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00:00We're incredibly excited to have Coach Kerr today,
00:03especially the day after a victory over the Magic yesterday.
00:07So out to the River Islands guest line we go.
00:09Time for Coach Kerr, presented by Great Clips.
00:11In sports, success is about team effort,
00:13and the same is true for your hair.
00:14Great Clips, it's gonna be great.
00:16Let's do it.
00:17Hey, Coach, how are you today?
00:19I'm good, man.
00:20There's a deluge out here.
00:21I am driving to the airport, away to Utah,
00:25and my wipers are flying across the windshield.
00:29Yeah, we're doing January and February this year.
00:32I don't know if you know.
00:33Yeah, we moved it back.
00:35That's right.
00:36Indeed we did.
00:37So, hey, great win last night.
00:38We're gonna get to a lot of different aspects of it,
00:40but also everybody thinking all about
00:42the deadline that looms.
00:44Let me ask you this.
00:45I mean, with so many big names already on the move,
00:49did you expect that kind of a deadline,
00:52where this many big names would be bandied about?
00:56Well, I don't think anybody expected Luka to be traded.
01:01You know, the word was out about Levine and Fox,
01:06and so I don't think that one surprised anyone.
01:10But no one on earth expected Luka Dutchess to be traded.
01:14So, yeah, that shocked everyone.
01:17Does that change the idea of big game hunting,
01:20thinking that more big names and big game
01:23is actually possibly on the move?
01:27You're talking about for just league-wide?
01:29Yeah, just in general.
01:30Not you guys, but in a vacuum.
01:32Like the idea of maybe other big names moving,
01:35is that something that becomes more possible
01:37now that we've had a couple of really big names go?
01:41It does feel like it.
01:42I don't know if that'll be reality or not,
01:44but it just feels like if Luka can be traded,
01:49anybody can be traded.
01:51You wonder, you know, in the new economic model of the league
01:56with the really penalizing tax aprons
02:00and, you know, the way the new CBA is written,
02:06it does feel like teams league-wide
02:09are sort of reassessing team building
02:12and contract structuring.
02:14And so that stuff always takes some time to sort out.
02:18So that would be my biggest take from this,
02:21and, you know, this current year that we're in,
02:25it just feels like everybody's kind of getting
02:28a sense of the new CBA and the economic model.
02:32Well, Coach, along those lines,
02:33I wonder how this is all landing with your players.
02:36For example, a couple weeks ago,
02:39we sat here and sort of talked through the idea
02:42of whether Steph would ever request a trade
02:45or whether Warriors would even think of it.
02:47And obviously that seems unthinkable, right?
02:49We established that,
02:51but it was interesting to hear Steph and Draymond
02:54and other stars around the league look at the Luka deal
02:57and go, boy, if that can happen,
02:58it's a reminder that any of us are touchable in a sense.
03:04So what's your reaction to that
03:07and how your stars are handling this?
03:11Well, if you just look at the history of the league,
03:14very few players have only played for one franchise,
03:19and especially, you know, once the 60s passed
03:23and you had all those Celtics guys retire,
03:26you know, and you look at some of the all-time greats,
03:30you know, whether it's, you know,
03:32Michael Jordan playing for the Wizards or, you know,
03:34Kareem, you know, LeBron playing for multiple teams,
03:39you know, Kevin Durant, obviously.
03:40I mean, it's a different time,
03:43and, you know, the league evolves, society evolves,
03:47players' attitudes and approaches evolve,
03:50and team building and organizational thinking evolves, too.
03:56So I think the players are right to have that thought
04:02that, hey, anything can happen in this league,
04:04and by the way, that's how it should be, you know?
04:07This is how the league works,
04:10and as difficult as it is on the players
04:14getting traded and moving around,
04:17this is part of the appeal of professional sports.
04:19It's part of what fuels, you know,
04:22the guys' contracts and the coaches' contracts.
04:25It's the drama, it's the trades, it's the free agency,
04:30and so if you can't embrace it,
04:32then, you know, you're in the wrong business, frankly.
04:36Yeah, and you guys have stolen the headlines from,
04:40I guess there's a football game on Sunday?
