| The coaches
The Warriors launch their title defense in a different fashion than they did two years ago.
And not just because they have some guy named Kevin Durant on the roster.
For the first time in Steve Kerr’s tenure as head coach, he has stability on his coaching staff. No one is a newcomer. No one has to move positions on the bench, or take on different responsibilities.
The Warriors are the best in a lot of departments, and their coaching staff is no different. They are a cool jazz ensemble of personalities and talents.
The professor, Ron Adams, demands that players use their brains and be fully committed on defense. There’s Jarron Collins, the chill big brother to the team, demanding but understanding. Mike Brown is the perfectionist, not only for players but for himself. Bruce Fraser binds everyone together with his personality. And Kerr sets the tempo for all of them, trusts them and lets each of them have a solo when needed.
Two years after Alvin Gentry left to take over in New Orleans and one year after Luke Walton left to coach the Lakers, the Warriors staff remains intact. Associate head coach Brown, the lead assistant, didn’t go anywhere.
This is crucial, not only for stability but for security. Kerr recently proclaimed, in an interview with The Chronicle, that he plans to coach for a long, long time. And he said that while he isn’t 100 percent, still hampered by back surgery gone wrong two years ago, he is feeling better.
That’s great news. But, as we found out so dramatically in April, his condition is unpredictable. In two consecutive seasons, Kerr has missed extensive time due to intense pain from a spinal fluid leak. He missed the first 43 games of the 2015-16 season.
Kerr missed 11 playoff games during last spring’s run to the championship. Eleven playoff wins. Brown was the head coach for all of them, a calm, steady presence in the middle of the Warriors’ heavily scrutinized playoff run and the growing concern and unchecked rumors about the head coach. Brown was pitch-perfect in his behavior, answers, demeanor.
The fact that Brown will be back is tremendous news for the Warriors. He’s a trusted coach, a strong presence who brings stability.
There wasn’t another job opening to interest Brown, no other team coming after him, though there were plenty of rumors at the end of the regular season. And Brown will certainly be at the top of a candidate list if any team decides to make a change early in the coming season.
But Brown also wasn’t searching. He has already been a head coach in difficult situations. With
“This has been one of the most fun years I’ve had since I’ve been in the NBA.” Mike Brown, Warriors associate head coach
LeBron James in Cleveland. Without LeBron James in Cleveland. With Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles. Most job openings come about because a team is in difficulty.
He’s had good times and rough times in his NBA career. And then he’s had the Warriors.
“This has been one of the most fun years I’ve had since I’ve been in the NBA,” Brown said in June. “It’s been special. The whole thing has been off the charts.”
How long will the Warriors be able to hold on to Brown? The NBA sees a coach who evolved from the younger man who sometimes looked flustered during tense game situations to the one who was steady and ready when he moved into the head chair.
Though everyone thinks the superstar-laden Warriors were on automatic pilot and needed little direction — “Hey, I could do that!” — it’s a harder job than it looks. And coaching a super team comes with unique, incredible pressure.
But Kerr has created a culture where both players and coaches have ownership and are ready for whatever comes at them. Everyone hopes that the Warriors’ future features a completely healthy Kerr, running the ship for as long as he wants. Still, the response by the coaching staff to tough times has been remarkable.
Brown is back. The entire coaching staff returned, playing the coolest kind of jazz that an ensemble can.
The best team in the world deserves the best staff, and the Warriors have it.