Could Steve Kerr Call It Quits in Golden State?

The biggest news this week is that Billy Donovan is out in Chicago, no longer the head coach of the Chicago Bulls.

Not a huge surprise that Billy Donovan is choosing to exit, I guess the way it was framed.

Uh, the Bulls.

I, I remember I was watching Billy's first press conference after Michael Reinsdorff had his press conference where he said, we want Billy around.

Whoever the GM is, is, has got to find a way to work with Billy.

And Billy didn't exactly bear hug that sentiment.

Like he kind of was like, oh, it's flattering to hear that and, you know, we'll talk at the end of the season.

But what I, I, I felt like listening to Billy there.

I had a bit of deja vu because I was in the bubble in 2020.

And I remember after Oklahoma City went out in the first round, talking to Billy Donovan in the group setting afterwards, and people were kind of saying like, what about next year?

What about next year?

And he wasn't really answering the question.

Finally, after that press conference was over, because you, there's nobody in the bubble, you go right up to him and said, Billy, you didn't really answer the question.

And You know, what, he was a little bit more declarative saying we're gonna have to sit down and talk.

And then from that moment on, I knew he was, he was done in Oklahoma City because Oklahoma City was going in a rebuilding direction.

Chicago is now fully embracing a rebuilding direction.

Billy does not want to be a rebuilding coach, so it didn't surprise me one bit.

That he has decided to leave the organization.

What was your reaction to all that?

Yeah, I mean, I thought a little bit when he didn't take the UNC job when they were clearly so hot after him.

Oh, maybe that's because he wants to stay in Chicago, but he's not a good fit anymore for Chicago for a lot of reasons, right?

To your point, he doesn't want to just sit around and develop guys.

He thinks that he can win at a much higher level.

And also, once you do fire the G.

It's one thing for the owner to say, Oh , the new GM, the new front office has to embrace the coach that's already here.

That rarely works out in the long term.

It does sometimes, but a lot of the time a GM or a president, new president wants to bring in their guy.

And also, because you don't have that relationship, because the new front office people didn't bring in the coach, when things inevitably go wrong.

Then boom, who's the first one on the chopping block?

Oh, the coach, we didn't have any choice to bring in or not.

So it just wasn't like a great situation for him.

Not that anything with the Bulls has been a great situation for him.

He's way too talented to have been stuck in sort of the morass of mediocrity that the front office has put that team in.

So I'm excited to see where he goes next.

I think there's some interesting options out there.

Yeah, I like Billy Donovan a lot, which is always.

Precursor for saying something critical.

Um, he, he, he won 55 games that first year in Oklahoma City.

Hasn't topped 50 since.

Uh, everybody believes he's a good coach.

I think he's a good coach.

Uh, hasn't really shown it.

And, and really the thing he's known for, not him particularly, but that Oklahoma City team was known for, was blowing the 3-2 lead in 2016.

Like that was the seminal moment.

After that, it all went downhill.

Kevin Durant left and things changed in Oklahoma.

He goes to Chicago and he's not really given much of a shot there.

I, I get it .

The talent, it's always about the talent in the NBA.

Um, but the perception of Billy certainly across the league is that he's a very good coach.

60 years old, he's looking to, Also, look, I know college isn't the pros, but two national championships has credibility.

No question he's got credibility.

I just kind of like it.

It's sort of like I was, when we were prepping the show, I'm looking at Billy's coaching reference and it's like, oh, it's not that great, but you know, the, the numbers don't always reflect the kind of coach that he is.

Now, you look, he goes out there in the market and he must have his eye on something like.

I think he'd be great on TV.

Billy wants to do a podcast.

I'd listen to that.

He's a, he's a very, you know, engaging guy.

But gee, I just mentioned Florida, Chris.

I know, I know.

Well, yeah, the, the two potentially most interesting jobs out there for Billy Donovan.

One is the Orlando Magic, which could wind up being a safe job if Jamal Mosley pulls off one of the most shocking turnarounds in modern NBA history.

Uh, by knocking off the Pistons in the first round.

The other is Golden State.

Um, Orlando is, there's a lot of appeal to Orlando.

It's in the Eastern Conference, a lot of young talent.

Most of the core is 25 and under.

Uh, including the two top stars in Paulo and Franz.

