Golden State Warriors executive Nick U’Ren is the new General Manager of WNBA team Phoenix Mercury, as confirmed by NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
Golden State Warriors news – front-office changes
The choice comes after current Mercury GM Jim Pitman announced his retirement following the conclusion of the 2023 WNBA season, but multiple reports say he will still remain as CFO of Phoenix Suns and Mercury.
According to Yahoo! news, in Pitman’s tenure as Mercury GM, they won 169 regular season games, with a WNBA-record of 29 victories in 2013-14, the year they won their third WNBA title.
U’Ren, a Phoenix native, will report directly to Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein, as reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He is just one of multiple personnel changes in the organization made by owner Mat Ishbia, after Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard was dismissed early on in the WNBA season, before being replaced by assistant Nikki Blue, who remains the interim coach.
“We are excited to have Nick, a veteran basketball executive with four NBA titles under his belt, as the Mercury’s new general manager,” Suns owner Mat Ishbia said in a press release: “We are committed to winning on and off the court, and I am confident that Nick will serve our fans, our community and our organization with passion, dedication and a commitment to excellence, in much the same way that Jim has”.
The Mercury currently have a record of 4-14 and sit in last place in the WNBA.
U’Ren’s record with the Golden State Warriors
Nick U’Ren’s career in professional basketball begun with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, where per Arizona Sports, he spent five seasons (2009-14) with both the Suns and Mercury in roles which included Director of Video Operations and Head Video Co-ordinator.
He then joined the Golden State Warriors where according to TheOrg, he was both director of coaching operations and special assistant to head coach, Steve Kerr, from 2014-18 before transitioning to a role in the front-office.
Since the 2018-19 season, U’Ren has served as the Warriors’ Director of Basketball Operations working alongside current GM Mike Dunleavy Jr, and two-time Executive of the Year Bob Myers, who stepped away from the organization at the end of last season.
Together, they won four NBA championships and cemented the Warriors as arguably one of sport’s greatest ever dynasties.
What’s next for the Golden State Warriors?
Since the end of the NBA season, where they were eliminated from the playoffs in the second round, the Warriors have seen a lot of changes around the organization.
They have now lost two of their main front-office executives, with Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Kirk Lacob reported by The Athletic’s Anthony Slater to be stepping up into elevated leadership roles, as well as undergoing a period of transition within the roster.
The Warriors appeared to decide to enter ‘win-now’ mode as they recognized that the championship window of their core group of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green is slowly slamming shut, making roster changes to support this view.
The Warriors GM’s first move in his new role was to trade away what many viewed as their most prized trade asset in Jordan Poole, as well as including Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins in the trade package, for 38-year-old veteran Chris Paul who is still seeking his first career NBA title.
They then ensured that they retained Draymond Green on the first day of free-agency by offering him what is likely to be his last big NBA contract of four-years, $100 million.
During free-agency they attempted to bolster their squad with veteran experience and brought in 2014 NBA championship winner Cory Joseph, and 6’9” forward Dario Saric on one-year veteran minimum deals.
The Warriors roster is almost full, and training camp with their new additions will begin in September 2023.