• last month
Transcript
00:00Let's go. Let's go out to the
00:04River Islands guest line. It is
00:06time for coach Kerr. We love
00:08our weekly visits with Steve
00:10Kerr and it's presented by
00:11Great Clips in Sports. Success
00:13is about team effort and the
00:15same is true for your hair.
00:16Great Clips. It's going to be
00:18great. Hey, coach. How you
00:20doing? Great. How are you guys
00:22doing? We're great and listen,
00:24I I like we want to jump right
00:25to this. There's a thousand
00:26warrior questions to ask. We'll
00:28give you an opportunity and I
00:30always fascinated by your
00:31answer. It's election night.
00:33What are you feeling? What are
00:34your emotions? Well, I'm
00:38hopeful. I think I think we're
00:42in a weird position as a
00:44country where, you know, the
00:45last eight years, there's been
00:47all this controversy with
00:50election legitimacy questions
00:54that aren't actually questions.
00:56They're just conspiracy
00:57theories and and I I'm truly
01:00hopeful that this is the
01:01election to put that to bed and
01:03and say, alright, look, this is
01:06elections of have in my entire
01:09lifetime, guys, I've they were
01:11never questioned until Trump
01:13came along. So, you know, the
01:15most important thing in our
01:16democracy is for everybody to
01:18understand these elections are
01:19fair and it's the will of the
01:20people and that's what
01:21democracy is built on and and
01:24that's my biggest hope.
01:26Obviously, I won't buy, you
01:27know, I know who I want to win.
01:28You guys know who I want to win
01:30but more than anything, I want
01:31our our our democracy to thrive
01:33and and I want to stop the
01:35nonsense with all the
01:36conspiracy talk that comes from
01:39from Trump and his his people.
01:41Yeah, it's a great answer and I
01:43mean, you and I and Mark, we all
01:44go far enough back to where you
01:46win some and you lose some but
01:47when you lost him, it was like,
01:49okay, we'll get you next time
01:50when you win. It's like, okay,
01:51let's work together and and make
01:53this work and as you were given
01:55that answer, I I couldn't help
01:57but like picture somebody like
02:00twirling their finger in the
02:01air after the election like, oh,
02:02we need to review it. We need to
02:04review the call like it's it's
02:06I'm only making it like
02:07farcical because this is
02:09obviously far more serious but
02:11just the idea of like an NBA
02:13game where a call happens and
02:14then somebody twirls the finger
02:16and then you get to decide
02:17whether or not, you know, you
02:19actually want to follow through
02:20with that review or not. So,
02:22that's just where I where my
02:23where my amateur and childish
02:24mind went, Steve. Yeah and and
02:27unlike plays that happen in the
02:29NBA, there's nothing subjective
02:31about a vote. You know, you
02:33vote for one person or the
02:34other. It's not, this is not
02:36block charge, you know, and the
02:40machines that we use by the way
02:42were proven, you know, have the
02:45Dominion voting systems that
02:47were questioned and and actually
02:50I think Fox News lost almost a
02:52billion dollars if I'm not
02:53mistaken because all of their
02:54commentators kept saying that
02:56the the machines were tampered
02:58with and and none of it was
03:00true and so look, I mean, we
03:03we have you know, great great
03:07election system. We have a
03:08democracy. We get to to decide
03:10we're so lucky in this country
03:12to to have this power and so to
03:17to try to throw it all away by
03:19claiming conspiracy theory just
03:21in the name of, you know, having
03:23your guy in power for for the
03:25next 4 years is just nuts and
03:27history of our country as we go
03:29back and forth. We're one side
03:30of the other. My my biggest hope
03:32honestly is that that the
03:35Republicans can get their party
03:37back. If if Trump loses, then
03:39you know, let's let's let's get
03:40them their their party back and
03:42we get some get some sanity
03:43back in because we do need a
03:45strong Republican Party and not
03:47not a conspiracy filled one and
03:49we get that. We have a much
03:50better chance to achieve some a
03:53lot of our goals and and create
03:54a more unified country. I think
03:57Steve, I'll tell you this. I
03:59don't drink a lot, but I'm
04:00drinking tonight like he's
04:02already having the bag. Are you
04:04like how what are you doing
04:05tonight? Are you up all night?
