Steve Kerr Basically Admitted That At The End Of The Day He's Essentially A Steph Curry Merchant

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When you look around the NBA at the longest tenured Head Coaches, it's a nice reminder of just how brutal a profession it can be. Nowadays, even winning an NBA championship doesn't always guarantee you job security, which seems crazy but is how things work in today's NBA. In recent seasons, we've seen Mike Budenholzer, Frank Vogel, and Michael Malone all get canned soon after they reached the top of the mountain.

There's Erik Spoelstra at the top (1,359 games), then a massive dropoff until you get to Steve Kerr (875 games), and then another massive dropoff to the next 3 longest tenured head coaches in Billy Donovan, Ty Lue, and Mark Daigneault (all at 400 games).

Spoelstra is a bit of a unique case, considering he started with the Heat as a film guy and has been there for a billion years, but outside of Kerr (2014), the rest of those guys became head coaches of their respective teams in 2020. 

You'll notice 3 of those top 5 are all championship coaches, all of which were blessed to lead teams with MVP/All time talents. Spo had the Big 3, Daigneault has SGA, and then there's Kerr who not only had the KD era Warriors, but also has had the greatest shooter of all time from the jump. In the NBA you're really at the mercy of your talent, and it's good to hear that Steve Kerr is well aware of this. So much so that he basically admits he's a Steph Curry merchant

Given the egos we've seen coaches have throughout NBA history, I actually found this pretty refreshing to hear. I may think Kerr is a bozo for what he did in the Olympics and hate him for life given that he stole a 2022 ring from my favorite team, but I do have to give him some credit for being somewhat self-aware here. 

At the same time, while I appreciate Kerr being humble, I do think he's not giving himself enough credit. While having Steph Curry on your team obviously helps a great deal, there is something to be said about Kerr's system and how that has impacted not only Steph's career and development, but the Warriors' success as a whole. 

The year before Kerr arrived when Mark Jackson was in charge (2013-14), the Warriors were 30th in the NBA in passing at 243 a game. Sure, they won 50 games, but they were not the Warriors we see today. In Kerr's first year, that number jumped to 306, good for 9th in the NBA, and with that new system in place, you may remember that Warriors team won their first title despite not really having deep playoff experience. The passing, the off-ball movement, the three point shooting, the development of a system to maximize the strengths of your best player, I do think Kerr deserves a good amount of credit for that. For all we know, Steph would have still become the Steph we see today anyway, but I do think playing in his current system under a coach with Kerr's philosophy obviously helped. It's like how Brady and Belichick both played a role in each other's success. When it comes to the winning part, that's more player than coach (as we saw with the Patriots). But in terms of development? You mix an incredibly driven all-time talent with the right coach, and anything is possible.

Where I do agree with Kerr is that if Steph Curry did not exist and the Warriors didn't have the same type of sustained level of success during his tenure, then he'd absolutely be like the rest of the league when it comes to head coaches getting the boot after just a few years. Especially for a franchise that was spending like the Warriors were. At that level, you have to win and you have to have the buy in of your franchise player.

The good news is Steph Curry does exist and the Warriors have won at every stage of Kerr's tenure. Pre-KD, with KD, and Post-KD. As long as that remains the case and Steph keeps sticking around, Steve Kerr should feel pretty safe.