High School. For him to be a McDonald’s (All-American) and then go to Duke and then go to the league, was a huge deal for Oregon. We didn’t have a lot of guys doing that. Now to be working with him, it’s crazy. The world’s so small. Especially in the world of basketball. Now, he’s technically my boss after he was kind of a big brother growing up, going over to his house, having him throw us in the pool and that junk. Now working with him is crazy. I know Mike will do great things.”

Curry added his thoughts, including how he played against Dunleavy during his first two years in the league:

“Did play against him. Two years, I think, before he quit. But it’s going to be fun. Transition is always hard. Change is hard. Especially in this league with so much at stake. But I’ve loved the conversations I’ve had with him so far, how committed and the conviction he’s had with the ideas. Now it’s about going and executing it. That will reveal itself over time in how we put it together for the big picture, chasing a championship now and trying to win now and the decisions that come down the road.”

Suffice to say, the Splash Brothers approve of Dunleavy’s appointment and are excited to work with him, both on an interpersonal and professional level.