04:06What's the plan here? Oh, I
04:08haven't watched. I haven't
04:09turned my TV on all day. I've
04:11been watching Boston tape. I've
04:12been watching our tape from
04:14yesterday. I'm about to go get
04:15dinner with some friends and
04:18I'm I don't even know if I'll
04:20if I'll follow too much until
04:23tomorrow morning. I don't
04:24expect anything tonight. So I
04:26might just try to get to sleep
04:27and wake up and look at look at
04:29my phone and see what happens.
04:30Well, the only thing scarier
04:32than an unsettled election is
04:34Boston tape. I mean, is that a
04:36horror film? What are you seeing
04:38Steve? Because my god, I mean
04:40taking Atlanta by behind the
04:41woodshed and what they're doing.
04:43I mean, can you even watch that
04:45without having the blanket half
04:46pulled out over your eyes?
04:48Yeah. Somebody asked me
04:49yesterday. They say, you know,
04:50got got two two big things
04:53coming up with the election and
04:54the Boston game and I said,
04:55yeah, one is one is a lot bigger
04:57than the other. I mean, you've
04:58seen how good Boston is. So,
05:02yeah, this is a this is a much
05:03bigger than anything. Now,
05:05these guys are awesome. They're
05:06obviously defending champs. I
05:08coached three of them over the
05:10summer with Jason and and Drew
05:12and and and Derek White and you
05:14know, there's a reason why
05:15they're they're the best team
05:16in the league. They're they're
05:17loaded with talent. You got a
05:19great formula well coached. So,
05:23this is a great test for us.
05:24You know, it's been such a good
05:25good start. Six and one is is
05:27right where we want to be but
05:29this is a major test and it'll
05:31be good to see how we stack up
05:33Steve Kerr with us as he is
05:34every week on Willard and Debs
05:3595 seven the game. Steve, we
05:37might have touched on this last
05:38week but I think it's
05:39worthwhile to dive in a little
05:41bit further. We're going to
05:43dive in a little bit further.
05:45I'll just tell you the way I
05:46translated it. Draymond Green
05:48after a game last week after one
05:50of the wins spoke publicly on
05:52how he really hated the way that
05:54last year went. Obviously, we
05:56knew that but there's something
05:58about his demeanor that makes me
06:00believe we've got ourselves a
06:02brand new Draymond. What do you
06:05see? I see a guy who is playing
06:10at a high level, who's having
06:12fun, who's doing a great job
06:14leading and to be honest, it's
06:19what I've seen for most of the
06:21past 10 years. I know who he is.
06:23I know what a winner and a
06:24champion Draymond is. I think he
06:26clearly got off kilter last year
06:30and the year before several
06:32times and it hurt us and he
06:34knows that. I think he's really
06:38committed to getting the best
06:41out of this team and to helping
06:42his teammates and being the best
06:44version of himself. Honestly,
06:46I'm not surprised because I
06:48believe in him so much. I know
06:50what a winner he is but he's so
06:52emotional and so passionate that
06:54it can get the best of him
06:55sometimes and it's our job to
06:57help him through that. It looks
06:59like you've done a good job of
07:00helping him through it and he's
07:01helped himself through it
07:02because I'm with Mark. It's a
07:04whole new Draymond and actually
07:06we're now seeing Draymond the
07:07scorer as well. Three straight
07:09games and double figures. Is
07:11that a conscious effort by
07:12Draymond or is the game just
07:14coming to him and he's making
07:15the most of opportunities? I
07:17think the biggest thing is he's
07:18playing the four most of the
07:20time now and as a four, he has
07:24to be a scorer for us. He's
07:26going to be open on the
07:27perimeter. He has to shoot the
07:29three, three for four last
07:31night, 39% last year. I don't
07:35think this is a fluke. I think
07:38he's not going to be a high
07:39volume guy, but he's going to
07:41be in that corner with trace or
07:43loon at the top and the
07:46offense running through a high
07:49screen and roll with the center
07:50that puts Draymond in the
07:51corner and he's got to be
07:53willing to take and shoot that
07:55shot and he has been. He's
07:57knocking him down, but again,
08:00we're trying to forge the
08:04identity of this team and the
08:06identity is a little different.
08:07The last couple of years, we've
08:09gone small more often than not
08:11with Draymond at the five and
08:13we've recommitted to playing big
08:15with trace and loon and Draymond
08:18and that means Draymond's at the
08:20four, so it's a different look.
08:22Steve, how did Steph come
08:24through last night? Great. Yeah,
08:26I saw him this morning. We
08:27didn't have practice, but he
08:29said he felt good and no
08:31problems, so he'll be ready to
08:33go tomorrow. I also wanted to
08:35just throw this at you and I
08:37know there's no moral victories
08:38at this level of sports,
08:40especially for an organization
08:41like yours, but I think a lot of
08:43people are looking at your start
08:45and they're going. Okay. This is
08:47this is some pretty good stuff.
