Bob Myers explains why he left Warriors for ESPN gig

Bob Myers made his debut as an ESPN analyst on Sunday night and is already confronting questions about his career beyond television.

Myers stepped down as Warriors general manager in May once his contract ran out and, shortly after, announced he would be part of the rotation of commentators on NBA Countdown and call some games during the season. There was some speculation that his foray into TV was just a pitstop between front office gigs, but Myers said he turned down opportunities during a press conference on Monday afternoon.

“I think my answer to that would be not right now,” Myers said, asked if wanted to head up another team after ESPN. “I can’t say. The only conviction that I have is that I was done with what that job required. And what that will mean in two years, three years, I just honestly don’t know.

I guess I’ve got to be okay not knowing. I don’t really need to know now. It might be harder as things are presented to me to make those decisions. I’ve had some things presented and pretty easily said, ‘No, thank you. I’m flattered but no thank you.'”

The 48-year-old said desires to spend more time with his family and take a breather from the demands of managing a high-powered front office drove his decision to leave Golden State amid a championship contention window.

“The Warriors thing, I’ve used this example before, it was like trying to hold on to the tail of a dragon,” he said. “It was ton of fun, but a ton of work, and I admire any executive that can kind of keep it going for 20 years. I did 12, and I just felt like for me, I had to stop.”

While Myers is leaning into his new TV gig, he didn’t dismiss the idea that he could eventually take a job in a different front office.

Myers will certainly be tapped for his Warriors’ expertise from his fellow panel analysts. Production warned him panelists would ask about Klay Thompson’s contract extension situation, he said, adding that it was a little strange to talk publicly about his former team.

“Talking about the Warriors is hard because I have such relationships there,” he said. “I want everybody to do well. I want Joe (Lacob) to win a title. I want Steve (Kerr) to keep coaching and (Steph) Curry to keep winning, and I want (Mike) Dunleavy who took over for me to do a great job, which he will.

But it’s hard for me to have a ruthless opinion about things over there. It’s tough. I tried my best to say, look, maybe I was saying it would be hard for me. But it would have been hard for me to do that negotiation.”