Lacob: Stephen Curry 'Extremely Supportive' Of Kerr Hire

[RealGM Wiretap]

The Golden State Warriors appeared set to broaden their search beyond Stan Van Gundy and Steve Kerr, but they were able to surprisingly secure a five-year, $25 million deal with Kerr on Wednesday evening.

Joe Lacob spoke with Sam Amick about the decision.

"Look, we did pretty well with Mark Jackson," Lacob said. "In the end, it wasn't working out, which only we can probably totally appreciate on the inside. No one is ever going to understand it. I get that (people) see the win total, and they think that's all that matters. But we have an organization that's 200 people, and everyone has to get along and work together and that's just the way it worked out. …We went out and we wanted to find the best guy to lead this team to the next level.

"Yes, it's true, (Kerr) has not coached before. But this is what management is all about. You have to be able to pick people, and he is incredibly prepared…Every detail you can imagine. He knew our roster in and out. He had assistant coaches he wanted to go after. It was like a tour de force. Look, at the end of the day I know he knows a lot about basketball. We're taking a little bit of a risk on his coaching ability, but we did that with Mark and it worked. So it's just about finding the right fit for the organization and a guy who has extremely high potential, is a hard worker and is very prepared. That's what we have got."

Lacob, Bob Myers, Travis Schlenk and Kirk Lacob met with Van Gundy in Orlando on Monday night. Van Gundy expressed his desire to have roster control.

"We did not make (Van Gundy) an offer; he already had a big offer," Lacob said. "But we met him, and it was theoretically still open. And then we got wind when we were there that maybe there was an opening on the Kerr front, and so — you know — we fired up the jet, used the jet fuel and got him."

The group then traveled to Oklahoma City to meet with Kerr and they were extremely impressed by their discussions.

Lacob insists Stephen Curry is in support of the move.

"(Curry) is extremely supportive," Lacob said "That's all I can tell you. We got Steve Kerr because of our players. We have great players, great character individuals. They all want to win, and I can just tell you that they're very supportive."

Via Sam Amick/USA Today

[RRHMiami]

i bet Curry won't be as supportive in the middle of next season when the Warriors become a below .500 team at the All-Star break.

[GoldenGoose]

i bet Curry won't be as supportive in the middle of next season when the Warriors become a below .500 team at the All-Star break.

k

[GQ Hot Dog]

i bet Curry won't be as supportive in the middle of next season when the Warriors become a below .500 team at the All-Star break.

Care to elaborate or are you just channeling Silky Johnson and Buc Nasty?

[JakeandFatman]

i bet Curry won't be as supportive in the middle of next season when the Warriors become a below .500 team at the All-Star break.

Unlikely. The Warriors won in spite of Jackson's lack of coaching ability not because of him.

It's a real pity because GSW showed in the playoffs with LA that they were worthy of a 3 seed... and should have finished much higher than the 6th seed (Almost missed the playoffs altogether).

When you look back on the games they lost it was a combination of bad coaching moves and players not being switched on against lesser teams. That all comes down to the coach. Any player can get themselves up for Miami or OKC. If the players can't get themselves up to perform against the bottom teams and at home then it comes down to them not responding to the coach.

Jackson tactically was awful this year. He'd let teams get on 11-0 runs and not go for timeouts and his reasoning was "Phil Jackson used to let the players work it out too". Seriously?

Or how about when opposition coaches realised that Jackson was completely and utterly reactive to the opposition coaches moves.... such as if the opposition were finding it impossible to drive to the basket with Bogut there stopping everything... they'd sub out their own big man and go small... knowing that Jackson would never think about leaving Bogut in to go at them at the offensive end. They knew that Jackson would react and put Bogut to the bench and go small as well... and teams would get on 10-0 runs driving effortlessly to the basket for the 2-3 mnins Bogut was out.

Or how about when GSW were well and truly winning ball games in the last, and Jackson would completely kill the flow of the passing game by going to ISO post up mismatches where the ball movement would die and the shot would be a fall away jumper with 2 seconds left on the clock.