08:49Now. Now, let's see what you
08:50guys do the next three games
08:52like what would you write? What
08:54would you say to a fan? That's
08:55like let's let's assess after
08:57these three. I would say you're
08:59exactly right. You know that
09:02that's it's exactly right. I
09:04mean, you know, in the course
09:06of 82 games, you just the
09:08schedule, um. Can go back and
09:11forth. Your health. Lots of
09:13stuff can happen. Um and if you
09:16win six out of seven and in
09:18February, it's it doesn't, uh.
09:21Get on the radar as as easily
09:23as it does when you win six of
09:25your first seven to start the
09:27season. So um, you know, I know
09:29everybody is singing our
09:31praises. Um but the schedule
09:33is set for us to this point,
09:35and we're about to play
09:37probably the three best teams
09:39in the league. Um that's the
09:40rest of this week. So great
09:42test for us. No matter what
09:44happens, we've got a ton of
09:45work ahead of us. I'm excited
09:47because when I watch the tape,
09:48I see all kinds of growth ahead
09:50of us. But it's going to take a
09:52lot of work, and it's going to
09:53take some time. You're playing
09:5412 guys still, and that's with
09:56Anthony Melton still out. So
09:57maybe 13 is on the table, and I
09:59heard Buddy healed earlier
10:00today on a national show. Talk
10:02about coaching and direct
10:04communication. Has that been
10:06something that you've been
10:07focused on not only this year,
10:09but throughout your career as
10:11far as managing 12, if not 13
10:13men in a rotation. Uh that's
10:16the only way I know how to
10:18coach is simple and direct
10:20communication. I mean, as a
10:22player for 15 years, all I ever
10:24wanted was the truth and the
10:26only time you get frustrated as
10:28a player, um, is if you don't
10:30know what you're doing. And so
10:32I'm constantly talking to our
10:34guys and trying to give them
10:36the vision for what we're
10:38trying to be. And um and so our
10:41guys know, you know, we're
10:42going to play a lot of people
10:43were going to be feisty. We're
10:44going to get after it
10:45defensively. We're going to
10:47sprint the floor. And we've
10:49we've got to stay on that path.
10:51It doesn't mean you know, we're
10:53not going to hit some bumps. We
10:54for sure are. But you know
10:55that's when you hit those bumps
10:57in the road. That's when you
10:59hit those bumps in the road.
11:00And that's that's the plan.
11:02Steve, it sounds like everyone
11:03in the organization feels the
11:05same way. But my gosh, we we
11:07are just finding Buddy Heald to
11:09be a total joy to watch. And
11:11I'm left scratching my head
11:13because everybody I know who
11:14follows the Sacramento Kings,
11:16they've been on this guy for
11:18years. What what is it that you
11:20think has made him such a good
11:22fit here as opposed to maybe
11:24where he wasn't in other places
11:26earlier in his career? Well,
11:28remember, he had some good
11:29years in Sacramento and and and
11:31signed a big contract and
11:33played at a really high level.
11:35There's a reason he's been a
11:36coveted player. But you know,
11:38for most players in the league,
11:40fit is everything. And this is
11:42a great fit. Our system, our
11:43style, the movement. He's a
11:45really good movement shooter.
11:47He's a lot like Clay and Steph
11:49and that he's he's going to run
11:51circles around the defender in
11:53order to get an open shot.
11:55He's a lot like those guys in
11:57the league. He has no
11:59conscience. He's not worried
12:01about missing. He's going to
12:03keep firing away. And there's
12:05there's a lot of energy that
12:07comes with that mentality and
12:09that style of play. So he's
12:11perfect for what we needed. And
12:13it's great signing by by Mike
12:15and and I think you hit it on
12:17it on it in the first part of
12:19your comments. He's bringing
12:20joy to the gym every single
12:22day. Everyone loves buddy.
12:23He's having so much fun and
12:24he's bringing a lot of a lot of
12:26fans who are really enjoying
12:28watching him go out there and
12:29play with the exuberance and
12:31the energy that he plays with.
