Steve Kerr might be a genius in terms of coaching Xs and Os. When he took over from Mark Jackson as Warriors head coach in 2014, he asked Stephen Curry to play off the ball after the sharpshooter served as a traditional pick-and-roll point guard in his early years in the league. Kerr also made bold moves, such as utilizing Draymond Green as a small-ball five and Andre Iguodala as a de facto point guard.
Kerr’s read-and-react playbook enabled Curry and Klay Thompson to take their games to a new level, leading to a dynastic run.
While Kerr has been excellent at putting veteran players in perfect roles, he has failed miserably at developing or identifying young talents.
For one, he implored the Warriors to draft James Wiseman with the No. 2 pick in 2020 over LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton and Tyrese Maxey. We all know how that turned out.
Kerr also pushed the Warriors to draft Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody in 2021, passing up on Franz Wagner, Alperen Sengun and Trey Murphy III.
Granted, Kerr isn’t solely to blame for those draft mishaps — the front office could have done better. But the least he can do is stand by the players he vouched for and allow them to flourish.
Fumbling Podziemski, Moody, Kuminga
Kerr has done the opposite. He has hesitated to unleash Kuminga and Moody, putting both wings in unfavorable positions for nearly four years. Neither player has found a consistent role on this team. Moody, for example, averaged 20 minutes in two games in the first week of December and has since combined for 22 minutes over the last three games. There were similar stretches in November when he barely saw the floor.
Kuminga’s situation is more complicated. The Congolese forward went from the No. 2 option behind Curry to the seventh man to a starter again. Oh, and he’s back to a bench role. Kerr has refused to give the 22-year-old a longer leash and grow from his mistakes.
Much like Kuminga and Moody, Brandin Podziemski has also seen his playing time and stats regress from last season. The southpaw has quickly gone from a future franchise cornerstone to trade bait.
It doesn’t help that Kerr routinely calls out his younger players, possibly dampening their confidence. This season, he has publicly blasted Podziemski twice and ripped Kuminga last week for his poor shot selection.
At some point, it’s time to admit that Kerr is not adept at coaching or developing young players. The Warriors are better served shipping out all the youngsters in favor of a veteran like Jimmy Butler.
