Halfway Warriors
(Photo: Matthew Poon | CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED)
A theory about the “Culture” of the Warriors and why it remains Kerr’s biggest legacy and potentially his most serious obstacle for change.
As it stands now the Warriors have clawed back to .500 and are riding a rejuvenated core. They are only six games back from the thick of it and playing well. Kerr and the fellas have looked reinvigorated since an absolutely brutal stretch. It’s been an emotional season for the fans and the team.
Here is a look back and maybe forward.
Kerr has undeniably been a massive success as head coach. We warriors fans may kvetch constantly about him now but the ride has been amazing. He built the teams success on the model of Duncan and the Spurs around Steph. When KD left town Kerr relished the season of coaching the underdogs, keeping the culture and developing Poole, then resuscitating Wiggins in a mid-season trade. Those two guys along with his coaching tree of guys was about the “culture” which was loosely defined as sacrifice for the team (Iguodala going to the bench, David Lee accepting a backup role to Draymond) playing with joy (think Ted Lasso ‘be a goldfish’) which Steph and Klay embodied, and respecting veteran voices in the locker room (West, Bogut, Livingston, David Lee, Barbossa, etc.). The benefit was it gave room for guys who bought in to thrive: JaVale McGee, Boogie, Barbosa, Livingston, most importantly was Wiggins and then Poole was the first development piece.
Wiggins and Poole, it all comes back to Wiggins and Poole, and ultimately Draymond and the Punch.
Kerr took a conference semi-final team with a great backcourt and intriguing group of players in a LOADED western conference and turned them into a juggernaut.
The 2014 Spurs beat the Heatles breaking up Lebron, Wade, Bosh.
The Thunder had been to the finals two years prior and had Russ KD Ibaka.
Clippers were Lob City and legit.
First year harden in Houston 54 wins.
Blazers had Aldridge Dame etc 54 wins.
Warriors had 51 wins, a dynamic defense were starting Iggy and trying to decide if bringing HB or Klay off the bench was better, lost to the clippers starting 2nd year Draymond Green because the entire front court was hurt except for retiring Jermaine O’Neal (who famously told management after the team lost to under no circumstances break up this team, guys were crying in the locker room).
The grit and grind Griz 50 Wins and scaring the crap out of all the top seeds.
Dirk and the Mavs at 49 getting long in the tooth but still really good.
Mark Jackson had fostered an Us vs Them attitude that ended up including management. Jackson deserves a lot of credit for letting Steph be Steph, shooting shots nobody, not even Don Nelson in his most fevered dreams. Jackson was less that ultimate enabler for Klay; he used to bench Klay every time he’d pick up a second foul in the first quarter, third in the first half, lack of trust situation. Klay became Klay under Kerr who trusted him not to get in foul trouble and allowed him to get his rhythm. But in the end Jackson deserves a ton of credit he never gets.
To Kerr, he brought the greatest show on earth to the hardwood. What gets lost is what a traditional lineup the Warriors used for much of Kerr’s tenure.
Steph at Point, 6’3”
Klay at 2, 6’7” — both of those guys actually those heights.
Barnes at 3, 6’8” — very stout (Kings fans have had the chance to really enjoy him, he’s good, really good, if he makes a few open 3’s in game 7 lots of things change, c'est la vie).
Draymond, undersized at 4, 6’7” — remember he was guarding Aldridge, Duncan, Griffin, ZBo, etc every night. Jackson used to call him “Tragic Johnson” for his passing in Training Camp.
Andrew Bogut, 7’1” — arguably the forgotten beginning and foundation of the dynasty, Kerr’s first culture guy. Bogut did everything the Warriors needed but he wasn’t all defense anymore, he wasn’t an all star, he barely shot, he was the hub.
And Iggy and Livingston coming off the bench.
They played the Spurs offense that had been retooled when Duncan stepped back offensively to let Manu and Parker fly. Playing the kind of EuroBall that lead Argentina to gold and a seven seconds or less offense that was nothing but joy.
None of the winning happens without Draymond; his fire and his flexibility. He reduced the liability in the league-heavy pick ‘n’ roll to zero. As a coach you wanted Draymond to get the switch. They employed Rod Adams switching defense that had won Boston a title over Kobe to perfection.
Fast forward. KD walks, D’Lo is on a rental, Curry is hurt, Klay blew his knee, Draymond’s been guarding Tristan Thompson for what feels like forever and they are generally beaten up from 5 trips.
They get Poole late, a proto Curry, he walks in completely unprepared for the speed; jab stepping his way to the G League and back. Then Meyers moves D’Lo for Wiggins; a move both teams desperately wanted. D’Lo gets to play with KAT, he’s got his extension after an All Star season in NJ. Warriors get Wiggins, the ultimate reclamation guy plus the asset that eventually makes Wiggins expendable, the pick that becomes Kuminga.
First to Wiggins, dropped by the rebuilding Cavs as the consensus #1 guy out of Kansas. He had been set to join a fun Cavs team when all of a sudden he found himself in Minnesota in the Kevin Love deal. A quiet guy, he ended up on a rebuilding core that was Rubio, Zach Lavine, KAT, Wiggins and an actual loan shark from Serbia. That group was close a couple of times and they had been knocking on the door of contention when tragically Flip Saunders, the North Star of the franchise, passed away.
They traded LaVine for Butler and added Thibbs as coach. They brought in another new GM who, on an infamous trip to the Bahamas with the team, held Wiggins’ baby and talked about family. A year later everyone, including the GM (who was cheating on his wife with someone in the front office), were gone.
I bring this up not to drag down Sara, but because in the rare extensive interviews Wiggins gave in the Bay Area he talked about how that felt like a betrayal and at that point he wanted out of Minnesota even though he never demanded a trade.
Wiggins and Poole always seemed close. Poole outgoing, Wiggins reserved, both younger than the existing core. Both took different paths to get there. Wiggins got universal outward support when he held reservations about the vaccine mandate, but expressed unhappiness at the leak of his having not been in compliance. Once again Wiggins was part of a young core. Once again that core was broken up by one of the NBA tough guys. In Minnesota it was Jimmy Butler and the now famous (thanks Jeff Tuege you spin a helluva a yarn) Minnesota “trade me “practice.
In Golden State it was Draymond punching Poole in practice. The punch, the teams backing of Draymond, the betrayal of their stated “culture” had to feel like dejavu to Wiggins. He went on to miss 44 games last season. Poole basically played his way to DC. Wiggins came back but has struggled. He reportedly showed up to camp “out of shape”. I can’t tell, he looks as in shape as ever, he just seems disengaged. He’s been much better since his nadir at the end of the year when Kerr finally pulled him from the starting lineup.
The redemption of Wiggins and Steve Kerr’s role in both the redemption and now the regression of Wiggins is pretty much the reason Kerr has buried Kuminga. To go to Kuminga means Wiggins is superfluous. It makes Wiggins expendable. It means culture doesn’t always win out.
Early attention was on the struggles of both Klay and Wiggins. Klay has vastly improved since being paired with more pace-pushing players. Wiggins, too, has improved.
Now Klay is stuck in a bit of a shooting rut and Wiggins, prior to the ankle sprain, had really found his stride. The bottom line for Warriors fans is that this is our group, Kuminga has emerged as the teams second best scoring option and may be the second best player. Draymond remains the most vital and Curry is still the best. Does this team have the talent to win? What the hell do I know, if you’ve read this far you know I clearly have no insight other than what I watch.
I still think this team can get it done if they can get on a roll and if the young guys can carry them through the doldrums of the middle of the season providing legs and energy. The West is loaded again but Steph, Klay and Dray are always lurking.