04:41I'm not sure who's playing, or,
04:43I mean, Steve, I don't even know if you know,
04:45but the NBA has kind of snatched the headlines,
04:48and thinking about that in terms of your team
04:50and, you know, coming off a nice win over Orlando,
04:53is it day-to-day in terms of what you guys
04:56are gonna think about come Thursday,
04:58or do you already have a set plan on what you need to do
05:01to either get better or reset?
05:04Well, you know, Mike and his staff are hard at work,
05:09and I talk to Mike several times a day.
05:11He keeps me abreast of, you know,
05:14what's happening in his talks with teams,
05:17and, you know, the deal is around, you know, this time,
05:22there's a hundred trades that are discussed
05:25for every one that is made,
05:26so until something is set in stone,
05:31and I never worry too much about it,
05:33but, you know, I just, I think about my players,
05:38and, you know, I know what they go through,
05:42and because I've, you know, I was traded five times myself,
05:45and it's tough having to pack up and go
05:48when you've built relationships,
05:50and you've got kids in school,
05:52so these are always difficult times for a team,
05:57and so my main concern is just talking to the guys,
06:00is just talking to the guys, which I've done,
06:02and, you know, just making sure they're all right,
06:05and keep moving forward.
06:08I mean, keep winning games, and keep pushing,
06:11and whatever Mike and the group decides,
06:14you know, that's what's gonna happen,
06:17and the rest of us don't have much control over that.
06:19Coach, that grabbed us a little bit.
06:21You were, I don't know if I remember that,
06:22you were traded five times in this league?
06:26Yeah, I played for six teams in 15 years,
06:29and yeah, five different trades.
06:32I was wondering what these flights are gonna be like.
06:35Like, on the real, is it a little uneasy
06:38for guys, two flights here over the next 24 to 48 hours,
06:44and it's almost as if you don't,
06:45like you're on one team when you leave,
06:47and you're not sure if you still will be when you land.
06:50It's not easy.
06:51It's not easy, especially once you have kids.
06:54You know, I spent one season in my career away from my kids.
06:59They had already started school in San Antonio,
07:02and I got traded up to Portland,
07:04and my wife and I decided we didn't wanna, you know,
07:08pack up and change schools and all that,
07:10so I went up on my own, and then the next summer,
07:14we were getting ready to move up to Portland,
07:16and the Blazers traded me back to the Spurs,
07:18so we didn't even have to.
07:20So, this league is crazy, and it is bizarre
07:26having to, you know, put all this stuff in real life terms,
07:30you know, for the players.
07:32I mean, for the fans, it's like,
07:34oh my God, how cool is that, you know?
07:36These guys just got traded for this guy,
07:40but for all the players involved,
07:42you know, the reality of it is a huge, huge life change,
07:47and, you know, it's a lot of stress,
07:49but again, part of the deal,
07:51and that's what you sign up for.
07:53Steve Kerr with us as he is every week
07:54with it in Dibs 95.7, The Game.
07:56Coach, what are some of the attributes
07:59you feel like your team is missing?
08:03Well, I think that's a hard question to ask.
08:06It's a broad question.
08:07It's a good question, but it's not super easy to answer,
08:13because, and I think the biggest thing with our team,
08:16I think we have a very, very deep roster,
08:19one of the deepest rosters that we've ever had here.
08:23I would say the hardest part this year
08:25has been just trying to fit the puzzle together.
08:30I don't think we have a lot of separation,
08:33you know, in our roster.
08:35It's not easy for us to say, all right,
08:37here's our top eight, or here's our top nine.
08:40I think it literally changes from week to week,
08:43and I think, you know, it's a roster
08:49that has a lot of really good pieces
08:51and a lot of good players, but frankly,
08:54we have not been able to put the puzzle together
08:58well enough this year, and that's on us as coaches,
09:03but it's also an organizational situation
09:06that Mike and I discussed even last summer
09:10when the roster was put together.
09:11You know, we sort of anticipated a lot of this coming in.
09:15I don't want you to do the trade machine thing
09:17that we all do in terms of, like,
09:19who might go and who might stay,
09:21but Andrew Wiggins is a name
09:22that's been thrown out many times.
09:24When you just look at what Andrew has done,
09:26not only of late, but throughout the entire season,
09:29does his play make it tougher to perhaps part with him
09:33based on what he's meant to your team this year?