I lost count at 8 of the amount of games we lost because Jackson changed the flow of the game when we were winning or he made a poor substitution because he was being dictated to by the opposition coach. Remember... Mark Jackson started Jermaine O'Neal at center against the Clippers in the playoffs... and it took us being down 2-1 and Jermaine O'Neal actually going up to Mark Jackson to tell him to play small ball against the Clippers and to start him on the bench. Can you imagine that? A player actually having to tell the coach that for the good of the team he needed to start him on the bench and change tactics (Go small).... something that every single Warrriors supporter knew had to happen BEFORE the series started. I mean that right there says it all.

Yeah. Somehow I don't see us going below .500 because the preacher is no longer there.

[Flash Falcon X]

i bet Curry won't be as supportive in the middle of next season when the Warriors become a below .500 team at the All-Star break.

Unlikely. The Warriors won in spite of Jackson's lack of coaching ability not because of him.

It's a real pity because GSW showed in the playoffs with LA that they were worthy of a 3 seed... and should have finished much higher than the 6th seed (Almost missed the playoffs altogether).

When you look back on the games they lost it was a combination of bad coaching moves and players not being switched on against lesser teams. That all comes down to the coach. Any player can get themselves up for Miami or OKC. If the players can't get themselves up to perform against the bottom teams and at home then it comes down to them not responding to the coach.

Jackson tactically was awful this year. He'd let teams get on 11-0 runs and not go for timeouts and his reasoning was "Phil Jackson used to let the players work it out too". Seriously?

Or how about when opposition coaches realised that Jackson was completely and utterly reactive to the opposition coaches moves.... such as if the opposition were finding it impossible to drive to the basket with Bogut there stopping everything... they'd sub out their own big man and go small... knowing that Jackson would never think about leaving Bogut in to go at them at the offensive end. They knew that Jackson would react and put Bogut to the bench and go small as well... and teams would get on 10-0 runs driving effortlessly to the basket for the 2-3 mnins Bogut was out.

Or how about when GSW were well and truly winning ball games in the last, and Jackson would completely kill the flow of the passing game by going to ISO post up mismatches where the ball movement would die and the shot would be a fall away jumper with 2 seconds left on the clock.

I lost count at 8 of the amount of games we lost because Jackson changed the flow of the game when we were winning or he made a poor substitution because he was being dictated to by the opposition coach. Remember... Mark Jackson started Jermaine O'Neal at center against the Clippers in the playoffs... and it took us being down 2-1 and Jermaine O'Neal actually going up to Mark Jackson to tell him to play small ball against the Clippers and to start him on the bench. Can you imagine that? A player actually having to tell the coach that for the good of the team he needed to start him on the bench and change tactics (Go small).... something that every single Warrriors supporter knew had to happen BEFORE the series started. I mean that right there says it all.

Yeah. Somehow I don't see us going below .500 because the preacher is no longer there.

Warriors were a top defensive team, but also were only 12th in the league on offense.

All those shooters, passers, ballhandlers, scorers, etc. but only 12th in offense.

Steve Kerr can easily maintain this team's defense (he has the players to do so), while also boosting the offense into a top offensive team.

You take the Warriors' underrated defense (#1 defensive team in the West) and bring their offense from 12th to Top 5 and they'll be deadly.

We'll have to wait and see what the front office does to improve the bench. Ever since the Steve Blake trade, the Warriors had the 4th best record in the NBA (which started during the All-Star break).

Imagine how much better the Warriors would be with a decent bench this time and a new coach who will look to improve their offense.

People thought the Warriors were a good offensive team, yet they were only 12th in the NBA in that category. Think of how much more deadlier and scarier they'll be once their players are actually utilized properly.

[JakeandFatman]

Warriors were a top defensive team, but also were only 12th in the league on offense.

All those shooters, passers, ballhandlers, scorers, etc. but only 12th in offense.

Steve Kerr can easily maintain this team's defense (he has the players to do so), while also boosting the offense into a top offensive team.

You take the Warriors' underrated defense (#1 defensive team in the West) and bring their offense from 12th to Top 5 and they'll be deadly.

