Warriors' hiring of Kerr is big, but not a 'stunner'
Updated 11:22 pm, Thursday, May 15, 2014
Thoughts on the Warriors' Steve Kerr hiring:
-- It's not a "stunner," as so many have claimed, because it was Kerr's common-sense move from the beginning. This is no time to join the Knicks, no matter how badly Kerr wanted to work with Phil Jackson. By midseason, after a loss well beyond his control, Kerr would be facing headlines like the one in Thursday's New York Daily News: "KERR-PLUNK!"
-- More from the Daily News: "Kerr Shows He Still Has High Basketball IQ."
-- If I ran a business - any business at all - I'd want Kerr on board. Easily one of the most interesting people I've met over nearly 50 years in journalism.
-- Ideally, I'd break him in as an assistant coach. No wonder the Knicks balked at a four-year deal, let alone five. A commitment that long for someone who has never coached, at a salary not far from Gregg Popovich's? That's not "bold," it's ridiculous.
-- As currently constituted, under any coach, the Warriors will finish within the 5-8 slots of the Western Conference playoff setup and be lucky to reach the second round. In a field this strong, even a first-round loss wouldn't be a setback for Kerr. Not by any reasonable measure. Joe Lacob's response would be another story - and it's likely a number of roster moves are in store.
-- The Warriors aren't that "young" or "up and coming," by the way. That only describes the backcourt, and playoff series are won around the basket.
-- Kerr was expected to run the Triangle offense, something he learned as a player under Jackson, if he'd joined the Knicks. It's uncertain how he'll operate in Oakland, but keep Stephen Curry in mind when you read Kerr's recollection of his role in the Chicago Bulls' offense: "I wasn't really a true point guard and I wasn't big enough to play two-guard, but in the triangle, you didn't have to have a position. It was more about passing and cutting and being a good ballhandler without being pigeonholed. It changed my entire career. All of a sudden I wasn't a point guard or a two, I was just a player."
-- Kerr's father, Malcolm, was a professor who specialized in Middle East studies and became president of American University in Beirut - the site of Steve's birth, his parents having met there as students. Steve was a freshman at the University of Arizona when, in the early-morning hours of Jan. 18, 1984, he was awakened by a phone call. His 52-year-old father had been shot and killed by a pair of anti-American religious fanatics as he stepped out of an elevator.
The news sent him into "absolute shock," as he recalled, and the entire city of Tucson rallied around his plight. Steeling himself, Kerr decided to play the Wildcats' next game, just two days later. He sobbed during a pregame moment of silence. Then he took the court, buried a shot from 25 feet and went on to score 15 points in a victory over Arizona State.
Others weren't so kind to Kerr. Incredibly, he was heckled by opposing fans in the coming days. It would be months before he felt even a measure of inner peace.
Kerr is widely praised for a tremendous career in basketball, quite an accomplishment for a slight, unimposing man armed only with a shooting touch and guile. The full story is even more impressive. In evaluating the Warriors' hire, have no concerns about character.