By Sabreena Merchant, Marcus Thompson II and Ben Pickman
The Phoenix Mercury are hiring former Golden State Warriors executive Nick U’Ren as their next general manager, the team announced Monday. Here’s what you need to know:
- U’Ren has spent the last nine years in basketball operations under Warriors GM Bob Myers and coach Steve Kerr. He was part of four Warriors’ title teams in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022.
- U’Ren, an Arizona native, spent three years as the Warriors’ director of basketball operations and most recently as executive director of basketball operations.
- Jim Pitman will retire from the position of general manager at the conclusion of the 2023 WNBA season, the team said in a statement. Pitman, Phoenix’s GM for 10 seasons, has 169 regular season wins through the 2023 season.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
Where Phoenix goes from here
Just a few months after becoming the owner of the Phoenix Mercury and Phoenix Suns, Mat Ishbia has completely transformed the Mercury’s operations, first by letting go of Vanessa Nygaard as head coach and now by securing a new general manager for the team’s future.
The Mercury have two All-Stars hitting free agency this upcoming offseason in Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins-Smith. An interesting inflection point for…
