General Manager Mike Dunleavy is gearing up for his first NBA season in this role for the Warriors. Dunleavy has been with the Warriors' front office since 2018 and was promoted this offseason – replacing Bob Myers – who stepped down as General Manager/President of Basketball Operations on June 30. Dunleavy and Myers have very similar basketball philosophies and value many of the same team-building traits.
“Overall, they're (our basketball philosophies) pretty similar," Dunleavy said. "We look for versatile competitive players that fit the system/style we play.”
Dunleavy strongly believes in a 'Superstars and Rockstars' approach, understanding that it is important to have starpower and 'support stars' who are stars in their role.
“The fine line of building a team is the difference between acquiring talent and putting a team together," Dunleavy said. " You need superstars and rockstars. Superstars like Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and rockstars are the complimentary players like Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and Kevon Looney. You've got to have both; that’s the key.”
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With Curry heading into his 15th season, Thompson heading into Year 13 and Green (who re-signed this offseason) heading into Year 12, the first-year general manager is grateful that the longest-tenured superstars in the league have remained loyal to his organization.
“It’s just remarkable to have these three guys playing together for so long, to be as successful as they are," Dunleavy said. "You don’t see that nowadays with one player, here we have three. It speaks to the franchise's loyalty, the players' greatness and the fanbase wanting these players to stay."
Having a two-time MVP who has given so much to this franchise, Dunleavy has utilized his basketball mind to assist him in some of his roster/personnel decisions.
“With Steph, he’s very involved; we allow him to be as he should," Dunleavy said. "He also trusts us. I like to bounce things off of him. It's always great to hear what he says and the players he likes.”
Dunleavy wasted no time making his first move as General Manager, acquiring another All-time great point guard, Chris Paul, to join the Splash Brothers in the backcourt.
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"Chris is a great addition to our team from a competitive and intellect standpoint," Dunleavy said. "He’s one of the greatest point guards ever and at 38 years old, he still can do it.
As far as his role with the team goes, Dunleavy envisions Paul thriving as a complimentary player and an orchestrator, depending on what the game dictates.
"I think on some nights he’ll be a great compliment to the guys we have and on some nights he’ll drive what we do," Dunleavy said. "Leadership-wise and in the locker room, we’re really excited to have him.”
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After trading for Paul, the Warriors have four players (Paul, Curry, Thompson and Green) with at least 10 years of NBA experience. The Warriors' general manager learned a lot about balancing age/experience with the grind of the 82-game season last year, which influenced what he believes to be a better mix this year.
"We learned more about that balance last year," Dunleavy said. "You have to infuse younger talent but not have too much of it. We’ve got a good mix this year.”
In the 2023 NBA Draft, Dunleavy drafted two rookies – guard Brandin Podziemski (20 years old) and forward/center Trayce Jackson-Davis (23 years old) – who join Jonathan Kuminga (20 years old) and Moses Moody (21 years old) as the four players under 25 years old on the 15-man roster.
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That 15-man roster currently has two open spots and Dunleavy plans to use training camp to potentially fill one or both of those spots.
"We’ll have guys go at it in training camp and see how they look," Dunleavy said. "Regarding positions, maybe we need some size, although I’m pretty comfortable with what we have. We usually rely on versatile players as well. We’ll see what happens, but we feel comfortable with the 13 guys on the current roster.”
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Mentioning size, the Warriors' general manager isn’t fazed by not having a 7-footer on the roster, despite the previous five league MVPs –Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo – being taller than any player on the team.
“It’s (not having 7-footers) worked out pretty well the last decade. Hopefully, we can keep that going. We love the guys we have on our team that can play center. Whether it’s Draymond or Looney, we just added Dario Šarić (via free agency) and drafted Trayce Jackson-Davis. We may be one of the shorter teams in the NBA overall, but I think we’re one of the tougher, smarter and more competitive. Those guys can get the job done.”
Dunleavy's team will begin their 2023-24 campaign by hosting the Los Angeles Lakers in their preseason opener on Oct. 7.