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00:00He's on the River Island's guest line right now,
00:02and it is presented by Great Clips in Sports Success.
00:04It's about team effort, and the same is true for your hair.
00:07Great Clips, it's going to be great.
00:08And by the way, those of you watching on YouTube,
00:10Steve, kind enough to join us on video, I assume from Dallas,
00:15where the Warriors will play tomorrow.
00:17So get on over to YouTube, and you'll be able to not just listen to,
00:21but also see Steve Kerr.
00:23Steve, have you ever won a big old knockout tournament in your life?
00:27I don't know that I've ever participated in one, to be honest with you.
00:32You know what knockout is, right?
00:34You know the game where everyone lines up on the free throw line and you shoot.
00:37Yeah.
00:38I know.
00:39It's just I'm old.
00:40We just played horse when I was growing up.
00:43Yeah, 21 and tip in and all those other fun games.
00:46That's right.
00:47Steve, what a week it's already been, and it's only halfway over.
00:51So let's talk about Jimmy Butler first.
00:54How's he doing?
00:55Have you kind of talked to him?
00:57What's the emotional sort of state of the entire group after something like that?
01:03Well, Jimmy is in good spirits.
01:08You know, he keeps a pretty positive outlook on things.
01:13But, you know, we're all devastated for him and for us.
01:17I mean, you know, we were really kind of finding our way.
01:20And I think Jimmy's been playing his best basketball the last couple of weeks and felt like we really had a lot of momentum.
01:28And so obviously this is just a huge blow for him and for us.
01:33But, you know, I feel mostly for him.
01:37I mean, you know, this is such a great season for him.
01:43And he's in a great place and playing with Steph and our team's winning.
01:48And then, you know, at 36 to tear your ACL, it's just a brutal, brutal injury.
01:53Yeah, it was terrible to see.
01:55And, you know, you wonder about surgery and after surgery.
01:58Do you expect Jimmy to come back and be a part of the team in that mentor role?
02:03Yeah, yeah.
02:04He'll be back.
02:05You know, I tore my ACL in college.
02:10You know, it's kind of a nine month, nine months till you can play.
02:14Although it's different now.
02:16I mean, they've moved the timetable up from when I've, you know, tore mine 40 years ago.
02:22But, you know, within, you know, within eight, nine months, he's probably playing basketball.
02:29He's probably back, you know, sometime early next season, I would guess.
02:34Obviously, all that depends on his own personal rehab.
02:38But the expectation is that he'll be back.
02:41And I think the way he plays, I think his style of play should hold up fine after an ACL, given that he plays with his brain.
02:55He's got such a strong body, strong fundamental base.
02:59I think he'll return at a high level.
03:01But he'll be 37.
03:03And the main thing for me is guys like that, Steph, Dre, you know, they only get so many opportunities.
03:11And this was a real opportunity.
03:13I felt strongly that, you know, and I've said this over and over again, you know, just give us a chance.
03:19And I meant that.
03:20I, you know, I know I stirred up the hornet's nest a couple weeks ago when I talked about the dynasty, you know, aging.
03:28But I felt strongly that we could play with anybody when healthy.
03:33And we were showing that.
03:34And that's why this is, you know, just so disappointing for everybody.
03:39Steve, what about during rehab?
03:41Does he plan to be around the team and continuing in a kind of the big brother role that he's been to some of the young players already?
03:50Yeah, I don't know exactly, you know, what his plan is.
03:55But he's following the protocol set forth by Rick Celebrini and Armando and his, you know, our group's staff is going to handle the rehab.
04:10And but, you know, given that he's going to be immobile here, you know, for a while, I'm sure he'll get home to see his kids in L.A.
04:20And eventually be back up here.
04:22A lot of people have pointed to the Raptors matchup.
04:27They're long, they're athletic as a tough one for you guys.
04:31But like, I just wonder what your view specifically on last night was as you're reworking rotations and just coming to grips with reality.
04:40How much of that had to do with the the outcome of the game and the way you guys played?
04:46Well, first of all, give them credit.