12:33You mentioned fit and many
12:34people thought with Steph back
12:36that Jonathan Camango would
12:37just be back in the starting
12:39lineup. But Mark and I were
12:40talking about the fit that he
12:41seems to have with the second
12:43unit. Is this something that
12:44you've seen as a positive not
12:46only for J.K. but the team and
12:48maybe this could be longer
12:50lasting with him coming off the
12:51bench? It's a huge it's a huge
12:54factor for J.K. to to give us
12:57what he's giving. And again,
12:59everything is about the puzzle
13:01fitting. You know, everything
13:02is about putting together five
13:05men combinations. And we need
13:09J.K.'s force and power. And
13:10frankly, we needed more off the
13:12bench than we do in the starting
13:14lineup. So I love what I'm
13:16seeing. He's handling a great
13:18you know, he he obviously wants
13:20to start. Everybody wants to
13:21start. But that hasn't impacted
13:24his effort and his energy at
13:26all. In fact, I think he's
13:27looked even better since we've
13:29brought him off the bench. I
13:31think it suits him well with
13:32this team. And so until things
13:35change, you know, we'll keep
13:36going with this. But I love
13:38what what we're seeing from J.K.
13:40Steve Kerr with us with it and
13:41Dave's ninety five seven the
13:42game. Steve, I don't know if
13:43you're aware of what Ron Adams
13:44said on our station a couple of
13:46days ago. I found it to be one
13:47of the more interesting things
13:49the organization has ever said
13:50publicly about Jonathan. He
13:52commented that the game against
13:53the Rockets last weekend he
13:55thought was the best game he has
13:56ever played as a warrior. But
13:58then he also told a little bit
13:59of the story of of where this
14:01has been, that when Jonathan
14:02started scoring points, he kind
14:04of, quote, forgot about defense.
14:06Can can you shed some light on
14:08Jonathan's journey the last
14:10couple of years? Yeah, I mean,
14:13it's it's I think our fans
14:15already know it's it's been up
14:17and down. But it's been you
14:20know, I compare it to the stock
14:22market over over a 10 year
14:24period. It's it's the trend is
14:27up. Right. And from the day he
14:30walked into our building to now,
14:33J.K. is dramatically better.
14:35There's just a lot of growing
14:37pains that go into that,
14:39especially playing on a
14:40championship team, his rookie
14:42year, playing on a contender the
14:44last couple of years where, you
14:46know, he's not he's not allowed
14:48to make some of the rookie
14:50mistakes and young guy mistakes
14:52that players on lottery teams
14:54are allowed to make. So it's not
14:56easy on him. But it's the only
14:58way that we can compete as a
15:01team and for him to grow into
15:03the player that we need to, you
15:05know, to become a championship
15:06player. All those things are
15:09necessary. And it makes for some
15:11uncomfortable moments, you know,
15:13where maybe I make a bad
15:15decision with a, you know, with
15:17a lineup choice and maybe things
15:20don't go well. If I do plan,
15:22maybe things, you know, you're
15:23just there's always stuff that
15:25happens. But the important part
15:27of all this is sticking together,
15:29continuing to work and and
15:31collaborating. And that's what
15:33J.K. and I have done over the
15:35last couple of years. That's
15:36what we've done organizationally.
15:38And I'm really proud of him for
15:40just continuing to climb in an
15:43environment that frankly isn't
15:45isn't that easy, you know,
15:46playing playing on a team like
15:48this. And Saturday was a unique
15:50challenge where Steph was out
15:51injured and Draymond fouled out
15:53and pods fouled out. And yet you
15:54turned to overtime and he kind
15:56of became the guy. What was said
15:58before overtime and what was your
15:59takeaway from just how he
16:01performed to kind of lift you
16:03guys from, you know, what would
16:05have been a tough and
16:06embarrassing loss? Well, it was
16:08such a great start to that game
16:10and we were really flowing in the
16:12first half and then second half
16:13their defense got into us and
16:15they started switching
16:16everything. And, you know, those
16:18are the games where J.K. becomes,
16:20you know, really important
16:22because he has the power and the
16:24force to to play through all that
16:26switching and to get to the rim.
16:27And and I actually felt pretty
16:29good going into the overtime
16:31despite the collapse in the
16:32second half because I knew their
16:33guys were tired. And, you know,
16:36we just put our our biggest
16:38front line out there with with
16:40Loon and Kyle and and and J.K.
16:43and and spread the floor and he
16:46got downhill a few times and
16:47that was it. And, you know, the
16:49defense took over. So he really
16:51dominated offensively and the
16:53guys did a great job
16:54defensively and very gratifying
16:57win because those games are hard,
16:59you know, and they happen a few
17:01times a year in either direction
17:03where, you know, you're up 25
17:05and you give up the lead or
17:06maybe even vice versa. Those
17:09games are crucial to pull out.
