The Phoenix Mercury are hiring former Golden State Warriors executive Nick U’Ren as their next general manager, the team announced on Monday.
U’Ren, who is the Warriors’ executive director of basketball operations, will take over in Phoenix at the end of the season. The Mercury also announced on Monday that current general manager Jim Pitman will retire at the end of the season after his decade-long stint with the franchise.
“I want to thank Jim for his many contributions to the organization. From our very first meeting, Jim was transparent about his likely plans to retire as general manager at the end of this season, which gave us the time needed to find the right replacement to lead the Mercury forward,” Mercury owner Mat Ishbia said in a statement. “We are excited to have Nick, a veteran basketball executive with four NBA titles under his belt, as the Mercury’s new general manager. 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.”
U’Ren has worked in the Warriors’ organization for nine seasons under longtime general manager Bob Myers, and helped the franchise win four NBA titles. U’Ren is a Phoenix native, and previously worked for the Suns as a video coordinator before moving to Golden State.
U’Ren will report to Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein. Pitman will remain with both the Suns and Mercury as their CFO.
The Mercury are 4-14 so far this season, which is tied with the Seattle Storm for the worst record in the league. Phoenix fired coach Vanessa Nygaard last month, too, and promoted assistant Vikki Blue to replace her in an interim capacity.
“I want to thank Mat Ishbia, Josh Bartelstein and Jim Pitman for entrusting me with one of the WNBA’s most storied franchises,” U’Ren said in a statement. “There is a clear willingness to invest the necessary resources to build a winning team and culture in Phoenix. That, combined with the great people on and off the court, made this the right opportunity at the right time for my family and me. I also want to thank the Golden State Warriors for the knowledge, experiences and friendships that I gained during my time there.”