Steve Kerr is 114-19 as a head coach with an NBA title in his only complete season because he has Steph Curry and Klay Thompson and Draymond Green and one of the NBA's best benches and the NBA's biggest home-court advantage at his disposal. But Kerr has that gaudy record and that NBA title because he has a perspective on his job that many of his peers do not.
Including his predecessor.
Remember, these Warriors didn't crawl out of the sewer and start winning titles. This same team, under head coach Mark Jackson, was bounced from the first round the year prior to becoming champions.
Kerr, in a conversation with University of Portland head basketball coach Eric Reveno last year, explained that he won his team's trust by not stepping in and trying to prove to his players how much he knew:
“He said at the start of (last) year, they turned it over so much, but what was really interesting to me was he said he didn't really fight them on it early because he was trying to build their trust,” Reveno said. “I know the NBA's been like that, but it's been getting more like that in college, where you've got to build trust. He talked about how he didn't want to just start getting on them about their turnovers right away. He's a first-time head coach and didn’t want to come in like a know-it-all. He had to build a rapport and build trust first before he could do that.
“There was one game, November, December game where they turned it over an absurd amount of times, and he went into the locker room and let them have it and he knew that time was right.”
Whether you agree or disagree, it's some food for thought for coaches stepping into new situations.
(HT USA Today)