OAKLAND, CALIF. ? Chris Mullin was pushed to provide specifics on what led to his decision to oust Eric Musselman as coach of the Golden State Warriors after only two seasons. Mullin just wouldn’t go there.

“I wish him luck. I know he’s going to do well,” Mullin said Thursday, a day after calling Musselman with the news that he’d been fired.

“My decision is it’s the right time to make a change. … It’s not an easy thing to do, but again that’s a big part of the job — making big decisions. I will take my time and process it through. When I make a big decision, I’ll stand by it,” he said.

Musselman had hinted he expected to be dismissed even though the Warriors improved during his short tenure. He will be replaced by Stanford’s Mike Montgomery, a Pac-10 Conference source speaking on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press.

Mullin, almost a month into his new job as executive vice president of basketball operations, said he reached Montgomery through a mutual friend and had discussions with the coach.

“Nothing is finalized,” Mullin said. “He’s very appealing. His winning is appealing, and his professionalism. He has a lot of good attributes. We’ll see what happens.”

Mullin also appointed Rod Higgins as the new general manager Thursday to replace Garry St. Jean, who was stripped of his duties and moved into a new role with the team. Higgins, Mullin’s former Warriors teammate, had been working as a scout for Golden State.

Higgins has been working closely with Mullin for several weeks, preparing for the coaching search and discussing which players the team might target in the NBA draft.

The Warriors announced Musselman’s dismissal Thursday after he told the AP he was dismissed by Mullin on Wednesday. The team said it had not chosen a successor.

Stanford spokesman Gary Migdol told the AP that Montgomery met with his players Wednesday to discuss the Warriors’ situation.

The Pac-10 source who spoke to the AP said Montgomery had accepted the job. Messages left for Montgomery weren’t returned.

The Warriors missed the playoffs for the 10th straight year in an injury-plagued season, finishing 37-45.

The hiring of the team’s ninth coach since 1994 is the first big move made by Mullin since he took over the team last month.

Montgomery has been one of the most successful college coaches during his 18 years at Stanford, but has no NBA experience. He led the Cardinal to their third No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed in five years this season, but Stanford lost in the second round by Alabama.

Stanford has been to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for 10 straight years and made the Final Four in 1998. The Cardinal won their first 26 games this season and finished the regular season ranked No. 1 with a 29-1 mark. He has a career record of 547-244, including eight seasons at Montana.

Montgomery takes over a team with many questions. Centers Erick Dampier and Adonal Foyle might be on their way out and so could several others. Foyle’s contract is up, while Dampier has two years left but can opt out of it and become a free agent.

Several coaches who recently made the jump straight to head coach in the NBA have struggled — such as Lon Kruger, Tim Floyd, John Calipari and P.J. Carlesimo.

“I’m aware of that,” Mullin said. “I’m also aware that our league might have been different when those coaches came in.”

The Warriors were among the most improved defensive teams this season and established a team single-season attendance record, averaging 16,235 fans.

Musselman, who had one year remaining on a three-year, $4.5 million contract, was 75-89 overall.