Before Steve Kerr went to the Chase Center shootaround ahead of the Warriors game against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, he spent his morning watching the inauguration broadcast.
When President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were sworn in at the Washington DC Capitol, Kerr was proud.
« It’s a great day. It’s one of the reasons we’re wearing our Oakland jerseys tonight, » said Kerr, who hasn’t been afraid to become political and political since he was named head coach of the Warriors in 2014 social issues. « We are very proud that Kamala Harris is from Oakland. »
For Kerr, however, it wasn’t just the fact that Harris, who was born in Oakland and made her political career in San Francisco, calls the Bay Area home. He was also proud because Donald Trump, who during his four years in the White House had publicly scourged Kerr for speaking out for politics, would no longer be responsible.
« President Biden has a great job ahead of him, » said Kerr. « But the big one is really trying to calm the country down and calm much of that anger and hopefully unite the people. »
It is no coincidence that the Warriors wear their Oakland Forever jerseys on inauguration day, but it could be a coincidence that the two coaches who speak out most for things outside of basketball share an arena .
Kerr, who played for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich from 1998 to 2001, often credits « Coach Pop » with the courage to use its public platform to share his views on racial relations, social issues and gun reforms.
« I don’t think I would ever have felt comfortable until Pop’s example, » said Kerr. « He gave me and many people the courage to only speak when we felt we were saying something that could be helpful or important. »
On Wednesday, Popovich said he never set out to become a role model for Kerr or anyone else, but that it is always important to him to speak privately with his team about social issues.
« At some point during the last administration I probably just said something in a more public setting, » he said.
Like Kerr, Popovich vociferously defied many of President Trump’s decisions and spent the morning watching Biden become the 46th President of the United States.
« Without talking about politics or anything, he’s a decent man, » Popovich said of Biden. “Really, really care about people. I think that’s huge. »
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»Justinian Jessup, Golden State’s number 51 in the November draft, plays for the Hawks of the NBL this season. In his second game he scored 24 points in an impressive all-round performance. Although the warriors cannot call him until next season in the US, they are carefully monitoring the development of the sniper.
« I’m following his progress, » said Kerr, who receives regular updates from Nick U’Ren, director of basketball operations. « It is a perspective that is very interesting for us and we are happy to have its (design) rights. We will follow it pretty closely. »
»When asked if Andrew Wiggins, who had played the last few games despite being considered questionable with a right knee injury, was dealing with long-term health problems, Kerr allayed concerns.
« I think it’s just the normal bumps and bruises that players like Andrew get who play more than 30 minutes every night, » he said.
»Eric Paschall, who played mainly as a rookie forwards last season, developed into a small ball center off the bench after the backup center Marquese Chriss suffered a long-term injury to his lower leg.
Paschall, who has scored double digits in nine of his twelve games this season, is the anchor of a second unit that plays fast, clears the ground and is one of the best in the NBA.
« He decided to take on that role and he exploded with it, » said Kerr. « And I hope he can expand that into an even bigger role. That’s the plan. »
Ref: https://www.mercurynews.com
