Worldwide Sports News

Bob Myers went from being the architect of the NBA’s modern day dynasty to its foil. 

As Warriors’ general manager from 2012-2023, Myers helped the franchise win four championships in eight years.

But this summer, he played a different role. He indirectly ripped the carpet out from under his former team. 

Myers, who is the president of Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, the managing entity for the 76ers, helped orchestrate a trade for Jaylen Brown and land LeBron James in free agency. 

In other words, he secured two of the biggest players on the market this offseason who could have extended Steph Curry’s championship window. 

After spending over a decade ensuring Curry had the proper pieces around him to climb atop the league, Myers stole his safety ropes. 

It’s a testament to his skills. But for the Warriors, it’s an absolute gut punch. 

Myers helped transform the Warriors from laughing stock of the league into one of the greatest teams of all-time. 

He signed Steph Curry to a four-year, $44 million extension in 2012 when there were concerns about his ankle. 

Myers drafted defensive wizard Draymond Green as the No. 35 pick in 2012, which proved to be one of the best second-round steals in NBA history. 

He hired Steve Kerr as coach in 2014, and orchestrated a trade for Andre Iguodala, who won Finals MVP in 2015. And in 2016, he signed Kevin Durant, who won Finals MVP in 2017 and 2018. 

Myers may not have drafted Curry, but he played a major role in shoring up Golden State’s boat so he could become a four-time champion and two-time MVP. 

But after stepping down as Warriors president and general manager in May 2023, Myers took a hammer to that boat this offseason. 

Rumors surfaced that the Warriors were close to convincing James to join their team. 

Curry, who historically has stayed mum on free agency moves, was vocal about how much he wanted the 41-year-old megastar as a teammate. Green turned down his $27.7 million player option so the Warriors could entice James with more money. 

There was also the fact that LeBron himself had openly discussed how he had hoped to play alongside Curry, outside of the Olympics.

But Myers, who’s well known for his ability to gain players’ trust, showed why he’s one of the best in the business. 

He went onto Rich Paul’s podcast, “Game Over,” and told James’ agent why he believed one of the greatest players of all-time should join the 76ers. 

‘I honestly believe this is your best chance to win,” Myers said.

Considering the 76ers’ starting five now consists of LeBron, Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, and Joel Embiid, it is not a hard argument to make.

Was Myers the reason why James decided to sign a two-year, $8 million deal with the 76ers? Obviously not. But is Myers the type of guy James wants in important meetings?

Yes.

Is he the type of guy James trusts to be part of the brains of an organization?

Yes. 

Myers has made notable mistakes. 

He squandered the Warriors’ No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 draft by selecting James Wiseman, who proved to be a bust. In doing so, he passed over LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton, Deni Avdija and Maxey. 

He was also was Golden State’s failed “two-timelines plan.”

But overall, Myers helped put the Warriors on the map. 

Now he’s guiding one of their competitors, and it had major repercussions for Golden State. 

The Warriors are widely considered the biggest losers of the James sweepstakes. They stood pat this offseason, banking on the fact James would want to play alongside Curry and Green. 

While the Warriors crossed their fingers, Myers worked overtime. 

He helped the 76ers land the most stunning trade this offseason (Brown for Paul George), as well as the biggest free agency signing. 

It’s a shame for Curry, who turns 39 next season, and is pretty much going to be forced to run things back with the same roster, in addition to their No. 11 draft pick Yaxel Lendeborg.

Myers took over basketball operations for the 76ers on an interim basis after Daryl Morey was fired in May. He then led the front-office search for new President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey. 

What happened next?

The 76ers had the best offseason of any team in the NBA. 

They should be title contenders next season. Myers had his fingerprints on everything, from the landscape-shifting additions of Brown and James to smart moves around the margins, such as Anfernee Simons, Dean Wade and Ariel Hukporti. 

Meanwhile, Curry is going to have to play hero ball on his balky knee for the Warriors to make the playoffs. 

It’s ironic that this came at the hands of Myers, who helped put Curry in a position to soar for so long. 

In his new role, he did something different. 

He clipped Curry’s wings.  

Things haven’t gone particularly well for Klay Thompson on the court since he left the Golden State Warriors two offseasons ago. He signed a three-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks with the intention of competing for a title with Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, but the latter has played just 50 games over those two years, while the former was shockingly traded for Anthony Davis. On top of it all, Thompson put up career-lows in points per game, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage last year. Entering the final season of his contract, speculation about a buyout has begin and murmurs of a potential reunion with the Dubs have been floated. A recent SB Nation Reacts poll asked Warriors fans how they’d feel about that move.

While a majority of respondents want Klay to return to Golden State before he retires, it was a much smaller majority than one would expect (56%). It may speak to the disappointing ending to his tenure with the Dubs, capped off by an atrocious Play-In Tournament performance, but likely has even more to do with Thompson’s struggles and the Warriors lack of top-end talent. With a roster lacking so much, the Dubs rostering another old player past his prime with serious limitations is much harder to sell.

