Warriors general manager Bob Myers sat down with reporters Monday afternoon to discuss his team’s plans ahead of the trade deadline and buyout market. Here is a transcript of the 15-minute conversation:

Do you expect to be pretty inactive over the next week?

"I don’t know. I don’t think anybody’s inactive. I think every year, you kind of have a guess of what you might do or might not do. Usually, you’re wrong because you just don’t know. There’s other teams that present things that maybe you didn’t foresee. The good news is we’re pretty healthy. We know who we are. I don’t expect any big changes, but we’ll see. You never know."

How about the buyout market scenarios? Do you have a preference of wing or center, or is it more just like you’ll see what’s out there?

"I don’t know. We’ll see who’s bought out, first of all. If it’s a player that makes sense to help us win a championship, then we’ll look at it. Whether it’s a wing or a big, that’s hard to know right now. We’re still probably a week or so away from those things happening, but I do like that we’re healthy, so there’s no dire need for anything. But if we see a player that makes sense and can help us, we’ll pursue it. But right now, until the trade deadline is over, we’re not speculating who those guys could be."

Could you see a scenario where you keep your 15th spot heading into the playoffs?

"Maybe, I don’t know. Last year, we made a change to add a player like Quinn Cook. If we had a setback with one of our players and needed to add somebody, we’ve got guys on two-ways. Damion Lee’s been pretty good, (Marcus) Derrickson — we can convert guys like that. I think the general sense is that, if we see somebody that helps us that fits that spot, we’ll do it. If we don’t, we won’t. We don’t have to. We may reserve the right to do it heading into the playoffs, if that makes sense. If it’s not a guy who’s on our roster, we can still do that."

With the way DeMarcus (Cousins) has come back, does that change what you might do?

"Yeah, I think DeMarcus coming back, 1) he has come back, which is good. Speaking to him, he hasn’t shown any ill-effects from the injury. He’s still trying to get his rhythm back and conditioning, but, yeah, that’s helpful to give us more information. But as we go through it, where do we feel like we might need help? Who might we be playing in the playoffs? Those factors, it’s a lot of guess-work, to be honest. Sometimes you just don’t know."

What do you think of all the upcoming free agents out there, with everything else that’s going on in the league right now?

"No, I mean, the free agency thing is fascinating, right? I’m a human being, I see it, but the good news is it’s February. I honestly feel like the job, it’s hard enough to just win basketball games. There’s a time and a place for all of that stuff, and that time will certainly come. We’ll see it, but we’re in a unique spot. We’re trying to meet our goal of winning a championship. Maybe people realize that and maybe people don’t, but that is really hard without looking anywhere else."

Because there’s so much specific chatter about two of your guys, do you have to manage that at all?

"I think if you feel like you do, yeah. I don’t necessarily feel that in the locker room, personally. I don’t feel like that’s become part of our fabric. I think maybe that comes from being a team that’s been scrutinized the last few years, that’s gotten used to a lot of coverage, which they’ve earned and deserved. You’ve got players that have been in a spotlight position for much of their career. And Steve, who’s got some great experience as a player, playing with some high-level guys. He really is kind of the steward of that ship, in terms of keeping our locker room intact and in a good place. But it’s not easy. It’s a hard thing to do, but I don’t see any of that creeping in from my perspective."

You’ve been in this position for a long time. Do you ever read these stories and go, "Why do I keep having to hear about my guy?"

"No, I don’t get upset. It’s a competitive league. I’ve got great respect for all the other teams. It’s what they’re supposed to do, right? I think that’s what makes the NBA what it is. Star players can change narratives with different teams, can change a direction, good or bad. It’s what makes it interesting, it’s what makes the fans stay engaged. It gives you all great stories to write. So, I don’t get mad. I get mad at other things in life. I don’t get mad at that."

Was it strange for you to hear Lakers fans the other night chanting "WE WANT THOMP-SON!" at Oracle, loud enough to be heard?

"I grew up where we would be chanting, wanting Lakers players, so I guess that’s a good place to be in. Somebody sent me something where Klay said, ‘It’s better to be wanted than not be.’ Again, it’s the NBA. It is a sport, but it’s also entertainment and you want people to engage in it. You want them to be passionate about it. I only worry about one thing, and that’s apathy. There’s no apathy in our sport right now. It’s in a great spot. You’ve got great passion, and it’s got a great following."

How much do you attribute DeMarcus’ smooth transition to Steve’s coaching?

"I’d say Steve’s obviously great at — not only for DeMarcus, but for all of our players — putting them in a position to succeed. So, I think it’s a combination for Steve, and I’ll give DeMarcus credit, for just being a smart basketball player, knowing how he fits. He did a great job — maybe it wasn’t as noticeable, but while he wasn’t playing, he was watching. He sat on our bench. I mean, he could’ve easily just sat in the back and watched the games, but he watched. He talked to our coaches. He talked to Steve, and they went to dinner. ‘How do I fit in? How might you use me?’ Steve asked him, ‘How do you think I should use you?’ He watched old films, so there’s that. Then there’s also, ‘Are players trying to help DeMarcus fit?’ Giving him opportunities, creating some of his own. So, it’s a confluence of things, but Steve’s been great with it."

When you drafted Jacob Evans, at the press conference you said you hoped that he could contribute immediately. That really hasn’t worked out the way that you thought. What do you attribute that to?

