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00:00But we go out to the River Islands guest line time for Coach Kerr presented by Great Clips
00:04in Sports. Success is about team effort and the same is true for your hair. Great Clips,
00:09it's going to be great. We go out to Minnesota in January, which is an interesting place to be.
00:15Steve, how's the weather? I think it was two today.
00:23Yep, that sounds like my experience is out there too. Come playoff, football playoff time.
00:30But anyway, Steve, you said last night was right up there,
00:34maybe even the most frustrating moment of the season. I wonder if you'd expand on why.
00:41Well, I mean, it's a game we've got to win. We've got to lead late in the game. We're
00:48playing a team that only has eight wins and missing their point guard. We needed to win
00:54and we just didn't get it. That's frustrating. We've got to finish those games. We've been in
01:02so many close games this year. I don't know what our record is in these clutch games they talk
01:08about. It's probably around 500, but it just feels like we should have at least three or four more
01:16wins this year than we do. Last night felt like one of them. When you look at these games,
01:20these late games, is there a common thread that you look at as a reason why you guys are unable
01:26to close these wins out? Every night's different. When your margins for error are slim, then you
01:37know you've got to take care of the details. If you look at the games I'm talking about,
01:44we felt like we should have won. Why we didn't? Well, it's slightly different each game, but
01:53it comes down to fundamentals and basics. Are we making the right play? Are we making a solid pass?
02:01Are we getting a good shot? Are we getting a stop when we need a stop? It's a little different every
02:10game, but it still comes back to are you good enough? Are you solid enough? So far this year,
02:16we haven't been. Steve Kerr with us here on Willard & Dibbs. I'm sure this won't surprise
02:22you. These were fascinating comments that both you and Steph Curry made after the game. Draymond
02:29has made similar ones. When you have dignitaries at your level in the NBA, we're used to people
02:35being like, come on, let's go make moves. Everything for me. Let's see if we can make a
02:42run at this thing. And there was an awareness, seemingly, to all of your comments about the
02:48state of the organization that I found refreshing. But the question I got to was, what do you see
02:58as the realistic or correct goal to be striving for this year?
03:03Draymond Yeah. I think it's a great point.
03:09We're just in a really unique spot in a really difficult situation through no one's fault,
03:15by the way. This is just the reality of sports and life and whatever. It's just
03:21have this amazing run and we're at the tail end of it and we're trying to hang on to it.
03:27And it's a young man's game. We know that. And we were that team 10 years ago. We were
03:36Oklahoma City. We were Houston. We were just on the rise. And so here we are and we're on the
03:43decline. We know that. Steph and Draymond and I have talked about it together. It would be so
03:52irresponsible for this franchise to trade everything away for one final swing at a title.
04:01I think you have to know where you are organizationally. You have to know
04:06the position of the rest of the league, the landscape. And this does not feel like a time,
04:14in my estimation, I think in Mike's and Steph's and Draymond's, where you just
04:20you push all the chips in the middle and take a wild swing. That would be so irresponsible.
04:25So we're aware of that. But what does that mean? It means we are where we are. We're in the middle
04:31of the pack with a bunch of teams that are either good enough or not good enough. And we have to
04:38find out if we are. And by good enough, that means can you climb your way into the playoffs
04:44and give yourself a chance? And that's what we're trying to do. Is it something that you,
04:47Steph and Draymond, have collectively discussed about where the organization is and how you
04:54should conduct yourself as an organization over the next 23 days? Yeah, we've talked about this.
05:03The three of us have been together for so long. We have these kind of conversations. And so,
05:10yeah, the discussion has been had. And I'm so impressed with these guys and how much
05:17they care about the Warriors and the future of the Warriors. And I think you're right. I mean,
05:22a lot of players in their situations would be saying, screw that. Let's trade everything and
05:29see what we can do. But that's not who they are. And I think part of that is they're
05:37warriors for life. That's part of the meaning of having a player who's only on one team for
05:45his entire existence. And you see Dirk Nowitzki now watching Dallas games like he's on the
05:51sidelines like a fan, you know, and that's really cool. I love that. And I think that's
05:56how Steph and Draymond are going to be once they're retired. They're going to be Warriors
06:00fans. They want the best for this franchise going forward. And so they have a reasonable
06:05mind about this stuff. Steve, Dennis Schroeder, it's still only been a few weeks, but why in
06:11your mind does he not look like the Dennis Schroeder that we've been watching with other
06:18teams? It's been a little bit of a struggle for Dennis and for us to try to fit him in smoothly.