We'll have to wait and see what the front office does to improve the bench. Ever since the Steve Blake trade, the Warriors had the 4th best record in the NBA (which started during the All-Star break).

Imagine how much better the Warriors would be with a decent bench this time and a new coach who will look to improve their offense.

People thought the Warriors were a good offensive team, yet they were only 12th in the NBA in that category. Think of how much more deadlier and scarier they'll be once their players are actually utilized properly.

Correct. Mark Jackson wasn't even the reason for the Warriors improved defense. Andrew Bogut was. Andrew Bogut was the guy that sat in the middle and barks out the instructions to defenders on where to stand and told the guards to play aggressive defense on their man on the perimeter because he would have their backs if they tried to drive to the basket.

People forget that in Mark Jackson's first season with the Warriors they were ranked LAST in the league in defense. Last. He didn't do anything to improve it that year. Even in his 2nd year where Bogut missed most of the season the Warriors were only middle of the table.

As for Offense... well when your offense is basically "Steph Curry and Klay Thompson can shoot whenever the hell they want regardless of how poor their % is" then really you could train a Labrador Retriever to do that job.

[RRHMiami]

i just think that, in the West, unlike my Miami in the East, is that the Western conference is way better conference between the two obviously. And the man, Steve Kerr, replacing Mark Jackson, an ex coach now, who has a way better resume between the two as former NBA players taking over this Warriors team that Jackson helped develop every NBA season he had coached this team.

I mean Steve Kerr, not only he rode Jordan and Pippen's backs winning those championships, he just doesn't have the resume of Jackson for maybe some of the Warriors players to respect. I know that you don't have to be a good ex-NBA or college player to become a great coach, but imo Kerr is just not the guy to take the Warriors over the hump. And with the Western conference so strong and improving, and so unpredictable, it's going to be a tough one in the Bay Area next season.

Just think about Phoenix, Minnesota,Sacramento,Denver and maybe the Lakers, they might not make the playoffs but they surely can get a win against the Warriors to give them a below .500 record. A coaching transition with no coaching experience will hurt this team.

[RRHMiami]

when the Warriors hit a losing streak, expect a players only meeting.

[Rated T By CBRA]

Steph Curry was also highly supportive of Mark Jackson..

[miltk]

everybody wanted kerr when word got out that jax wanted him

[MagicFan32]

Lacob really needs to shut up, i give this 2 years before kerr quits or is fired. how can you fire mark jackson and then hire someone else who has never coached before? lacob talks to much that's for damn sure

warriors fans, and their organization way overvalue their own talent. they are the ones that keep Avid Lee around, they acquired an injury prone center to be a big part of their team....and they still nearly beat the clippers. the roster ain't that good when bogut is unable to play

[CnG]

Lacob really needs to shut up, i give this 2 years before kerr quits or is fired. how can you fire mark jackson and then hire someone else who has never coached before? lacob talks to much that's for damn sure

warriors fans, and their organization way overvalue their own talent. they are the ones that keep Avid Lee around, they acquired an injury prone center to be a big part of their team....and they still nearly beat the clippers. the roster ain't that good when bogut is unable to play

Read the article you philistine, Mark was fired because he can't manage people. He treats the players like gods and treats the assistants in his power and those who pay him like dirt. Jackson said preparation is OVERRATED before a crucial playoff game. Imagine paying someone millions a year when they admit they're a "part time coach" who doesn't prepare for games. Oh yeah, throw in that he insults your son for doing his job. Do I even need to move on on the court reasons?

It's a risk but if you read the article you could possibly understand why Kerr was hired.

Yeah overrate our talent, sure. Guess the stats that show us to be best defensive team in the West and have one of the best records in the league since Blake's arrival are just irrelevant right? The ONLY two players who are overrated by the media and those who don't watch the warriors are Dlee and Barnes. No-one anywhere to do with the Warriors wants to keep David Lee, are you kidding? He's our main priority to offload this season.

"And they still nearly beat the Clippers"...? Doesn't make sense with what you say but yeah, taking the Clippers to 7 and making it a close one without our defensive anchor showed how much talent we have and how much Jackson underperformed in the regular season.

