Steph Curry, Klay Thompson On New Golden State GM Mike Dunleavy

Mike Dunleavy took over as Golden State’s GM just before the draft, which is probably not the ideal time really. But it has been a pretty dynamic time for Golden State.

Dunleavy prioritized keeping Draymond Green and so traded Jordan Poole for Chris Paul, which no one saw coming. He also drafted Brandin Podsiemski, out of Santa Clara, and a solid addition with the Splash Brothers.

Toss in some other minor moves and a possible second Chris Paul play and you have to admire the confidence Dunleavy is showing.

Looks like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are too. Check out what they said about their new GM. Thompson first: “Well, I love Mike Dunleavy. I grew up watching Mike play in Portland at Jesuit High School. For him to be a McDonald’s (All-American) and then go to Duke and then go to the league, was a huge deal for Oregon. We didn’t have a lot of guys doing that. Now to be working with him, it’s crazy. The world’s so small. Especially in the world of basketball. Now, he’s technically my boss after he was kind of a big brother growing up, going over to his house, having him throw us in the pool and that junk. Now working with him is crazy. I know Mike will do great things.”

And Curry: “[I]t’s going to be fun. Transition is always hard. Change is hard. Especially in this league with so much at stake. But I’ve loved the conversations I’ve had with him so far, how committed and the conviction he’s had with the ideas. Now it’s about going and executing it. That will reveal itself over time in how we put it together for the big picture, chasing a championship now and trying to win now and the decisions that come down the road.”

The coolest thing is Thompson’s comments on Dunleavy being a bit of a hero to him growing up.

Well, that’s the second coolest thing.

The coolest is the fact that these two NBA legends have so much confidence in Dunleavy. Having their respect will mean a great deal as things develop.