06:28He's a hell of a player. He's a great defender and he's got guts. He's unafraid of the moment
06:34and he's helped us win some games for sure. I thought his night in Detroit was really key to
06:40that game, that victory against the Pistons. Just what he did defensively against Cade Cunningham and
06:47making big plays down the stretch. So we know what Dennis is capable of. I just think we're
06:53all trying to find the right combinations, the right balance. I think he's used to playing with,
06:59frankly, with more shooting around him and we don't have a team that really stretches the floor
07:07very well. So there's not a lot of space for him and he's not as able to use that speed and
07:13quickness to get to the rim. So it's been a little bit of an adjustment, but again it's
07:19still early in the process. It's only been a month or so and we got to keep plugging away.
07:25We'll get better with him and vice versa for sure. You had mentioned, I think last week,
07:30the phrase that has kind of stuck with me, crisis of confidence. And I wonder if that was,
07:34I'm sure it's directed at everybody, but is it partly Dennis fitting in but also Buddy and his
07:39shooting woes? I didn't mean any one individual player. I really meant it as a team. You know,
07:46you can just feel our guys know that every game is going to be close. I believe we've still played
07:52more close games than anybody in the league. So we got to win on the margins and I think the
07:57players understand that and so they're pressing a little bit. I know I feel that way. You know,
08:02last game I made a couple of decisions that backfired and after the game I didn't sleep
08:07very well because I beat myself up for feeling like I cost us the game. And it's a really tough
08:14way to exist as a team, as a coach, as a staffer, as players to feel like every single play is so
08:24massive and the game is riding on it and you got to be loose and free and you got to be able to
08:29make some mistakes to be your best self. And I think right now when I talk about the crisis of
08:36confidence, I think we're all just feeling like, man, this stuff is fragile and we've got to do
08:42everything well and that's probably too much to put on the guy's shoulders right now. Steve Kerr
08:48with us as he is every week on Willard and Dibs, 95-7 the game. Coach, I've said it on our show a
08:54bunch of times, man, this Jonathan Kaminga injury sucks. The timing of it and the seriousness of it
09:02with the way you guys are playing and the trade deadline on the way, what has this done to you
09:07guys? Well, I thought he was playing his best basketball just before he went down. He just was
09:18so under control, so measured, making such good decisions and playing at such an efficient level
09:25that it really felt like he was turning a corner. And so for him to go down right at that moment
09:31was tough individually for him and it really hurt us just because he's
09:37one of our most talented players and one of the guys we really count on to score after Steph. So
09:43you see how everyone's playing Steph these days. It's almost like a box and one no matter where we
09:49go and so we miss Jonathan's ability to get to the rim and score big time. And that's probably
09:56part of the reason why you've had 11 games this year where you haven't reached 100. Last year,
10:00you only had three such games. Offensively, is it as simple as it's a make or miss league and
10:06your shooters aren't scoring or is there more you can do offensively to try to create more points
10:12and get to that magical hundred point mark? Yeah, there's always more we can do and that's
10:19what we look at every single day as a staff. But there's no getting around it. Last six weeks,
10:26we've been really one of the worst offenses in the league and we see plenty of stuff on tape that
10:35we've got to do better, that our players can do better and it's always a group effort. But we're
10:41working on that stuff all the time. Steve, there's all the references to 12 and 3 and even
10:47you've done it where you're like, I watched these guys do things differently and be a good team on
10:53both ends of the floor. What are the specifics there? What did you see that you guys were doing
10:59early that you haven't been able to replicate? Well, I think we were generating a much better
11:05pace to the game. Our defense was elite. I think it's been fine over the last month, but not elite.
11:12And I think our identity, that first 15 game stretch was that we were feisty and we were fast.