04:49I mean, they were 30th in the league in three point percentage coming into the game and then shot 2034.
04:56So, you know, they lit it up.
04:59They hadn't been making shots in recent games and they took it to us and everybody caught fire and we couldn't slow them down.
05:07So that was last night was mostly about them and Toronto just playing a great game.
05:14Obviously, we didn't have it.
05:15We didn't couldn't get any stops defensively.
05:20You know, a letdown, an emotional letdown is human nature coming off the injury.
05:25Third game and four nights.
05:27It all plays a role.
05:29But bottom line is you got to go out and outplay your opponent.
05:33And we weren't able to do that last night.
05:35Obviously forced to have a different starting lineup and you put pods in to have that extra ball handler on the floor.
05:41What did you think of that approach and of pods in the starting lineup and how that might work going forward?
05:47Well, for sure, we need, you know, extra ball handling and passing to make up for Jimmy's absence.
05:55Jimmy is obviously our other shot creator besides Steph.
05:59So you lose him.
06:01We knew exactly how Toronto was going to guard us.
06:03They, you know, they guarded Steph the same way in Toronto last month.
06:06And so putting BP out there felt like the right option to have someone else who could create plays, create shots.
06:15And I thought BP played well.
06:18Wasn't, again, last night was not really about combinations or lineups.
06:23It was just about, you know, one team just lighting it up and coming in and earning a victory against us.
06:30But great homestand overall to go 6-2, found some momentum.
06:36I'm confident that we can continue to play the way we've played.
06:41But obviously you're subtracting one of the best players in the league.
06:45We can't ignore that.
06:47Steve Kerr with us as he is every week.
06:48Witherton-Dibbs, 95-7 the game.
06:50Steve, you've mentioned that you will need to tinker a little bit, obviously, with rotations.
06:55But I also wonder, at about the halfway point, with a trade deadline two weeks away,
07:01what can you share with the audience in terms of this kind of meeting of the minds
07:08that I'm sure you and Mike and Joe and everybody have had since the injury
07:12in terms of sort of the goals and the outlook and the strategy of the rest of the season?
07:18Well, you know, this is still pretty new.
07:26And it's not like we've had a big organizational meeting.
07:30You know, the injury came the first night of a back-to-back.
07:34We took off this morning.
07:37Mike and I have had, you know, a conversation.
07:40He's on the trip.
07:41But we haven't gone into depth on any of this stuff.
07:44I mean, the one thing we talked about was we're still going for it.
07:50We're still trying to win every night.
07:51This is not a case where, you know, we're going to start selling off assets.
07:56That's not the plan.
07:57That's for sure.
07:58We think we can be really competitive and play at a high level.
08:02And so that's the plan.
08:03So the next step is figuring out what that means in terms of rotations
08:08and lineup combinations, all that stuff.
08:11We always talk about next man up in football.
08:13But clearly here, when Jimmy goes out, somebody has to step in.
08:16And it was Jonathan Kaminga last night,
08:18especially in some prolonged second-half minutes.
08:22Is it to be expected that we're going to still see more Jonathan Kaminga
08:25now going forward with Jimmy out?
08:28Yeah, for sure.
08:29I think, you know, part of the reservation of playing him in recent weeks
08:35is that it's tough to play him with Jimmy.
08:37It's just not a great combination.
08:39I've said that, you know, publicly.
08:43And then when you play shorter burst, guys like Guy and Gary, you know,
08:50those are better players for those roles than Jonathan.
08:55But when Jimmy's out, there's definitely a role for J.K.
08:59And he will play a role.
09:02And I was really pleased with his play last night.
09:05I thought he did a great job of staying ready and, you know, keeping his rhythm.
09:09And he played a great game last night.
09:12Yeah, how difficult is that to do what he did,
09:14to kind of be stagnant for that length of period of time
09:18and then come into a game and look like he did?
09:21It's hard.
09:22It had been about a month since he played, you know, in a real game.
09:28And so I give him credit for staying ready and, you know, putting the work in
09:33to keep his rhythm, keep his conditioning up where it needed to be.
