Warriors executive leaving team for major job in WNBA
April 28, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob smiles against the Denver Nuggets during the first quarter in game four of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Bob Myers will be not the only prominent departure from the Golden State Warriors front office this summer.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday that Warriors executive Nick U’Ren is leaving the team to become the new GM of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. U’Ren had been serving as Golden State’s executive director of basketball operations but will now report to Phoenix Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein (the Mercury and the Suns have the same ownership).
Wojnarowski notes that U’Ren, a Phoenix native, had started with the Warriors as a special assistant to head coach Steve Kerr. He rose up the ranks in Golden State over the last decade and had a front office role with the team for all four of their recent NBA titles (working with Myers and with new Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr).
The Mercury, led by Brittney Griner, Diana Taurasi, and Skyler Diggins-Smith, are one of the most well-known teams in the WNBA. But they have really struggled this season with a 4-14 record, and they fired their head coach Vanessa Nygaard last month.
Now U’Ren, an executive with a proven championship pedigree, will try to get the Mercury back on track. He is not the only NBA figure to recently get involved in the WNBA either.