09:36Oh, hell yeah.
09:37I mean, not only his play, but just his presence,
09:41what he means to the group.
09:44Everyone loves Wiggs.
09:45He's impossible not to love,
09:48but there's a reason that his name is out there.
09:52He's a really good player, and he's on a contract
09:56that is possible to put into big trades
10:02to go out and get somebody you've got your eye on,
10:05and again, this is how the league works,
10:09and Wiggs knows that.
10:11He wants to stay.
10:12I want him to stay, but there are bigger forces at work,
10:17and it's all part of the deal,
10:20and I think the guys, the vets on this team,
10:25they understand this league well.
10:27Wiggs is one of them.
10:28Dennis has been traded multiple times in his career.
10:32He's on an expiring deal.
10:33Kyle Anderson, a very desirable player.
10:38These guys are all, you know,
10:39Loon knows he's on an expiring deal.
10:41Like, they're smart, and they get it,
10:43and they all know that their names are being talked about,
10:47and I don't shy away from that as a coach.
10:49I talk to them about it, and I address it,
10:53and the young guys, it's important that they understand
10:57the paradox that exists as a player in this league,
11:00because if we ask them to dedicate themselves to the team
11:05and the good of the team and to sacrifice for winning,
11:09and then, oh yeah, we reserve the right to trade you.
11:11Like, that's a weird business model, you know?
11:15But it's the truth, and the players,
11:18young guys have to understand
11:19the way to make themselves the most valuable
11:23is by being really dedicated to the success of the group,
11:29and like I said, it's a difficult thing to reconcile
11:33when you can get shipped around
11:35like most players end up being.
11:37Well, coach, we're all also thinking about Jonathan Kaminga
11:40and sort of two things there.
11:42First of all, what is the health update on Jonathan?
11:46And secondly, the timing of this injury,
11:48how did that sort of adjust or affect
11:52all things related to him
11:54and his standing within the organization?
11:57You know, nothing new to report on the injury.
12:00He's doing as well as possible.
12:04We'll reassess at the All-Star break.
12:08As far as how that affected everything,
12:12I don't know.
12:13I mean, it's really Mike's job to do all that.
12:15I don't think too much about that stuff,
12:19but I think that the fact that we are sitting here
12:22at basically 500, like I said last week,
12:27we don't have the right organizationally to say,
12:31hey, we're fine, we don't have to do anything.
12:33We're 500, so we have to get better,
12:35and we have to figure out what that means.
12:37When you look to get better,
12:39and you look at the standings,
12:40and you realize that you're three games out of the six,
12:43and you know, you're really kind of right in the mix,
12:46does that temper the level of, quote, desperation,
12:50knowing that you're just a little bit of a seven and three
12:52run away from being right back in the mix?
12:56For sure, for sure.
12:57That's why I'm very comfortable
12:59if we don't end up doing anything.
13:01You know, I'm also very practical.
13:03I think we live in a time
13:04where everybody wants the fix right now,
13:06and it's really not that feasible
13:10to look at our situation, where we are as an organization,
13:16the assets that we have.
13:18Is it really feasible to go and make some huge deal
13:22that's gonna turn us into a contender?
13:24I mean, it's really, really hard to do that.
13:28At the same time, it would be insane
13:31to trade away all our future picks
13:33for a wild swing at something,
13:37and we know that, Seth knows that, you know, I know that.
13:41So I just think Mike is phenomenal at this job,
13:45and he needs the space to do it
13:47over the next couple of years
13:49without everybody freaking out
13:51and thinking there's some, you know, home run swing
13:54that's gonna solve everything.
13:56Coach, also want to get a thought
13:58on the way Moses Moody has been playing lately,
14:01and his comments last night
14:03that consistent minutes are really helping him.
14:06So what's your thought right now
14:07on whether or not he's earned those consistent minutes,
14:10even when Jonathan returns and or there's an addition
14:16by the end of the week?
14:18Yeah, I mean, I totally agree with Moses.
14:21I mean, consistent minutes are important for every player.
14:26The ultimate goal is obviously for the team to win,
14:29and so if you're 500,
14:33I don't have the luxury as a coach
14:34to just guarantee 12 different guys consistent minutes.
14:39So as much as I'd love to offer that to Moses,
14:43to BP, to JK, to whoever, it's dictated by success.
