San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Warriors’ Kerr welcomes a reunion with Popovich
The U.S. has a PopovichKerr ticket. Not in the White House, which was what that humorous Tshirt, mug and sticker campaign urged a few years ago.
No, the pair will be involved in a different kind of American challenge: sustaining supremacy on the basketball court. This month in Tokyo, head coach Gregg Popovich and his assistant Steve Kerr will be coaching the U.S. Olympic team in its pursuit of a fourth straight gold medal.
“It’s going to be amazing and so much fun to be by his side,” said Kerr, one of four assistants on Popovich’s staff, in an interview with The Chronicle.
In the weeks since the Warriors’ season ended, Kerr has had some down time. Barack Obama, ESPN’s Doris Burke, and a fourlegged family member named Lulu have all factored in his life, but more on that later.
That down time is over now. For the next month, the PopovichKerr (plus Lloyd Pierce, Jay Wright and Jeff Van Gundy) ticket will be very busy.
Given his long resume, it would seem Kerr might be out of new experiences. But this will be his first Olympics. And up until a few weeks ago, Kerr was unsure if this maiden voyage was a good idea.
“I’ll be honest, I was like, ‘just cancel it,’ ” he said, of the mounting concerns over how to hold the Tokyo Games while the pandemic still rages around the world.
Planning for the Olympic trip back in 2020, Kerr was excited. His wife Margot
and three kids would have made the trip to Japan. He would have relished seeing other events, partaking in the full Olympic experience.
Now none of that will happen. Outside visitors are not allowed. There will be tight restrictions on spectators at any events. The schedule is likely to just be hotel, practice, hotel, game, hotel.
Still, even though he won’t have his family, Kerr will be with one of his favorite humans.
“It’s all about coaching with Pop,” Kerr said. “He’ll be a good guy to bubble with. You know he’s going to have some good wine.”
Kerr’s affection for Popovich is no secret. Kerr felt an immediate connection with the coach, now 72, the first time he played for him in 1999. When he returned to the Spurs for the 200203 season, their bond grew deeper.
Kerr, 55, studied Popovich’s technique, how he was authentic, how he challenged his stars, how he got to know players outside of basketball and was interested in them as people. Kerr naturally adopted many of his mentor’s techniques when he launched his own coaching career.
Now they are the best of friends. During the season, they check in with each other often, sharing jokes, political viewpoints, family updates, insights into the league and meals when possible. In recent weeks, while discussing the Olympic roster, they were in touch daily.
The Olympic roster is trickier than ever because of the compressed NBA schedule and the challenges of the pandemic. Popovich and his staff are in Las Vegas where most of the players will join them this coming week for training camp that will last until the team leaves for Tokyo in two weeks.
But some players — the Suns’ Devin Booker, and potentially the Bucks’ Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton — won’t be available until after the NBA Finals. Those players will either fly directly to Vegas just before the team leaves or, depending on how long the Finals go, fly straight to Tokyo.
“We have to be very flexible,” Kerr said, repeating the mantra of COVID. “It’s going to be tricky.”
Popovich and Kerr coached in the U.S. team in the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China, where the Americans were knocked out by France — the team’s first opponent in Tokyo — in the quarterfinals and suffered another loss to Serbia in the consolation round. But that roster, which finished seventh, lacked star power and depth. Americans have learned the hard way; they can’t just roll out the ball in this global sport and dominate.
“If you don’t have enough talent, it’s very hard to win,” Kerr said.
The Olympic roster is missing some talent, significantly Stephen Curry. But Curry’s coach fully supports his star staying home.
“He expends so much energy during the season,” Kerr said.
The roster will have Draymond Green, who has been fully committed to the experience despite the Olympic delay and will likely be more of a factor than he was on Mike Krzyzewski’s team in 2016 in Rio. Perhaps most importantly, Kerr will be reunited with Kevin Durant, who — during the playoffs — returned to his preinjury status as the best offensive player in the world.
Durant’s commitment to USA Basketball is deep. He first played in 2010, and this will be his third consecutive Olympics.
“Kevin is the key,” Kerr said.
The challenges of the international game include different rules, different officiating and competing against rosters that have played together internationally for years. Following an embarrassing showing at the 2004 Athens Olympics, when the team came away with a bronze and the program was subsequently revamped, the U.S. won three straight golds under Krzyzewski.
Would Kerr ever be interested in being the Olympic team’s head coach? After all, the 2028 Games will be held in his hometown of Los Angeles.
“It’s something I would consider, for sure,” Kerr said.
Kerr’s summer isn’t all about the Olympics. Among his Warriors business is filling the vacancy on his staff, left open by the departure of
Jarron Collins. Kerr approached ESPN’s Doris Burke to see if she would have any interest in the job. Alas, she had just signed a new ESPN contract and couldn’t consider it.
“She would be amazing on staff,” Kerr said.
On a personal level, he and Margot are settled in their San Francisco home, are looking forward to their two older children’s upcoming weddings and spoiling the newest family member, an English retriever named Lulu who can do no wrong.
When he gets a chance, Kerr heads to the golf course. Recently, his old family friend Thomas Friedman, a columnist for the New York Times who befriended Kerr’s parents decades ago, called to ask if he’d like to play at Pebble Beach. Kerr eagerly accepted the invitation, and later found out that their foursome would include former President Barack Obama, on a 60th birthday golf excursion with some buddies.
So, Kerr played Cypress with Obama, Friedman and Heidi Ueberroth, the director of the Pebble Beach Company. Obama’s buddies formed a foursome behind them. That evening they all had dinner together in Carmel.
“It was one of the greatest days of my life,” Kerr said. “There was an incredible energy. He (Obama) loves basketball so much, we were just veering from one topic to another.”
The topics included, of course, politics. But that isn’t the focus of the PopovichKerr ticket. This summer, they are campaigning for gold.