11:20And last night was one of the slowest paced games we've had all year. And we're talking about that
11:27every day, about the need to get the ball in quickly, made or missed, to get it up the floor,
11:32to really push the pace. But we just haven't been able to generate that same kind of pace that we
11:38had early in the year. And I think that's the big thing that we're trying to put together,
11:45can we get back to that kind of team that we were early on? Fast and feisty and get out and run,
11:52cause deflections and turnovers and even on May baskets, race it up the floor. So that's
11:59that's something we've got to get back to. Is part of that maybe injecting more of the
12:04Generation Z guys? Cause I'm thinking about Guy Santos and how feistily he played the other night
12:10and Moses Moody born in 2002. Is it as simple or is it too simplistic to just go to a much more of
12:17a youth movement to try to get some of that pace back? Yeah, I think that's too simple. I mean,
12:23Guy is a guy who generates a lot of that with his hustle and just the way he anticipates plays.
12:31And so I love playing Guy for that reason. But every game is different. With this team,
12:38you kind of have to ride the hot hand sometimes and we've got a lot of options. I think that's
12:43probably the toughest part of coaching this team is that I got a million options every night,
12:51but no clear choices. And it's like, you know, you go to the cheesecake factory and
12:59there's a thousand things on the menu. I don't want to go to a restaurant like that. You know,
13:05give me ten things on the menu. That menu is a headache, isn't it? It's like, yeah,
13:12you got to pick one. Obviously, I'm, you know, I'm just, you know, giving you a stupid metaphor.
13:19Great metaphor. Well, the reality is, you know, from night to night, what you want as a coach
13:24is you kind of want to know, like, here's our pattern. These are the guys we're going to.
13:28We're going to do this night after night. And this year, it hasn't been that way. It's partly
13:33because of injuries, partly because, like I said, we don't have clear separation within the group.
13:39And so we're kind of mixing and matching from one night to the next. And that's not easy on
13:45the coaches. It's definitely not easy on the players, you know, just them not knowing what
13:50their role in the rotation will be from one night to the next. But again, we're just trying to win
13:56each game. And every night is very different for us. Steve, Steve Kerr with us here on
14:04Willard and Debs. And, you know, you look at this whole situation right now and so much talk about
14:10the deadline. And I won't bring up any specific names, but do you feel like this organization
14:16needs to do something at the deadline, either just to rejuvenate or refresh or anything on that end?
14:24I have 100 percent faith in our organization to do whatever the right thing is. And sometimes
14:32the right thing is to not do anything. So, you know, it always, of course, you know,
14:38it depends on what what you're going to do, what that means. And Mike is so good at his job.
14:46You know, I just feel I feel in great hands with him and the whole organization. And they're
14:52looking at everything. And, you know, it's about not only looking at, you know, what's out there,
14:58but also looking at, you know, who we are, what's what is our identity and organizationally,
15:05where are we and, you know, understanding our position within the landscape and then,
15:11you know, figuring out what's next. And that's these are difficult questions for us because of,
15:19you know, the legacy that Steph and Draymond have and four championships and in the last 10 years
15:25and, you know, still still plenty to play for. But we're clearly not in that top tier anymore.
15:34That's obvious. So it creates some really difficult questions.
15:37And as you talk about legacy, you should be included as well. And I know you won't
15:41include yourself, but I will because you also have four titles here. When you guys talk about
15:47urgency, are you looking more in a longer term, broader conversation as opposed to
15:53we need to make something happen in the next three weeks or else? Do you look at,
15:58you know, you being here for another year and a half at least and Steph for two and a half and
16:02Draymond, do you look at this more from a not a super long term lens, but at least through
16:08maybe the offseason and what can be done heading into next year?
16:12I mean, we I think honestly, we're all just on the same page with this stuff. It's it's not
16:19we're not looking at it, you know, this season or a season and a half. We're looking at just
16:24the warrior, the welfare of the Warriors organization and the franchise and and what
16:30that means. And again, there's no there's no easy answer to this. And it's you're faced with
16:38some really, really difficult decisions to make. And, you know, I remember Danny Ainge when he
16:47you know, he traded Barnett and Pearson. And he said he said, you know, what I learned from Red
16:54Hour back was, you know, watching that team get old with Bird and McHale. He said, what I learned
17:02was I'm not doing that. I'm not I'm not letting those guys get out. He said, I would have traded
17:07Larry Bird if I if I remember correctly. I think Danny Ainge actually said that I would have
17:11traded Larry Bird if I was the GM. And that was a fascinating quote. And and and one that I would
17:17probably challenge Danny on, you know, it'd be fun to talk to him about it. You might laugh and say,
17:22yeah, I mean, I say that, but that would have been really hard to do, you know, and it's where it's
17:27kind of where we are. Right. You got we got guys who Steph and Draymond are still really damn good.
