Golden State Warriors fans may or may not owe San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich a thank you.
Unless you don’t like Steve Kerr, that is. Then you might owe him an ass-kicking.
According to the New York Post‘s Gregg Popovich, Kerr sought Coach Pop’s advice before agreeing to replace Mark Jackson as head coach of the Warriors:
Maybe Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is to blame for Steve Kerr’s snub of Phil Jackson.
When asked by The Post if Kerr consulted him when Kerr’s choice came down to the Knicks and Warriors, Popovich said, “Friends talk.’’
He wouldn’t go any further; neither would Kerr.
“We talked, but I’m not going to tell you what he said,’’ Kerr said with a chuckle.
Translation: Coach Pop told Kerr to join the Warriors.
Maybe. We’re not technically sure, but Coach Pop is a smart guy. Would he really tell Kerr to pick the New York Knicks over the contention-ready Warriors? Not unless he was trying to sabotage Kerr’s coaching career, which he probably wasn’t.
Phil Jackson’s smack-talk only gave him more reason to tell Kerr Oakland was the place for him. The Zen Master said the Spurs weren’t a “dynasty,” because, well, I don’t know. Maybe he was hopped up on some of that homemade peyote of his or something, because the Spurs are most definitely a dynasty. They’ve made seven Western Conference Finals appearances in the last 12 years, which is redonkulous. They’ve made four NBA Finals appearances in the last 12 years, which is equally absurd. And they’ve won three championships during that time too. Yes, they’re a dynasty.
That Jackson would suggest they aren’t gave Popovich ample reason to tell Kerr: “Run, Steve. Just run god dammit. Stephen Curry. Andre Iguodala. Klay Thomspon. Kevin Love. David Lee. Screw Phil. You can make things happen in Oakland.”
In all seriousness, Popovich had to have some kind of impact. During Kerr’s introductory press conference, Warriors general manager Bob Meyers admitted that Kerr initially declined to meet with them:
At presser, GS GM Bob Myers admitted Kerr first declined interview initially after Jackson's firing. Shows #Knicks negotiations stalled.
— Marc Berman (@NYPost_Berman) May 20, 2014
Did Coach Pop convince him it was the right play? Were the Knicks simply being annoying?
Did Knicks owner James Dolan ask him if he wanted to hang out, go ATV-ing and then attend Wacky Wednesday Bingo Night, guaranteeing he would never, ever, ever want to coach in New York?
Something made Kerr change is mind. Plenty of somethings, probably. There’s no way one conversation with Pop swayed him by itself. Other factors had to be at play, whether they were Dolan, money, potential to win, proximity to his family, etc. There just had to be something else.
I think.
Right?
Screw it. I don’t really know.
Coach Pop could have unmatched of powers of persuasion. That can’t be out of the question. The Warriors don’t really care. They got their guy, the guy they were chasing even before Stan Van Gundy.
They win.
The Knicks lose.
We are all just puppets and Coach Pop is holding the strings.
The end.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
