USA TODAY International Edition
Kerr proves he’s precisely what the Warriors needed
Fate often works in mysterious ways.
The Golden State Warriors are two victories from claiming the franchise’s first NBA title in 40 years, but this might not be the case had Steve Kerr not changed his mind.
Remember when Kerr was destined to reunite with Phil Jackson and become coach of the New York Knicks?
It seemed to be such a formality that Kerr was headed to New York, he wouldn’t even interview with the Warriors when they first approached him after firing Mark Jackson.
“This is how Steve is: He said, ‘ I want to see how this process unfolds before I agree to meet,’ ” Warriors general manager Bob Myers recalled to USA TODAY Sports. “‘ Not take the job. But to meet and speak to you.’ ”
Days after a talented Warriors team was eliminated by the Los Angeles Clippers in a seven- game first- round series in May 2014, the blows came in a flurry. Not only was Kerr out of the equation, but the second top choice, Stan Van Gundy, wound up taking the Detroit Pistons job.
The Warriors were two weeks into their search when Kerr, working as an analyst for TNT, called and informed the team that he was open to meeting. Two factors for his interest were the presence of Stephen Curry, who wound up winning his first MVP award this season, and a daughter who attends Cal- Berkeley.
Talk about adjustments. When Myers and others met with Kerr in an airport terminal in Oklahoma City, where Kerr was working the Clippers- Oklahoma City Thunder series, it proved to be a stroke of good fortune that might have provided the difference for a championship.
Don’t forget that for as hot of a prospect as Kerr was — and as prepared as he was for his interview, armed with a huge binder specific with a detailed plan for the Warriors — he had never coached.
So that was a risk in itself. Now he’s positioned — as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ David Blatt also is — to become the first rookie NBA coach to win the title since Pat Riley in 1982.
Maybe Jackson, who helped develop the Warriors stars, would have taken the team over the top to win a title had he stayed on the job. Maybe not.
Kerr’s impact can’t be denied, with his lineup switch for the crisis- mode victory in Game 4 in Cleveland serving as a fresh example. Months after taking crafty veteran Andrew Iguodala out of the starting lineup and assigning him to a role as sixth man — which Iguodala was hardly thrilled about but accepted for the team — Kerr help lay the tracks for the team’s biggest win by giving him his first start of the season.
Iguodala responded as a force at both ends as he has been all series, including tenacious defense against LeBron James, allowing the Warriors to change the tempo of the series with a small lineup that put Andrew Bogut on the bench and forced Cavs center Timofey Mozgov to defend more on the perimeter. That led to more inside chances for the Warriors.
“Not afraid to take a chance,” Curry said of how the lineup switch resonated. “And obviously, it’s not a blind guess.”
Kerr, who won five NBA titles as a sharpshooting guard with the Chicago Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs, has learned the pulse of his team. During the adversity of this series there has been much talk about whether the coach has shown the media one side — cool, composed, with a sharp sense of humor during news conferences — while demonstrating a distinctly different intensity behind closed doors.
Draymond Green, who switched from forward to play center in the small lineup — and by the way, had his best and most active performance of the series in Game 4 — allows that the multiple dimensions pretty much reflect the essence of Kerr.
Kerr accepted the idea to use a smaller lineup from assistant Nick U’Ren. He is allowing everyone on the team to have ownership, per se. All season, it has also helped that he has assembled a veteran staff of assistants, which includes Alvin Gentry, soon to start a new job as New Orleans Pelicans head coach.
Still, for his role, Kerr has proved to be more than capable of growing on the job.
When the series began, Kerr mentioned the difference in his approach to the NBA Finals as a coach compared to a player underscores his responsibility; he can’t just worry about himself but is relied upon to set the tone for the entire operation.
So far, so good.