09:40Steve, I think we – well, obviously, we all get that this is different
09:43than just someone who had not been playing because he, you know,
09:48is at the end of a bench on a basketball team.
09:51I mean, last week you said this is just a really difficult situation.
09:55So in the last 48 hours since Jimmy's injury,
09:59how have you navigated that with Jonathan to arrive now at this point?
10:07Well, there's communication that happens after the injury.
10:11And, you know, we were on the same page going into last night.
10:16He knew he was going to play.
10:17You know, I wasn't exactly sure how it would look last night going into the game,
10:24but was definitely committed to playing him.
10:28And he knew that and he was ready.
10:30And now we move forward.
10:32You know, we have to decide how we want to start, you know,
10:36what lineup combinations make the most sense, not only for the first five,
10:41but for the minutes when Steph goes out.
10:44Because that's where Jimmy really would take over games.
10:49And those are the most concerning minutes for us now to not have, you know,
10:54a dominant shot creator in those minutes.
10:58And so we have to assess everything, you know, as a staff in terms of, you know,
11:05who we're going to start, who's in the second unit,
11:08what the rotation will look like, and we'll figure it out.
11:11But we have not gotten there yet.
11:13We haven't even decided yet who's going to start.
11:16Do you look back at last year before Jimmy arrived,
11:20particularly with Jonathan Kaminga,
11:21and see when he was successful and what combinations?
11:24Does that help to guide what you're going to do now,
11:27now that Jimmy is going to be gone for the rest of the year?
11:31Somewhat, you know, but our team was different then, too.
11:34We didn't have Al Horford.
11:36We didn't have Quentin Post.
11:38He was in Santa Cruz at this point last year.
11:42We didn't have DeAnthony Melton.
11:43He was injured already.
11:45So we feel like we have a pretty good handle on our team this year
11:50and all of our individual players,
11:53especially the guys I do who have been here, you know, for several years.
11:59So we have a pretty good idea of who plays well with whom
12:02and combinations and that sort of thing,
12:06and that will all factor in for sure.
12:08Steve, this isn't specific to Jonathan,
12:10but it's kind of mostly about Jonathan because of what happened last year.
12:14Like, I wonder how you would compare this situation
12:16to what happened in the Minnesota series last year.
12:19I get that that's a different star that you lost,
12:22but when Steph goes out,
12:23you guys kind of just unleashed Jonathan
12:26and had him go do his thing,
12:28and he scores 24 a game for a four-game stretch.
12:31How would you compare this experience to that?
12:36Well, it's similar in that we were without one of our best two players
12:41last year in Steph,
12:42and now same thing, only it's Jimmy.
12:45So when you're without one of your main guys,
12:48then, yeah, I think Jonathan becomes a guy who can score, obviously,
12:54and, you know, becomes a factor in terms of, you know,
13:00what you're trying to do, how you're trying to attack.
13:03And when you look at Jonathan with this roster,
13:06are there players that you see that he plays really well with?
13:09And I know the metrics will say Steph and Draymond
13:12because that's pretty much any other human being plays well with those two,
13:16but are there other players or player types
13:18that you think JK can actually excel with?
13:21Well, you're right in that, you know, Steph,
13:26he's at his best as a screener and a diver.
13:29You saw him follow, you know,
13:31follow the pocket pass to Draymond last night for his first bucket.
13:35He gets coming out of the corner.
13:38We like him as a runner, as a, you know, scoring in transition,
13:42throwing the ball ahead to him and attacking.
13:44He's much more efficient and effective in that role than he is as a, you know,
13:50on-ball guy, you know, putting him in pick and roll or posting him up.
13:55Those are different areas for him.
13:59So, you know, playing him with Steph is for sure, you know,
14:02the best way to go.
14:03But he's going to be playing some minutes without Steph,
14:08and that's where we've got to figure out, does that mean he's playing with Melt?
14:12You know, is he playing with BP?
14:15Maybe, yeah, we'll figure that out.
14:19Steve, around this time last year,
14:22you had stated to us that you sort of felt like something was needed
14:27to kind of change the dynamics,
14:30and this was before you guys acquired Jimmy.