The Philadelphia 76ers already have LeBron James’ position set, or so it seems.

A week ago, the team wasn’t certain James would be joining their ranks. Now, the 76ers have reportedly established James’ role for the upcoming season.

According to NBA insider Shams Charania, the 76ers are expected to utilize the 41-year-old as their point guard. While ESPN’s post on X has since been deleted, Charania discussed James running point for Philadelphia on NBA Today.

“The Sixers, I’m told, are expecting LeBron James to play a good amount of time and period of time at the point guard position, on offense, initiating the game, the offense, for Nick Nurse,” Charania said on Monday.

“Tyrese Maxey, last season, played a lot on the ball at point guard, and we know his prowess off the ball as a scorer. Think of a better player that can set the table for Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, VJ Edgecombe. There’s all these players that can score, that can get the ball from LeBron James.”

This wouldn’t be a first for James as he most notably facilitated the ball throughout the 2019-20 season, where he averaged a career-high 10.2 assists with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Coincidentally, or maybe not so much, the Lakers won the NBA Championship that season.

Despite being 41 years old, James being the floor general in Philadelphia makes perfect sense since the team lacked a true point guard.

LeBron signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the 76ers, and now that the free agency saga is over, basketball fans will turn their attention to the veteran’s performance.

The 76ers will do everything in their power to ensure James has a smooth transition to the Eastern Conference and running the offense is one of his many talents. Throughout his storied career, James has often been compared to Magic Johnson because of his court vision.

The 76ers’ starting roster is absolutely stacked. But the question remains, are there too many cooks in the kitchen?

LeBron James no longer has the Los Angeles Lakers, and a significant chunk of the NBA, in a holding pattern.

James is now officially with the Philadelphia 76ers after leaving the Lakers in free agency. 

His other potential suitors — the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves — are no longer in the dark about his next destination. And the free agents and teams contingently connected to those franchises are free to continue their offseason work now that one of the biggest dominoes of the offseason in James is accounted for. 

Among those teams include the Lakers, who swiftly underwent their offseason reconstruction around superstar Luka Dončić after James made it clear on June 29 he wasn’t going to return to the franchise for his unprecedented 24th NBA season.

Eight players that ended last season with the Lakers won’t return for 2026-27, including James, Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton and Luke Kennard — the starting lineup from the first four games of their first-round playoffs series victory over the Houston Rockets in the spring. 

The Lakers’ free-agency newcomers: Walker Kessler (four years, $130 million), Quentin Grimes (four years, $60 million), Sandro Mamukelashvili (four years, $52 million), Collin Sexton (two years, $19 million), Kevon Looney (one year, $3.9 million), Ziaire Williams (one year, $2.8 million) and Matisse Thybulle (one year, $3.3 million). 

This doesn’t include Cameron Carr (the No. 24 pick in June’s NBA draft) or Jaden Hardy (who the Lakers acquired from the Wizards in the trade that sent Ayton to Washington). Or Austin Reaves, who re-signed with the Lakers on a four-year, $180 million deal.

And the Lakers still aren’t done making moves.

By league rules, they can’t be done, having to trim their roster from 16 players to 15 by the time the regular season starts in October. 

But they’re also actively looking to add to their roster to put a bow on their offseason before training camp starts in two months. 

What must happen between now and then for the Lakers’ offseason to be considered even more successful? A starting-level forward? Another backup big man? 

Here’s where the Lakers’ offseason stands, and the directions it’s moving in. 

Kuminga pursuit 

The Lakers and Cavaliers remain connected even after James’ decision. 

As previously reported by the California Post, both franchises are pursuing unrestricted free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga, who had his $24.3 million team option declined by the Hawks on June 29. 

The Lakers met with Kuminga the following day and have stayed in touch with his side over the last few weeks, but they haven’t been able to find a deal.

The holdup has been centered around financial terms of a potential contract that would bring the 23-year-old Kuminga to L.A. – a source told the Post in mid-July the Lakers were offering around $10 annually – and the details of a sign-and-trade the Lakers would need to execute with the Hawks to acquire Kuminga. 

As told to the Post last week, there hadn’t been significant progress in a deal that would bring Kuminga to L.A., but that was before James’ decision was made. 

A sign-and-trade – which must be for at least three seasons without contract options – is the most realistic way for Kuminga to join the Lakers. 

The Post previously reported the Hawks are willing to send Kuminga to the Lakers in a sign-and-trade in a deal that would involve the framework of Atlanta taking back Jarred Vanderbilt and the Lakers’ 2032 first-round pick swap – the lone option the Lakers have of trading a first-round pick this offseason. But that was before the Hawks acquired Lu Dort from the Thunder in a three-team deal and had 17 players under contract on standard deals – meaning they’ll also have to trim their roster over the next few months. 

Even after agreeing to terms with Mario Hezonja on a one-year deal, the Cavaliers remain a viable option for Kuminga via sign-and-trade. How much they’ll be able, or willing, to offer him Kuminga depends, in part, on how much of a pay cut James Harden is willing to take to return to the Cavaliers after declining his $42.3 million player option. The Cavaliers are reportedly also interested in DeMar DeRozan. 

