Brown relishes coaching role
Ten months removed from reclaiming his title as the Warriors’ associate head coach, Mike Brown is ready to state the obvious: Last spring, when he spent six weeks filling in for the ailing Steve Kerr, Brown felt the weight of expectations.
“I don’t care what anybody says,” Brown said after practice Friday. “Anybody who’s in that situation, they’re going to feel pressure. So, did I feel pressure? Yeah, I felt pressure.”
His handling of his temporary role with Kerr away to deal with chronic pain — Golden State went 11-0 under Brown, sweeping the conference semifinals and finals — was an essential factor in the team’s second championship run in three years. Now, as the Warriors prepare for Game 1 of the first round Saturday against San Antonio, Brown is embracing the relative anonymity that comes with being Kerr’s top assistant.
An exacting numbers whiz who takes comfort in colorcoded practice plans and 200page playbooks, Brown balances the laid-back Kerr. Brown, one of the architects of the Warriors’ substitution pattern, sits to the left of Kerr in games with rotation sheet in hand. With Brown monitoring the times for players to check in, Kerr can focus on what he does best: relaying his message to the team.
“The guys respect him, and the other coaches respect him,” Kerr said. “He’s got a wealth of knowledge, so he’s been a huge asset for us.”
Kerr, who has dealt with complications from back surgery for nearly three years, took a hiatus from the bench before Game 3 of the first round in Portland last April to deal with his lingering pain. As Golden State’s acting head coach, Brown eyed a simple objective: maintain status quo.
He consulted with Kerr daily on scouting reports, game plans and more. At times, Brown stepped aside in the locker room as Kerr delivered the halftime speech. But while Kerr watched games from the locker room, Brown made the split-second decisions, substitutions and exhortations that ultimately helped pave Golden State’s path to a 13-0 start in the postseason.
All the while, Brown worked knowing that Kerr could return at any time. Brown didn’t learn until several hours before tipoff of Game 2 of the Finals that Kerr was coming back to the bench.
“My time as an interim head coach, more than anything else, it helped me grow and learn about the team and other stuff,” Brown said. “I look at it as, yes, that might’ve been my title at the time, but I’m just stepping up to the plate because that guy’s out.”
Brown, a head coach with the Cavaliers (2005-10, 2013-14) and Lakers (2011-12), reckons he has more to learn from being on Kerr’s staff. Last June, when a report surfaced that he was a candidate to become Ohio State’s head coach, Brown figured it wasn’t the right time to consider moving to the college ranks.
However, he is interested in becoming an NBA head coach again. There are five openings in the league: New York, Charlotte, Orlando, Phoenix and Milwaukee.
“Someday I’d like to be a head coach, but when?” Brown said. “I don’t know. The best part is, being in a situation or an environment like this, at least for me, you don’t think about it much.
“If there’s an opportunity that comes up and it’s the right opportunity, then you feel blessed. If an opportunity doesn’t come up, you still feel blessed.” Curry update: Point guard Stephen Curry has been ruled out for the Warriors’ firstround series against the Spurs, but he appears on track to return for a potential Western Conference semifinals appearance.
Curry, who is set to have the Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee evaluated Saturday, worked through running and light shooting drills during Friday’s practice. For a good chunk of the post-practice portion open to media, head physical therapist Chelsea Lane guided Curry through several exercises with a resistance band.
“It’s good to see him moving around,” Kerr said. “He’s not close to playing.”