Inside The Warriors

Steve Kerr Reveals Reason for Controversial Decisions This Season

The Golden State Warriors are beginning to trust their young players

Joey Linn

Steve Kerr Reveals Reason for Controversial Decisions This Season
Steve Kerr Reveals Reason for Controversial Decisions This Season /
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Having won four titles over the last decade, primarily with the same core, the Golden State Warriors have a lot of trust in their veterans. While Steph Curry remains one of the best players in the NBA, his veteran teammates have been inconsistent this season, which has slowly led to Steve Kerr decreasing their roles in favor of younger players.

This was a very slow transition for Kerr, who received a lot of criticism for not making some of these moves earlier. Addressing this recently, Kerr revealed the reason for this, saying he needed to give his veterans every opportunity before turning to the youth.

"There’s a reason we didn’t hand them jobs to start the season," Kerr said of Golden State's rookies. "It doesn’t work that way. If you did that, you’d have a revolt on your hands. You have to honor the work that the veterans have done in the past. You give them every opportunity, which we did. But while that was all happening, [Trayce Jackson-Davis and Brandin Podziemski] were really shining."

While many have pushed back against this thinking, saying Kerr should have been playing his better players regardless of pedigree, he is explaining a very real dynamic. A huge part of coaching an NBA team is managing personalities. Quickly reducing the roles of proven veterans in favor of unproven rookies would not have gone over well in Golden State's locker room. Understanding this, Kerr gave his veterans opportunities - amid criticism, and has now made the pivot to more minutes for his rookies.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Title: Credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation Email: joeylinn52@gmail.com Education: Communication Studies degree from Biola University Location: Los Angeles, California Expertise: NBA analysis and reporting Experience: Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time across multiple platforms, primarily serving as a credentialed Clippers beat writer.

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