17:31And and but we're a fading team. And that, you know, in terms of our our run, our window being
17:39open, all that stuff. So, you know, Mike's got a tough job, Joe Lacob. These guys have really
17:45difficult decisions to make. And but like I said, we are all on the same page. Players,
17:51management, ownership. We're all on the same page. We trust each other. We're fighting together.
17:57We're we're in it together. And whatever direction we go, we're we're all we're all on board. Steve,
18:03that's really interesting because, I mean, you can hear it in your voice how difficult it is.
18:08And all the fans have been doing this. It's hard to find what the right answer is. But when you
18:12bring up the idea of the superstar potentially putting on a different jersey, I think fans are
18:19there's a lot of that right now where it's not so much like should the Warriors trade Steph
18:24because I don't think anybody thinks you all the way. Right. Yeah. No way. But no way. But there's
18:29concern that Steph might get to a spot where he would ask for it. What what what what do you tell
18:35fans who are thinking? I don't think so. I don't think so. I just think Steph loves the Warriors.
18:39He loves being he loves the idea of being a warrior for life. I think that's so meaningful
18:46for him. He has no intention of that's what makes him unique and different. It's why he's not asking
18:52the organization to trade everything to go get him help. Steph is so special in so many different
18:58ways. And his his self-awareness is just incredible. And it's so meaningful for him to be a
19:07warrior. I don't think our fans have to ever worry about about that. It's you know, it's just it's
19:15just a question of man, this is you know, can we can we help him like what can we do? I you know,
19:21I I watch I watch him still out there performing and playing at such a high level and he's bringing
19:27so much joy to so many people not only at chase but in every arena people are so excited to see
19:33this guy play and there's so much value in that watching him perform. And I think our fans
19:40recognize that understand that and they want to see him perform for as long as possible as they
19:46should. This guy is one of the greatest artists of all time. He's just an incredible performer and
19:53we all we're all lucky to watch him play and you know, hopefully that that's something that goes
20:00on for another few years. It sure looks like it but in the meantime, it's a much tougher spot to
20:06be an organizational event. It was, you know, for us even the last couple years and and I think
20:12everyone recognizes that. Steve, we always appreciate all your time and we know very well
20:18that that you're coaching basketball and talking through all this with a really heavy heart right
20:22now and so we do want to check on on you and and the welfare of your family and and and the
20:29experience that everybody is having in in in Southern California and and and just see how
20:34everything's going. No, I appreciate you guys asking. My mom is is safe and that's the main
20:39thing but yeah, her house is gone. The whole Pacific Palisades neighborhood really the whole
20:47town where we grew up where I grew up just devastated every friend that I have that lost
20:54their home pretty much every childhood friend there those houses are gone. So it's surreal.
21:00It was such an idyllic place to grow up such an incredible hometown place to be from and to go
21:06back to the house that burned down was the same house that I grew up in and and you know, every
21:12time we play the Lakers or Clippers, I Uber up to my mom's house and have dinner with her at the
21:17house the night before the game and it's you know, these are special evenings and it hasn't hit home
21:24yet that that's not going to happen anymore. My house is gone and we we haven't been able to
21:31to get anybody up there yet to even expect inspect it and and see the the rubble and
21:37devastation. So when that moment comes, I'm going to fly down and and be with my family and go up
21:43there and and I'm sure that'll be incredibly difficult but that that moment is coming and it's
21:50it's tough to think about just yeah, just just just thoughts with you thoughts with everybody
21:58down there and and and appreciate you sharing that and and glad she's safe. Thank you Steve
22:04for for coming on as always. Thanks for having me guys. We'll talk to you next week. Okay,
22:08there it is the head coach of the Warriors.