14:49You know, everything is dictated by the team's success,
14:52and so if we're struggling as a team,
14:55then, you know, as coaches, we have to figure out
15:00what can we do to win games and to be better,
15:03and that means that not everyone is guaranteed
15:07consistent minutes.
15:08If Moses is maybe best at the four,
15:10and you know that Draymond can play the five,
15:12but he's the lead at the four,
15:13and JK's been great at the four,
15:15do we have a little bit of a glut
15:17at that position going forward?
15:20And I thought you'd like glut,
15:21and I thought glut was a good way to bring it home, Steve.
15:24Yeah, well, I mean, you know,
15:27add Kyle and Gary to the mix.
15:29Oh boy, it's a super glut.
15:32Yeah, yeah, so, and this is kind of what I was referring to
15:35at the beginning of this conversation,
15:36like, you know, the puzzle has not been easy
15:39to put together with this team.
15:41We anticipated it at the beginning of the year.
15:44We had a lot of really good players.
15:45All the guys we just mentioned,
15:47they're all really good players,
15:49so that leaves, you know,
15:53too few minutes for good players,
15:56and whether it's Moses or Gary or Kyle or others,
16:01I mean, it's frustrating,
16:03and it's hard for us as coaches
16:06to try to figure it all out and piece it together
16:09and, you know, make it all work,
16:11so I think that's the main thing
16:15that we're looking at with this team.
16:16I think our fans recognize that,
16:18and Mike recognizes that,
16:20and what does that mean?
16:21Well, it means that, you know,
16:23eventually we have to move some pieces around and get there,
16:27but you don't do it
16:29unless there's something that makes sense.
16:31Coach, certainly the win last night, wonderful,
16:34but while Friday is still sort of fresh
16:37in everyone's mind as well,
16:39I did want to ask you this,
16:40especially because he was jawing with Gary Payton
16:42and they were talking about their age and whatnot.
16:46Does Kevin Durant, at age 36,
16:49look like the same player to you that you coached?
16:53Yeah, he's timeless, that guy.
16:55He really is, and, you know,
16:57I just coached him this past summer,
16:59coached him in Tokyo in 21,
17:02so it's been a privilege coaching Kevin
17:06and watching him, you know, as an opponent.
17:08He's just a beautiful basketball player,
17:10just maybe the smoothest scorer
17:14who's ever played the game.
17:16I mean, he's fun to watch,
17:17even though he is donning a Phoenix Suns uniform,
17:20and the other night it seemed like
17:22he was throwing baskets for the other team.
17:24That felt a little bit less fun
17:26than when he was, you know, playing in the Olympics
17:29and, you know, playing for the Warriors and whatnot.
17:32So, Steve, how do you navigate these next,
17:34you know, two days, and I guess less than two days now,
17:37to the deadline in terms of not only coaching,
17:40but almost sort of like counseling your team
17:42ahead of the deadline?
17:45Yeah, I mean, that's already being done.
17:50You know, the conversations with the guys individually,
17:53conversations with the whole team,
17:56that's all addressed, and like I said,
17:59it's a matter of just open communication
18:04and continuing to push to try to win games,
18:07and these guys are pros.
18:09They get it, and they're gonna put
18:11their best foot forward every night.
18:13Coach, before we get too far,
18:15I almost forgot, when we brought up Moses Moody,
18:17did you hear him talk in the press conference afterward
18:21about the broken clipboard?
18:24No.
18:25Yeah, well, he mentioned that you broke
18:27a clipboard last night.
18:28It was the first one that he saw you do this year,
18:30and that they have a little sort of a running,
18:33you know, a running tally in their heads.
18:35Wow.
18:36Do you remember, like, what was going on?
18:38What point in the game and what was going on
18:41when that happened?
18:43Well, we had a couple brain cramps back to back,
18:45and, you know, the first quarter was really a struggle,
18:49but, you know, the second quarter,
18:53we started making some plays that, frankly,
18:56we should not make, and so I took a quick timeout,
19:00reminded them to lock in, and you guys know this.
19:04Every once in a while, I just lose my mind.
19:06Yeah.
19:07And, yeah.
19:09So, yeah, I smashed the clipboard,
19:12first one in front of the players this year.