Uh, Golden State though could be even more interesting because you've got a veteran ready to win team.

The, the window is probably 2 years in Golden State to win with Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green.

Christosporzingis comes back, Al Horford comes back.

They do something with this draft.

Capital.

Uh, what do you think would appeal to him more?

What, what is, what is the, put it this way, what is the better job for Billy Donovan, Golden State or a potential Orlando job?

Um, Orlando has the higher percentage of winning in the short term just because as a coach, we've talked about this.

There's a lot of low hanging fruit to clean up on that team, and I think that just with some better coaching decisions, that team could do better than it did this year.

And so you're going to look good next year.

But long term.

I'm not sure if that's the case.

And moreover, if I'm Billy Donovan and I have coached the college and the NBA and I've coached this person and this person, I would love to coach Steph Curry.

And by the way, Steve Kerr, as we sit here today, has not given up that job yet, which I know we're about to talk about, but if that job is open.

I don't know if I'm a coach, I want to go coach Michael Jordan or LeBron James or Steve Steph Curry or any of these like top 5 all-time, top 10 all-time guys.

Like I just, why wouldn't you?

Why wouldn't you want to spend time doing that?

I think the argument against it is that they are like 1 injury away from that front office doing what Chicago did, hitting a nuke button, and all of a sudden you're going to be like a 1-year coach there and then having to.

Rebuild with this group, you know what I mean?

Like it's, I just think there's always gonna be a team like Orlando that's like, I think that's, you know, opinions differ about this Orlando job.

And again, we'll reiterate, Jamal Mosley still has that job is now, as we record this up 1-0 on Chicago after blowing the doors off of Charlotte.

Like, I thought this team was dead like a week ago when they played Boston and coughed up a game.

The Celtics had no real interest in winning.

Then they go play look largely lifeless against Philadelphia, um.

I, I, I, I think it's, it's, I think it's a, I like the job.

I like the Orlando Magic job because I think Paulo has a much higher ceiling than he showed this year.

I think Franz Wagner , who played what, 34 games this year, you get, look, we're seeing it right now.

We're seeing it now in the postseason.

Healthy Franz Wagner, healthy Jalen Suggs.

This team is really good.

When this team is fully healthy, they are good enough to be a top 3.

Seed in the Eastern Conference and you're in the damn Eastern Conference.

Like you don't have to, you know, wake up on Wednesday and play Oklahoma City and then travel on Friday to play San Antonio and come back later to play Houston, the.

I mean, it's just not the murderer's row that you have to go through every single night in the Western Conference.

I mean, I've had this conversation with coaching agents, with, with different, uh, coaches.

Coaches around the league.

Some people don't love the Orlando job.

I do.

I think if it opens up, I think it's a great job .

Look, again, the wild card is Steph Curry.

I agree with everything you say about the Eastern Conference and the potential of that team.

And that's why I said in the short term, clearly you're going to just, you know, really raise the win total up and, and everything that we know a guy like Billy Donovan can do.

However, when you have done all the things he has done, I do think there would be an allure to, I want to sort of coach one of the greatest players of all time.

Watch that show every night and see what he can do.

I mean, I, I think that as long as Steph is at in Golden State, which I expect, unlike you who talks about trading him, like I expect to be until, uh, you know, he, he walks off the NBA's mortal plane brakes come off.

Well, that's what I mean.

I don't think that the ownership of Golden State is.

Going to be like, OK, if you want, Steph, you can stay, but we've got, you know, we're going to tank and we've got a bunch of like losing guys and, and 12 year olds around you doubling down and they're not right, exactly.

So while, yes, there could be a point where whoever coaches there, kind of, you know, the wheels do fall off, but I wouldn't anticipate that turning around and happening next year.

I just wouldn't.

So why are we even having this conversation because Steve Kerr is still the coach of the Golden State Warriors.

But if you're just tea leaf reading.

It doesn't sound like Steve Kerr's going to be the coach of the Golden State Warriors.

So confusing though.

So you and I were both at that Clippers Golden State game where Steve really made it feel like it was one of the bigger wins of his career for a guy who has what, 100 rings.

Um, and I certainly understood what he was saying in the moment.

He goes, it felt like us, right?

