Klay Thompson and Draymond Green helped build a dynasty, but former Warriors general manager Bob Myers revealed how a slight twist of fate during back-to-back NBA drafts could have prevented the golden age of basketball in the Bay Area.
During an interview on 95.7 The Game's "The Morning Roast," Myers detailed how a draft-day trade between the Sacramento Kings and Milwaukee Bucks allowed the Warriors to select Thompson with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.
"If Milwaukee doesn't trade the 10th pick to Sacramento to take [Jimmer] Fredette, I think Milwaukee was taking Klay at 10," Myers explained. "So there's that, he's gone. There's no Klay Thompson."
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"If they don't make a trade -- which is semi-unlikely in the draft -- there's no Klay Thompson. He ends up being a Milwaukee Buck one pick ahead."
A year later, the Warriors selected Green in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft, a welcomed surprise for Myers and Golden State's front office that expected him to be long gone by that point.
"Draymond, we had him twenty something on our board, and we thought he'd be gone when we picked at 30," Myers shared.
Golden State Warriors
"We thought Festus Ezeli was a big position of need, and I shouldn't highlight this but who cares. We took Festus before we took Draymond. I know you work with Festus, I love Festus. It tells you we're not all perfect.
"We realized when Draymond was slipping, we were in the room going, 'Oh my gosh, can we get Draymond Green?' So we were lucky that we got him, but if anybody picks Draymond Green, then there's no -- none of this happens."
Thankfully for Myers and the Warriors, Golden State was able to land both Thompson and Green, helping the franchise become the NBA's gold standard over the last decade.
Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast