Steve Kerr Dismisses Criticisms That Letting Players Coach Was Sign of Disrespect to Phoenix Suns
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr dismissed criticisms his team faced after he noticeably left most of the coaching tasks to some of his players during their game against the Phoenix Suns.
In an interview with sports radio station 95.7 The Game following the said game, Kerr expressed his disappointment at how some fans were making an issue of the event even though there should be none.
"It's the world we live in so everyone is going to debate it, and whether it's a controversy or not it has to become one, I guess," Kerr said (via ESPN).
He added: "I've been quickly reminded today of what an insane world we live in, and how everything now is just a story and constantly judged and picked apart."
The Golden State Warriors head coach admitted that letting his players direct an actual game was something that was not always done in the NBA. However, he added it was a "good exercise."
Kerr pointed out that the 2017-18 NBA season goes on for nine long months and the teams have been playing almost every single day within that span of time. This fact can make playing in the NBA "monotonous," Kerr added.
"I think you've got to do your best in the NBA to keep things light and loose and occasionally throw the team a curveball," Kerr said, adding that he sees himself letting the Warriors take on coaching tasks again "a couple times" on actual games.
Meanwhile, several NBA head coaches did not seem to find anything wrong about what Kerr did, including Phoenix Suns' Jay Triano. When asked about Kerr's strategy when they played against them, the Suns' coach joked about noticing that the Warriors players instantly did better after every timeout. But ultimately, he said he did not have issues with what it.
The Cleveland Cavaliers' head coach, Tyronn Lue, also dismissed the scrutiny that Kerr was faced with by quipping that he would not personally do it. He joked about some of the NBA fans' comments that James was practically the one coaching the team and added: "If I give him the clipboard, they're really going to say it."