And I think that like getting to have one of those moments again, where Steph's fallen out of bounds and hits the miracle shot , where Draymond is, you know, proving everybody wrong and draping himself over Kawhi Leonard, where sort of, you know, they're getting the opportunity to do the things that made the Warriors the Warriors and play with that joy.

I can understand why he felt that was such a big deal.

In hindsight, did he feel it was such a big deal also because he knew this was sort of the end of his run with Golden State, and he was thrilled to get one of those last sort of moments, you know, we did see him embrace Stephan Draymond afterward, you know, love you guys, all the stuff that we, you know, heard, and it was very emotional.

Also though, that night in Los Angeles, and again later after the Suns game, he said, I like coaching.

In fact, when we, we talked to him in LA, he said, I like coaching.

We have so much fun in the room .

The guys, you know, we have a great time at practice.

The guys are always laughing.

Like, it just, I'm getting a lot of mixed signals, and I wonder if some of the, you know, The the beating down feeling of this past season, really the past couple seasons in the moment of that last game got to him, and then he may end up staying after he's had a few days to sleep it off.

But then you have Draymond Green coming out and saying he thinks Steve might be done.

So I, I'm very confused about this.

It doesn't sound like Steve Kerr is done with coaching forever.

Well, he did say, I'm not gonna turn around and go somewhere else, right , which means like means that year off, like take a year off.

Go back to TV.

Someone will embrace you.

NBC, Amazon, ESPN, UBL.

Look at some good coaches to get the market.

Billy Donovan, if he's not coaching next year, Steve Kerr, if he's not coaching next year, phenomenal potential analysts or studio guys, um, didn't, said he wasn't going to turn around and coach next year.

Didn't say he was never gonna coach again and still relatively young for the coaching rank.

Certainly gives off an energetic vibe and certainly seems to really love the job.

It, it doesn't sound like he's done.

With NBA coaching, which makes me wonder, is there more to this story?

Are there real, are there real philosophical differences ?

Well, I was reading that ESPN story, um, I think Ramona Shelburne, Anthony Slater, uh, co-wrote it, and they were talking about how if Kerr comes back, there are probably gonna be some changes there, whether it's on the coaching staff or philosophical change to how they play.

Like that makes me wonder, is there.

Not a fissure, but maybe a little bit of a disconnect between Steve Kerr, the front office, ownership, about how this team's going to play , about how Kerr has coached this team over the years.

And look, Steve's not wrong when he says these jobs have a shelf life.

Unless your name is like Erik Spoelstra or Gregg Popovich.

It's like 5.5 years at most, you know, 78, if you're really good at this.

You know, coaches bounce around.

It's just the way of the, the profession.

Uh, I, I wondered though if there's more to the story.

If there, if there's some fundamental disagreements between Steve Kerr and His bosses about how to coach this team.

Yeah, I mean, I got to wonder that too because it doesn't make a ton of sense to me.

I don't think the trouble the Warriors have since they won a title not that long ago, by the way, 2022, right?

So we're not talking about decades of wandering in the wilderness like some teams we know, um.

It's been a lot of roster problems and a lot of injuries.

And, you know, from the time of our friend Raymond Ritter, the PR guy out in the Warriors, was saying, telling me that from the time they got Jimmy to the time Jimmy went down, they had something like the 4th-best record in the NBA.

So, is the problem Steve Kerr?

I, I just, I, I feel like they haven't.

Drafted well in Golden State.

I, I think that there's, Steph Curry has been in and out with these knee problems that seem to be flaring up more often.

They finally go and make this great deal for Jimmy, and then Jimmy gets hurt.

I, I just, I don't know if I point to anything that's happened over the last, again, only 4 years since they won a title.

Since then that I could say, man, that really is Steve's fault.

I, I just don't know if I could point that out and say, oh, that.

Yeah, they've had some big mistakes when it came to key draft spots, right, like James Wiseman catastrophe.

Like, who cares if you've got Stephan Clay, you draft LaMelo Ball , and then you figure it out after that.

Uh, that whole two-track thing when they got moody , two timelines thing didn't work.

Uh, Kamena never really fit.

His clashes with Kerr were among the problems within that team, so they've had some stumbles over the last few years that have put them.

In this position.

I, I would love to see Steve run it back one more time.

