Mike Dunleavy Update: Making A Good Impression With The Warriors

Former Duke star Mike Dunleavy is really just a few weeks into his new job as the General Manager of the Golden State Warriors and while it’s early, he’s made a good impression.

This article from the San Francisco Chronicle focuses on Dunleavy’s basketball background and intelligence and a focus on problem solving and relationships. Oh, and his competitive edge, too.

There were some new things in there to us. We didn't realize that his predecessor at Golden State, Bob Myers, had previously been his agent. And there are interesting comments from his father, Mike Sr., and his brother, Baker, as well as from Shane Battier and other teammates that Dunleavy has had through the years.

This looks at his move to bring Chris Paul to the Warriors and points out that the move has solved a couple of problems: first, the chemistry problems that Jordan Poole helped to create and second, giving the Warriors much more financial flexibility. Paul’s salary for next season is $30 million but it’s not guaranteed. They could trade him now for the right assets if that came up. Or they could just let him play this year and either re-sign him on the cheap, let him go as a free agent or give him a lowball offer.

No matter how you look at it, the Warriors will free up a lot of salary cap space by next season at the latest.

So while the Paul trade may not have been well understood when it happened, it opens a number of strategic options while simultaneously getting rid of a player who was becoming a problem.

This is a really interesting article and we recommend it to Duke fans. You'll be glad you read it.