19:14Yeah, and you know, a metal clipboard
19:15is much tougher to snap in case you need
19:17to upgrade to a more durable material.
19:21I like the plastic ones for that very reason.
19:24They're easy to snap, and it's more effective
19:26in front of the players to be able to snap it
19:29in one fell swoop.
19:30Oh, is this almost like a rock star breaking a guitar?
19:33Exactly.
19:34Like, did you do this on purpose?
19:36Yeah, or like the karate guy with the wooden,
19:39you know, wooden board.
19:41Yeah.
19:42You know, it's similar.
19:43It's just an immense display of anger and power
19:45all just corralled into this beautiful sort of lash.
19:49I love it.
19:51I think the players are really impressed.
19:52I think it's, I think they really enjoy it.
19:55Well, it worked last night, and, you know,
19:57maybe you can snap another one coming up at Utah.
20:00You mentioned earlier you'd been traded five times,
20:03and I thought it'd be fun to do a little
20:04Steve Kerr traded trivia,
20:07because you've been traded five times.
20:09Twice, you got traded for the same pick in the draft.
20:13Do you know what that pick turned out to be?
20:15I do not.
20:17I had no idea.
20:18What's that?
20:19What is it?
20:19Well, in 01, you got traded by the Spurs for a pick in 03,
20:24and then in 02, you got traded by the Blazers
20:27for that same pick.
20:28It turned out to be Andreas Gliniakis.
20:31Ha!
20:32Ha!
20:33Ha!
20:34Well, I would call that equal value right there.
20:38Ha!
20:38Ha!
20:39Ha!
20:40Ha!
20:41Ha!
20:42Well, my point was that you guys
20:43should trade all your picks, Steve.
20:44Right.
20:45Because they turn into a bunch of letters
20:47we can't even pronounce sometimes.
20:49Yeah, yeah.
20:50That's right.
20:50That's right.
20:51Yeah.
20:52I believe I may have been,
20:54you know how there's always a contract
20:57that makes the money work?
20:59I think that was me in both of those trades.
21:01Yeah.
21:02Yeah, his nickname was The Greek Unique.
21:05He actually played 13 games in the association
21:08for the Supersonics.
21:09So there you go.
21:10Okay.
21:11All right.
21:12Steve, before you go, a thought on the Super Bowl.
21:17First of all, are you tired of Patrick Mahomes yet?
21:20No, never.
21:21Never.
21:22He's, he reminds me so much of Steph, honestly.
21:26Just a multi-sport, the fluidity, you know,
21:31the athleticism that is sort of understated.
21:33You know, there's like this brilliance
21:37in his movement and his flow.
21:40I just like watching him because I can see
21:42that he played baseball growing up.
21:45I love multi-sport athletes.
21:46I love guys who can see the chess board.
21:48And I think Mahomes is a beautiful player to watch
21:52and an amazing competitor too,
21:54just the way he loves the game and loves to compete,
21:58but seems to have a really good perspective on things.
22:01So yeah, I love that guy.
22:02So I mean, fair to say that you're rooting for the Chiefs?
22:06Not really.
22:07I mean, I just, I want a great game.
22:11More than anything, you know, I think it's,
22:13I think it's going to be a great game.
22:15You know, two amazing teams and it's hard to bet
22:21against the Chiefs though, isn't it?
22:22I mean, they just need to win all these games.
22:25Are you guys all watching together?
22:28We are.
22:29We will have a Superbowl party in Milwaukee at the hotel
22:33and we'll have the whole traveling party
22:36in a ballroom watching the game.
22:37It'll be fun.
22:38Cheese curds, I assume?
22:40Yeah, yeah.
22:41Oh, 100%.
22:42Perfect, perfect.
22:44Coach.
22:45And maybe some beer too, since we're in Milwaukee.
22:47Hey.
22:48Oh geez, oh hey.
22:49Otherwise, yeah.
22:50Oh heck yeah.
22:51There's nothing wrong with that.
22:52Oh boy.
22:53All right, well, coach, listen.
22:55Thank you for joining and for the candor
22:58and when we talk next week, who knows,
23:00maybe it'll be a whole new world, maybe it won't,
23:02but travel safe and go get them tomorrow.
23:05All right, thanks guys.