» KERR, WARRIORS IN MIDDLE OF ROUGH STRETCH
The Warriors did not hear a fiery speech. They did not hear a sob story, either.
When Warriors coach Steve Kerr addressed the team about Draymond Green’s recent spat with Kevin Durant, Kerr offered an honest, pragmatic and optimistic message.
“‘One incident in November can’t taint the next six months and what we’re trying to accomplish,’ “Warriors guard Stephen Curry recalled Kerr saying. “He spoke about that clearly.”
The Warriors (12-5) were off Monday, punctuating a week in which Kerr handled something more serious than a winless three-game trip, overlapping injuries and fluid rotations. Then, the Warriors conveyed optimism they can heal their tired and injured bodies. They also expressed hope they could further distance themselves from the drama that stemmed from Green and Durant arguing.
So, Kerr spent the last week ensuring the fallout between Green and Durant did not worsen. Then, Kerr emphasized something that distinguishes the Warriors beyond their All-Star talent.
“Just play with joy. It’s always been about our emotion,” Durant said. “He’s always been big about that and making sure everybody feels good. He tries to put everybody in a position to be successful. So he’s trying to get that joy back.”
Durant has hardly been joyful since last week. He barked at Green for not passing him the ball on the final play of regulation in an overtime loss last week to the Los Angeles Clippers. In the ensuing huddle, Green attacked Durant with vulgarities and references to his pending free agency next summer. The Warriors then suspended Green the following game against Atlanta. After playing with Green again in Thursday’s loss to Houston, Durant snapped at a reporter for inquiring about his relationship with Green.
Green will likely sit out when the Warriors (12-5) play the Oklahoma City Thunder (10-5) on Wednesday at Oracle Arena, marking the third consecutive game he missed with the Warriors citing reoccurring pain in his right foot. Still, the setting only provides another reminder of Durant’s sensitivity. When he left the Thunder two years ago for the Warriors, details emerged on the tension Durant and Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook had before and after his departure. The Warriors believe, though, their head coach can calm the current issue down.
“Steve is always great,” Warriors guard Klay Thompson said. “He has a great outlook on life and basketball. He’s one of our leaders. We always lean on him during turbulent times.” the real NBA,” Kerr said. “We haven’t been in the real NBA the last four years. We’ve been in this dream and so now we’re faced with real adversity. We have to get out of it ourselves.”
To get it out of it, Kerr cannot rely on his past coaching experience. Aside from the Warriors squandering a 3-1 Finals series lead to Cleveland in 2016, Kerr has never had such failure as a head coach. But he has plenty of other experiences to lean on as a former player. As Curry said about Kerr, “he’s been in the crosshairs before so he knows how to handle it.”
Kerr famously fought former Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan during a heated practice. As Kerr joked this week, “I kicked MJ’s ass.” Though Kerr has spoken privately with Green and Durant, it remains unclear if he brought up his fight with Jordan or considered it important the two apologize just as Jordan did to Kerr.
“That was a good try,” Kerr said, smiling. “Come on. Give me more credit than that. That was a long time ago.”
Kerr was more forthcoming, though, about his time playing for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich (1999-2001, 20022003). Then, he noticed former Spurs forward Tim Duncan and Curry using their equity as the team’s star player to defuse locker room issues with humor and empathy. Kerr also admired how Popovich prevented issues from becoming worse.
“I actually noticed that Pop was better in crisis, more relaxed and just more ready to coach,” Kerr said. “When things were going well, that’s when he would be more on edge. He didn’t want us to get lazy. We would win five in a row and he’d yell at us. We’d lose a few in a row and then he’d take us out to dinner. That’s a pretty good philosophy for coaching when you think about it. You have to keep the train going forward and nobody does that better than Pop.”
Popovich said he feels the same way about Kerr.
“He’s somebody I would count on in just about any situation,” Popovich said about Kerr, who will be one of his assistants with the U.S. Men’s national team for the 2019 FIBA World Cup and 2020 Olympics in Japan. “It’s the same as in any endeavor. It’s about people and it’s about relationships. I’m sure no matter how you all think, write or talk about it, it’s not as big of a deal as you all made it.”