17:11And I thought that was a very
17:12important win for us. Yeah, very
17:14important, Steve. And I should
17:15point out that only 10 teams have
17:17ever blown a 30 plus lead before
17:19in an NBA game. So there's that
17:21in the playoffs against the
17:22Clippers in 19. Oh, man. 32
17:26point lead in the second half.
17:28And we lost a playoff game with
17:30Kevin Durant, with Steph Curry,
17:31with Clay Thompson. It happens.
17:34It's crazy, but it can happen.
17:36And you were forgiven later that
17:38season, as I recall. I was what
17:40you were forgiven when you guys
17:42won the title anyway. I think
17:45we I think that was the year we
17:46lost in Toronto, but I never
17:48yeah, it was it was still, you
17:50know, that was a damn good team,
17:52obviously. But, you know, the
17:55NBA is crazy, though. It's that
17:57once you lose momentum and it's
17:59why, you know, it's why I bring
18:00clipboards. It's why I drive our
18:03guys hard. It's why I'm
18:04demanding of J.K. and our other
18:06young guys. Winning is hard and
18:08it's the details matter. And you
18:10have to focus on those things
18:13because the minute you let up,
18:15that kind of swing can happen.
18:17Forgiveness taken back. We're
18:19still mad at you, Steve. I
18:20didn't realize that. Yeah,
18:22didn't go your way. Hey, how was
18:25your conversation? We saw it at
18:26the end with Jordan Poole last
18:28night. Oh, it was great. It was
18:29great. I love Jordan. He's such
18:31a good young guy and he looks
18:33really good. You know, I watched
18:34a couple of their games leading
18:36up to to our game and I was just
18:39struck by how confident and
18:41strong he looks. He just looks
18:44more comfortable and I'm so
18:46happy for him because, you know,
18:49he did so much for us. He's such
18:51a good young guy and the last
18:53couple of years haven't been
18:54easy for Jordan for many
18:56reasons. But I think he's in a
18:58great place and it was wonderful
19:00to see him last night. I thought
19:01he played great and I'll tell
19:03you what, Washington has
19:04something going. I think they've
19:07they drafted. Well, they're
19:08they've kind of cleared the
19:09decks and they're they're
19:11building something from scratch
19:13and I was impressed last night
19:15and I think Jordan is a huge
19:17part of that. Well, it's a
19:18conversation with Steve Kerr.
19:20So if we didn't put you into a
19:22rotational math question, I
19:25don't know what we'd be doing.
19:26So what what are you going to do
19:28when D Anthony Melton comes
19:29back? I'm going to play him.
19:32He's a hell of a player and I
19:34know that begs the next
19:35question. Who doesn't play and
19:38and as I've said a few times,
19:40I've learned in my coaching
19:42career, never, never answer a
19:44question until you absolutely
19:46have to. So so by the time melt
19:49comes back and hopefully it'll
19:51be in Cleveland, maybe it's an
19:52OKC, but you never know what
19:55else happens at that point. So
19:57we'll we'll figure it out when
19:58we get there. But melt is going
20:00to be a huge part of our team
20:01this year. He's really good.
20:02OK, so it sounds like maybe
20:04some optimism that that might
20:06be this week for him, huh?
20:07We're hoping we're hoping, but
20:09we don't know yet. He's
20:10progressing well and but I'm
20:12hoping for some time at the end
20:14of this. Have you ever coached
20:15CYO because it feels like
20:16you're about to where everybody
20:18gets to play. That's how this
20:22this year has been really. You
20:24know, I was thrilled last night
20:26to be able to put Lindy out
20:27there because I love Lindy's.
20:29He's he's such a good player
20:31and he's done so well. He's
20:32helped us win, you know, the
20:33last four games and he didn't
20:36play in the first half and I
20:37thought, what am I doing? I'm
20:38only playing at 11 man
20:39rotation. And so I that's not
20:42enough. I got to play more and
20:44so unlike you. Yeah, I was
20:46happy to get him out there.
20:47Well, Steve, we thank you and
20:49we know you're only watching
20:50Boston tape, but we can break
20:52this electoral news to you
20:54right now. It is 00. Wow, that
20:58was really anticlimactic.
21:00Yeah. Yeah. I haven't missed
21:03anything yet. It's so good.
21:06All right, Steve. We'll talk to
21:08you next week. All right. See
21:09you guys.

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