[Donnyxc]

They are going to be good, no matter of this hire. Sure, he's prepared, but we haven't even see Kerr coach a game yet.

[kenwood3333]

with a new and inexperienced coach and a highly competitive western conference, i question if the warrior can make the playoff next year

[a8bil]

Warriors were a top defensive team, but also were only 12th in the league on offense.

All those shooters, passers, ballhandlers, scorers, etc. but only 12th in offense.

Steve Kerr can easily maintain this team's defense (he has the players to do so), while also boosting the offense into a top offensive team.

You take the Warriors' underrated defense (#1 defensive team in the West) and bring their offense from 12th to Top 5 and they'll be deadly.

We'll have to wait and see what the front office does to improve the bench. Ever since the Steve Blake trade, the Warriors had the 4th best record in the NBA (which started during the All-Star break).

Imagine how much better the Warriors would be with a decent bench this time and a new coach who will look to improve their offense.

People thought the Warriors were a good offensive team, yet they were only 12th in the NBA in that category. Think of how much more deadlier and scarier they'll be once their players are actually utilized properly.

Correct. Mark Jackson wasn't even the reason for the Warriors improved defense. Andrew Bogut was. Andrew Bogut was the guy that sat in the middle and barks out the instructions to defenders on where to stand and told the guards to play aggressive defense on their man on the perimeter because he would have their backs if they tried to drive to the basket.

People forget that in Mark Jackson's first season with the Warriors they were ranked LAST in the league in defense. Last. He didn't do anything to improve it that year. Even in his 2nd year where Bogut missed most of the season the Warriors were only middle of the table.

As for Offense... well when your offense is basically "Steph Curry and Klay Thompson can shoot whenever the hell they want regardless of how poor their % is" then really you could train a Labrador Retriever to do that job.

You had a really good post going until the last sentence. Both Klay and Curry have amongst the highest % at their position in the league, particularly among the top scorers.

[Darko Miliminutes]

Bet he's happy that he doesn't have to run the triangle.

[ndnow]

Has Kerr expressed his plan to design the team? What exactly does steph know about kerr other than he played for the bulls?

[miltk]

well what is he supposed to do, start next year on the wrong foot.

[MagicFan32]

Lacob really needs to shut up, i give this 2 years before kerr quits or is fired. how can you fire mark jackson and then hire someone else who has never coached before? lacob talks to much that's for damn sure

warriors fans, and their organization way overvalue their own talent. they are the ones that keep Avid Lee around, they acquired an injury prone center to be a big part of their team....and they still nearly beat the clippers. the roster ain't that good when bogut is unable to play

Read the article you philistine, Mark was fired because he can't manage people. He treats the players like gods and treats the assistants in his power and those who pay him like dirt. Jackson said preparation is OVERRATED before a crucial playoff game. Imagine paying someone millions a year when they admit they're a "part time coach" who doesn't prepare for games. Oh yeah, throw in that he insults your son for doing his job. Do I even need to move on on the court reasons?

It's a risk but if you read the article you could possibly understand why Kerr was hired.

Yeah overrate our talent, sure. Guess the stats that show us to be best defensive team in the West and have one of the best records in the league since Blake's arrival are just irrelevant right? The ONLY two players who are overrated by the media and those who don't watch the warriors are Dlee and Barnes. No-one anywhere to do with the Warriors wants to keep David Lee, are you kidding? He's our main priority to offload this season.

"And they still nearly beat the Clippers"...? Doesn't make sense with what you say but yeah, taking the Clippers to 7 and making it a close one without our defensive anchor showed how much talent we have and how much Jackson underperformed in the regular season.

cute, you buy into the kool aid they are selling you. that team without bogut isn't that good, it's amazing you refuse to give jackson any credit for nearly beating the clippers, he had little to work with in that series. who decided to let jack and landry walk? add in the bogut injury and jackson has NO DEPTH to work with.

next year the result will be the same, you'll have a coach you all think is great, but it will be 1 and done again unless bogut can stay on the court