The Golden State Warriors announced that they promoted former forward Mike Dunleavy Jr. to assistant general manager, and added former center Zaza Pachulia to the staff as a team consultant. Dunleavy, who represented the Warriors from 2002 to 2007 and played 15 years in the NBA, previously served as a scout. Alongside Golden State, Dunleavy also played for the Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks.
The Warriors have hired Zaza Pachulia as a team consultant and announce they have promoted Mike Dunleavy Jr. to assistant general manager
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 29, 2019
“As I was winding down my career, I knew I wanted to stay in the game,” Dunleavy said last year. “I knew I didn’t want to do media. Everybody always asks me if I want to coach, expecting me to say yes because my dad coaches, my brother coaches. I just always had more of an interest in this side of it, the front-office side. “For me, it’s not much of a change from just watching games. I’m always evaluating, whether it’s opponents or rookies. So it’s somewhat natural for me.”
Pachulia, on the other hand, won a couple of NBA championships with the Warriors and will serve as a team consultant on both the basketball and business sides of the organization. The 35-year-old ended his NBA career last year when he represented the Detroit Pistons. Pachulia averaged 6.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 20.3 minutes over 1,098 career games.
“Zaza was such an important part of our foundation,” Steve Kerr said earlier this year. “He was a key player for us, with his screening and his size and his physicality, but he was also a key human being for us because he was a leader. He was funny, he was hard working, humble — everything you want in a player, that’s Zaza.”
Also, the Golden State Warriors announced promotions for Kent Lacob and Kirk Lacob, who are sons of the team’s owner, Joe Lacob. Kent, who spent the last three years as general manager of the Santa Cruz Warriors, was named director of team development. Kirk, on the other hand, was promoted from assistant general manager to executive vice president of basketball operations.