Like, see, like, don't sign a multi-year deal.

Fine.

Do one more year with this group.

Steph's still playing at a high level.

Draymond showed in that Clipper game that he is still, you know, when he dials it up elite defensively.

Jimmy Butler with the ACL injury, you can, I would expect him back, you know, mid-season around then, maybe at the latest.

I mean, hell , the way Tatum came back from an arguably more severe injury, yeah.

Um, you, you get some of these young guys a little bit extra reps.

Porzingis sounds like he wants to come back.

Horford can do this forever, it seems like.

Uh, take one more swing at it, see if you can stay healthy, take one more swing at it.

That makes the most sense.

But I wonder what, what's really going on in this situation because I feel like there's a missing, missing piece to this puzzle that we're not seeing yet.

Why isn't the front office in Golden State being held accountable here?

For all the things you just listed off.

They should, especially some of these draft picks.

I think Bob Myers did some of those draft picks though, right?

Well, I guess Monk Dunley was there too, um.

I don't know.

I mean, look, I, I can't fault them for how they handled the Klay Thomp situation.

Like they weren't gonna just put more money into.

I'm not saying they've done an awful job.

I'm just saying that again.

I'm not sure.

I look at, like, you can nitpick any coaches's decisions on the day to day.

But when I look long term big picture at the last, again, only 4 years since they won a title, I, I can't look at it the way we just discussed Orlando of like, yeah, I mean, you've seen some coaching decisions that are questionable.

The way we're going to talk about Houston and be like, man, we're seeing some coaching sort of questionable decisions.

I, I just don't think long.

Term Steve has been responsible for any of the big picture things that are wrong there.

So, you know, I'm not saying the front office should all be fired either.

They brought Jimmy in.

That was a great deal for them, and, and it certainly made a huge impact.

But I'm just, I, I wouldn't.

Where do you think the whiffs have been in the front office?

I mean, it is the draft picks.

Like I think that's a big part of it.

And the Kinga thing long lingering as long as it did.

I, I think that was detrimental to the team.

I mean, I, I, I can't really fault them for that though, because I think they were just.

Like Kainga at the start of the season, like looked great.

Oh wow, we figured it out.

We, we solved the Kainga problem.

He looked great.

Trade him that way.

I know.

And then it's not that right downhill winds up on the bench.

Then Jimmy goes down.

He's back on the road.

It's just, that was just a weird, entirely weird season.

I, I just, I'd love to see Kirk come back, do it one more time, see what they can do with the screws your gut, what's your gut feeling?

I texted you yesterday.

I'm gonna think he's coming back until he says he's not just because I don't, I , I don't understand why he would leave.

It just sounds like he said goodbye.

It does in like 15 ways without actually saying goodbye.

totally agree with you.

I'm not saying I'm gonna be shocked if he leaves.

I don't, I don't think it's the right call for him to leave.

I don't think it's sort of for anyone.

By the way, you bring in someone else, talking about maybe Billy Donovan or who else do you think that they could bring in.

I don't know if that coach in Draymond is going to work, right?

That is a very tricky coach-player relationship that took them even a while to master.

And now, you know, Draymond says Steve's responsible for so many of the good things he's done in his career and the type of person he is now.

I don't know if you bring some other person in that that's going to work and if Draymond doesn't work for this team, he's not that replaceable, and he is a multiplier to Steph Curry in a way that I think people still underestimate.

I would just be very careful about playing with some of the chemistry issues that they have, you know, going on.

I agree, uh, that's in.

Uh, like, where would Draymond be if he had like 3 coaches in the last 10 years instead of the one coach that knew exactly how to coach him.

I think it'd be a challenge.

Uh, my gut feeling is he's gonna go too.

I don't, I don't think he's gonna come back.

I, I just, I gotta, Steve, stay.

We want you to stay.

I would love him to stay.

I hope he stays in coaching in, in whatever capacity in the future.

I just feel like he said goodbye.

He's been trying to say goodbye on the sidelines.

He says, I don't know what's gonna happen.

He said goodbye to these guys without actually saying goodbye.

Can't they like Chandler Parsons him and just like put a chair under the door or something.

I don't know.

Yeah, there you go.

That's an old school reference right there about a decade ago.