14:33We're two weeks out from the deadline now.
14:36Do you feel a similar way about this group?
14:39I feel differently about this group,
14:41mainly because we have Al Horford and Melton,
14:45and as I said, the addition of Quentin Post.
14:49I think that's given our team a totally different look.
14:52I think part of the reason we've had a lot of success the last couple of weeks
14:56and had a great homestand was because of Melton and Al.
15:00Finally, you know, really being healthy enough to find rhythm,
15:05to find confidence, and both guys are playing at a high level.
15:09So I really want to see what we have here, you know, on this road trip,
15:14these four games, Dallas, two in Minnesota, one in Utah.
15:19Let's see what we've got because, as I said,
15:22I think we can continue our momentum the way we're playing.
15:25We've generally taken care of the ball.
15:28We're shooting it well.
15:29We're spacing the floor, playing a lot of five out with multiple shooters.
15:35It's been a run for us, and we can still do this without Jimmy.
15:40Obviously, we're going to miss him like crazy,
15:42but we can still play the same way,
15:44and I really want to see what that looks like, you know,
15:47four or five games from now.
15:48Does losing Jimmy Butler change the organizational approach at the deadline?
15:53Do you become more aggressive, less aggressive,
15:55or is it really a non-factor in how you guys go about the next couple of weeks?
15:59Yeah, that's really a question for Mike Dunleavy.
16:02And, you know, my experience with the trade deadline is everything heats up in the last week.
16:09And so that's something that Mike and his group will be all over.
16:16He kind of shares with me when, you know, there's some possibility that's out there.
16:23But at this stage, again, that's all, Mike.
16:27I'm focused on the guys we have and the road trip that we're on.
16:31So, Steve, you're locked in on now, but I know you listened to 95.7,
16:35the game, round the clock, so I know you already know this.
16:38I do.
16:39Yeah, Mike, you know that Warrior fans, when something like this happens,
16:43and I'm referring to the Jimmy Butler injury,
16:46it makes a fan think that all of the dignitaries with the Warriors
16:50are now going to suddenly rethink the remainder of their career.
16:55Maybe Steph wants to go play somewhere else,
16:57and maybe they would trade Draymond.
17:01And maybe Steve doesn't want to coach beyond this year.
17:08Can you just, because so many people think that way,
17:10I'd love to hear you speak on how everybody kind of thinks about the big picture right now.
17:20Well, number one, it's not like we sit around and have a huge discussion about all that.
17:26You know, every player, every coach, we, you know, live our own lives,
17:31and then we come to work and try to help the team win.
17:35That's our job.
17:37I would say the vast majority of us, if not all of us, love what we do.
17:42And so when stuff like this happens, yeah, maybe fans think of existential questions.
17:49I think on the inside, I think we think about our lives and, you know, do we, are we enjoying what we're doing?
17:57Do we enjoy who we're working with?
18:00Why would we want to leave that?
18:02If the answer is yes and we're enjoying ourselves and, you know, take Steph, for example.
18:08I mean, think of the life he has in the Bay Area.
18:12Think of what he has meant to the Warriors and vice versa.
18:16I mean, I can't imagine that he's sitting there thinking, I got to get out of here.
18:22Like, oh, my God, Jimmy got hurt.
18:23I mean, I haven't talked to him about it, but I would be shocked.
18:27I would be shocked if that were, you know, on his mind.
18:31We, I think everybody here loves it here.
18:34We love this organization.
18:35We love working together.
18:36And the plan is we move forward and we keep, we keep pushing, we keep competing.
18:41And let's see what we can do.
18:43You're, you're enjoying yourself this year and, and, and you want, you want to keep doing this.
18:47I love my job.
18:48I love this job.
18:49It is so fun.
18:50It's so challenging.
18:52There's so many factors that, that circumstances that come up and, you know, in a leadership role,
18:59your, your job is to help every person along and, and, and help them enjoy their journey.
19:05And, and hopefully all those journeys combined for a really good result for the team.
19:11And, and then you, you realize when you've done this long enough that, you know, every year is different and, and you have to roll with the changes and, and make the best of, of every set of circumstances.
