Stephen Curry on Warriors' coaching change: 'Weird, expedited situation'
Stephen Curry said Mark Jackson provided 'stability' for him. (Noah Graham/Getty Images)
Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry said the team's abrupt coaching change this offseason was a "weird, expedited situation" the team didn't see coming.
In his first extended public comments on the Warriors' firing of Mark Jackson, which led to the quick hiring of Steve Kerr, Curry said he and most of the team reacted with shock at the moves.
"With how quickly things happened after the season, I think a lot of the feeling was kind of shock. It took a while to respond and react. Obviously, they made a semi-quick hire. As the summer goes on, we kind of remove ourselves from last year and look forward to next year," Curry said at an event where he accepted an award for his charitable contributions,
according to the
San Francisco Chronicle
.
"It’ll be fine. It’s just tough. There’s no sugarcoating it. It was a weird, expedited situation that we didn’t see coming. Guys are human, so they have to adjust to it and have some time to respond. That’s kind of what happened. I think we’ll be fine once we have a clear picture of what’s going on next year.”
Curry and Jackson had a close relationship as player and coach. Curry played under head coaches Don Nelson and Keith Smart in his first two years in the league, and he said Jackson brought a sense of "stability" for him. After the Warriors were eliminated from the playoffs by the Los Angeles Clippers, he said Jackson "deserves to be our coach."
But Curry also said he expected the Warriors to adjust quickly to their new coach, and he doesn't expect a loss of stability.
"It's just a new look and a different chapter. That’s all it is," Curry said.