BOB MYERS SAT on the baseline of what is now called Rocket Arena in Cleveland in June 2017, watching over the Golden State Warriors, when he did something he hates.
"I don't like these kinds of harsh phrases but, 'you're either getting better or you're getting worse,'" Myers said, when asked if he ever worried that adding a superstar like Kevin Durant to a Warriors team that had won a championship in 2015 and NBA record 73 games in 2016 could disrupt the special alchemy that group had found.
"No team, no business, we don't just flatline. So if you have a chance to get a guy like Kevin Durant... it should be simple, 'Let's try to get better.' You don't have to be that smart to see what he can do."
Nine years later, in a very different role, on a very different team, Myers found himself with the same kind of zero sum choices this offseason:
Was Daryl Morey still the right president of basketball operations for the Philadelphia 76ers? Was superstar forward Jaylen Brown worth trading for? Was LeBron James the right finishing addition for this team? As an executive and leader, Myers has made a name for himself with emotional intelligence and social grace. When he helped build those dynastic Warriors teams as the general manager, he was able to do so from the ground up, with Stephen Curry and coach Steve Kerr as the ultimate cultural loadstones and perfectly interlocking components such as future Hall of Famers Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.