19:25And that, that's what we're trying to do.
19:27Yeah.
19:27And I mean, this year, the circumstances have been very different and here you are just past the halfway mark.
19:33And so in your own mind, do you feel confident about what you want to do next year?
19:38Or are you still kind of just taking it day by day and going to decide at the end of the year, if you want to be back or not?
19:45I'm, I'm very confident and, and comfortable with what I do for a living with the job that I do.
19:53You know, I, I, I said at the beginning of it, it just felt like for, in my situation, I just wanted everybody at the end of the year to be, you know, comfortable and on the same page.
20:05And, and circumstances dictate that.
20:09So I can tell you that I love coaching and I want to keep doing it.
20:12But I also am well aware that these jobs, you know, they all have expiration dates and everything has to line up.
20:20And, and we don't all individually control, you know, the circumstances that, that help things line up.
20:28So I'm totally comfortable.
20:30I love, love working with the Warriors, love working with Mike and Joe and, and all the players.
20:36So this is an amazing job and I love it.
20:38And I imagine I'll keep doing it, but it has to, again, it has to line up at the end of the year where everyone wants, you know, wants that to, to, to move forward.
20:47Steve Kerr with us on Withered and Tibbs.
20:49I'm glad you brought up the word circumstances because clearly just by virtue of 21 minutes last night, the Jonathan Kaminga situation has reached yet another new circumstance and, and sort of a new chapter, at least for this moment.
21:06It's been through so many through the years, quite frankly.
21:10I wonder if you take a step back and what is your larger view of, of the, of the whole experience?
21:16Has it been one of the more challenging experiences of your coaching career?
21:23I wouldn't say so.
21:24I think it's, you know, this job is filled with challenges.
21:29They're all different.
21:30I think, I think what's made this one unique is just the spotlight, you know, on the, on the issue.
21:39I mean, we've spent, you know, half this interview talking about Jonathan, you know, in 15 minutes or so of chatting.
21:45And, you know, he's, he's a good young guy, but he's, he's one of 15 guys on our team.
21:52He's, he's, he's a, he's a talented player, but we have a lot of guys who are really good, who can play basketball, who can help us win.
22:01And I think there's just been a ton of focus on him.
22:05And my focus is always on the entire group and trying to help every single one of them.
22:11And it's, it's, for whatever reason, he's been the focal point for the media, for the fans.
22:19Um, I, I, I believe in looking at the team as, um, as a whole, and that's always my focus is what do I have to do to help, help the team win and help each, each individual player, you know, achieve his potential.
22:33Uh, situation, certainly polarizing and opinions and all of that.
22:37But prior to Jonathan, I guess sort of the last polarizing thing for the warrior fan base was everything that was going on with clay Thompson.
22:44And, uh, and you get to see him again tomorrow night to, to what level has this kind of settled in with you guys when you have to play against him or to what level is this still really weird?
22:56It's still weird seeing clay.
22:57Um, but you know, after two years, it's, it's, uh, it, it, the, the novelty of it has worn off, you know, the first game that we saw him was just bizarre.
23:08And, but now we've, we've played against him four or five times, whatever it is.
23:12Um, it seems like everybody is more comfortable.
23:16Um, there's just a level of love and respect for clay that will never leave.
23:22And, um, that's kind of the, you know, the beauty of, of the relationship and what we all accomplished together, what clay did here.
23:32Uh, that'll never go away.
23:34That lives forever.
23:35And, um, so we, we love clay and, uh, we were excited about seeing him tomorrow and, um, we miss him.
23:42Um, but this is, this is pro sports.
23:45This is how this business works.
23:47And you, you, you have to adapt.
23:49Coach, uh, thank you so much as always for the time, especially coming on video there from the road.
23:54Go get him tomorrow night.
23:56We'll talk to you next week.
23:57All right.
23:57Sounds great.
23:58Thanks guys.
23:59Thanks Steve.
23:59There you go.
23:59Steve Kerr right here with us on Willard and Dips.
24:04Better get a hand up on clay now.
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