Good enough roster?

Without Kuminga, the Lakers’ roster has an evident hole for a starting-caliber wing alongside Doncic, Reaves, Grimes and Kessler.

If they don’t land Kuminga, their paths to a backup option appear to be murky. 

The same is true for the Lakers’ quest for another big man, with their rotation currently being Kessler, Looney and Mamukelashvili.

Multiple front office personnel who spoke with the Post on the condition of anonymity throughout July overall liked the moves the Lakers made during the offseason.

But the moves weren’t lauded to the point where they’re viewed as a contender to come out of the Western Conference. The Lakers remain viewed as at least a tier below the Spurs and Thunder – along with most of the West.

Landing Kuminga – or another starting-level forward – would help the Lakers close the gap between themselves and the top of the West. 

But realistically, there aren’t enough big moves for the Lakers to make this offseason to transform their outlook for 2026-27 outside of what they’ve already done.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Suns fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

This past week, I found myself roaming the streets of social media once again, searching for inspiration on what to write about. Such is life in late July when you cover the Phoenix Suns. It didn’t take long before I came across a conversation where I firmly stand on one side of the fence.

The topic? Whether Devin Booker is a star or a superstar.

I believe it’s well documented that, at this moment, I view him as a star. There’s nothing wrong with that. I don’t hand out the superstar designation simply because I’m a fan of the player, a fan of the team, and want nothing more than to see him succeed. I try my best to approach these conversations logically and consider every side.

In my opinion, at this point in his career, Devin Booker is not a superstar. Why? While it’s a subjective term, I believe you can set some parameters around it. Being an All-Star, earning All-NBA honors, and winning multiple rounds in the postseason are the types of accomplishments that place a player in the rare air reserved for superstars. It is fluid. Just because you were in the club for a couple of years does not mean you have a table reserved. 

Fun fact: not every team has one. If every team had a superstar, there would be more than 30 of them in the league, and that simply isn’t the case. Calling everyone a superstar devalues the word.

Devin Booker is a star. He is someone you can build a team around, and he has also held the superstar designation in the past. Look back at 2021 and 2022. There’s no doubt Booker belonged in the conversation as one of the best players in the league. He finished fourth in MVP voting in 2022, and there was a legitimate argument about whether he was the best shooting guard in basketball at the time.

But as time has passed and the production has declined, he has found himself in that strange space between superstar and star. I understand why some people still consider him a superstar. It simply isn’t a designation I currently subscribe to.

That leads to the question I’d like to ask the Bright Side community. Is there a world where Devin Booker can regain that superstar status?

The organization has pivoted over the past two seasons, moving from a roster that was incredibly top-heavy on salary to one that is much more balanced. Outside of the $36 million Jalen Green is making, the contract that stands out is the supermax money attached to Booker. Why does he make it? Because he has been loyal to the organization, and there are financial rewards that come with that loyalty, especially when you reach the heights he has. When you begin earning All-NBA honors, your contract increases. Booker accomplished those things in the past, and that is why he is paid like a superstar.

Can he once again earn the compensation he is being provided? Has the organization constructed a roster that puts him in a position to reclaim that superstar status? And what does the word superstar mean to you?

Take your time voting in the poll, then let me know in the comments how you define a superstar and whether you believe Devin Booker can reach that level again.

It turns out the Heat’s YouTube blunder was just someone trying to go on vacation.

During the height of the LeBron James drama, NBA fans noticed the Heat had a livestream scheduled for July 27 titled “LeBron James Introductory Press Conference.” 

According to ESPN, the Heat staffer who posted the press conference, “had scheduled vacation for this week and was trying to get ahead of work that could come up if James indeed chose the Heat.”

Miami took down the mistake quickly and released a statement calling it a mistake, but that didn’t stop fans from believing James had made his decision and was returning to the Heat.

In fact, a number of factors leading up to James signing with the 76ers pointed to a second stint in Miami, including ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter and former NBA player Gilbert Arenas saying it was most likely.

Heat president Pat Riley recently said on the “Dan Le Batard Show” that his relationship with James had “thawed.”

The odds followed the trends and DraftKings sportsbook dropped the Heat as the final destination of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer to -200 from the +1000 odds they had at the start of free agency.

While James’ agent Rich Paul said he thought Miami would end up as “the spot,” he was amused by the YouTube debacle because at the time, James had not made his decision.

Another league source close to the decision told ESPN he questioned why people thought James would even do a press conference.

When he signed with the Lakers in 2018, he didn’t make his first appearance to the media until training camp in the fall.

James used up all 24 days to process every factor imaginable, admitting he had thought about retirement after last season.

In the end, Paul said James signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the 76ers at 1 a.m. on Friday, just a few hours before ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the deal.

He will join the likes of Joel Embiid, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey in the pursuit of one last championship.