"Just me being wrong. No, I think (Alfonzo) McKinnie’s been good. So, maybe he would’ve gotten those minutes. Maybe not. One of the things that’s hard for us, and maybe it’s a high-class issue, but because of the success of the team, even a guy like Looney took a few years to find his footing. He didn’t get a long leash early. Damian Jones, we gave him a little opportunity before he got hurt. Unfortunately, when we draft a guy, as much as we’d like to put him out there, sometimes the opportunity doesn’t present itself. We’re in a position where all the games matter. We’ve got a lot of veterans. The good thing is, he’s down there. He needs to play basketball, and that’s what he’s doing in the G League. So, I mostly attribute it to my inability to read the future."

What do you think it took to make it through some of the drama going on in November, the injuries and not winning as much? Getting healthy and carrying that to a better place in January where you guys finally got on a roll.

"Just decent people going through issues in life. I think one of the things that those of you who cover the team know, they are very good, high-character people. That allows you to persevere in situations that we all face in any work, to navigate those things. I attribute it to Steve and his leadership, and our players. They’ve been through a lot together, these guys. We’ve won some championships. We’ve lost one. We’ve been scrutinized. They’ve had success. They’ve had things they sacrifice. In all those things, going through things as a group helps you overcome whatever hurdle and obstacle is in your way."

Has Durant’s pending free agency affected the locker room?

"No. If we were a young team or on a team that hadn’t been through anything, maybe in 14-15, we wouldn’t be prepared for those type of things. But you’ve got guys that are probably as versed in the league. We had Marcus (Thompson) as our beat writer and Rusty Simmons. We had two people here. Now there’s, I don’t know. It’s different. Our players grew up in that, too. They are more able to understand that for them, the focus is on what you do at Oracle Arena 41 nights a year and then on the road. They’re good at that. I honestly think all of our guys really like the game of basketball. As much as there is that goes around that, it’s still basketball. If you can find the focus and direct it there and enjoy your teammates and be competitive, our guys are competitive. I think that allows you not to be distracted. I actually enjoy that part."

You mentioned earlier that there is a time and place for everything with free agency, but as far as the organization is concerned at the start of February, with specifically Kevin, do you feel he is on track to come back next season?

"I feel like all of our players are happy and want to stay with us and continue with us. That’s how I feel. But again, I’ve only worked in the NBA as an agent and in this capacity. I thought Jacob Evans was going to be a rotation player. I don’t know. I think we have a great environment. The focus now is who we play Wednesday night. We play the Spurs. I get it that people want to know the answers to these questions. But what I would re-convey is it’s hard to win a basketball game in the NBA. It’s hard to win a playoff game. It’s hard to win a championship. That has to be our focus. That is our focus. So, the bad news is this: If we’re fortunate enough to keep playing and finish in June, there is probably seven days or 12 before free agency. That’s unique to our sport. You really have to do your work in that small period. I don’t think you can honestly answer anything. That goes for players, too, until the season is over. You can ask anybody in the organization and say, ‘What kind of season are you having?’ They’ll say, ‘Ask me when the season is over.’ I don’t know. It’s hard to say. When we won 73 games, that was awesome until we lost in the NBA Finals. When I’d say what kind of season is that, I’d say we got a littler banner over there that says 73-9, but it’s not as big as those over there that have championships over there. What kind of season was that? I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure that one out."

I don’t know if it’s semantics, but there is talk on if you’re going to recruit your guys more or you don’t recruit, and this is what it is and you see what their decision is. Is it a recruitment in some ways?

"We recruit every day. We’re recruiting every day. You want to maintain a good, working culture. You don’t just ignore people until their contract is up or you say, ‘Hey, you can’t leave now, anyway.’ Steve is brilliant at this. And I try to do my small part. But we want to make sure people come to work whether you’re a player selling tickets. Eric Housen, our equipment guy, are you enjoying yourself today? So, in the moment, everybody becomes free in their contract. We want people to enjoy coming to work here. That’s every single day. That’s just being a decent human being. My opinion is if you wait until somebody has an opportunity, you haven’t really done your job while they were employed with you. So, I think that’s our approach to that."

How much has it helped that Steve has been a GM before?

"Even if he hadn’t, Steve is a great human being. He understands the NBA. It’s fascinating the things I learn from him having the success he’s had and having the perspective he’s had. It’s never really about him. You have to remind yourself that he has eight championships. I don’t know anybody working in the NBA right now who has eight championships. He’s really good at understanding what’s important and what isn’t and steering that ship. He has a great humility about him. He doesn’t think he has it all figured out. For me, I’m really lucky to have a partner in all of this journey like Steve."

Joe (Lacob) told Tim (Kawakami) the other day that you guys won’t be outspent. When you hear something like that, does it ease your mind as a GM or you were already on board, obviously? How do you take that when you hear that?

"It’s better to hear that than hear a guy say we’re not going to spend any money. We better have a budget. I’ve said this before. Somebody with my job and my role, you would love to have the support of ownership saying if we lose or if we’re not competitive, it’s not going to be because we didn’t spend money The fan base should appreciate that because I’m not sure any fan base cares what the payroll is. All they want to do is win. When you have an owner that echos and embodies that, and the fans are what we do this for, that sounds good. For me, yeah, it’s almost like you’re playing poker. With your chip stack, you want to have a bigger stack. Anybody would want that. You know what? The truth is, you can make more mistakes and play more hands. That’s why what he said is impactful."

You mentioned about the buyouts. Are you looking at somebody who can stay on if they choose to, or just for this season?

"I don’t know. Anybody that we bring in, depending on how things go, we would love to give them a chance to stay. I don’t know who that is, or when that would be. It’s hard to predict."

Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @Con_Chron