Image via Getty / Harry How
Although they were very bad (15-50), Warriors coach Steve Kerr says it was more enjoyable to coach the 2019-20 team than to coach the (much better) 2018-19 team that was 57- 25 and reached the NBA Finals.
Kerr said this while talking to Logan Murdock and Raja Bell about The RingerThe podcast “Real Ones”, with this comment coming in the context of it explaining that the year 2018-19 was the most atypical season in terms of fun during the GS dynasty race.
“The first four years of our race – training was a lot more fun,” said Kerr, as transcribed by NBC Sports. “We were happy and everything was very simple and without agendas. And then, last year, things kind of went wrong. Even though I made it to the finals, it was difficult.
“I liked last season – when we had the worst league record – more than I liked last season, when we went to the finals. We had young people last year who were trying every day, working hard. We had great energy, great spirit, great camaraderie. Losing was shit.
“But what you want is a good vibe. You want to go to the gym every day and see everyone. That last year was difficult – when we lost to [the] Toronto [Raptors] in the finals.
“There was a lot going on, some that you know and some that you don’t know. That was very difficult. “
Note that 2018-19 was the last year Kevin Durant played for Golden State. And note that this was the framework that Durant saw clearly, as evidenced by his response to this tweet:
Steve Kerr said @loganmmurdock he liked the last season (when the Warriors was 15 to 50) more than Kevin Durant’s last season with the Warriors.
“That last year was difficult. There was a lot going on – some you know and some you don’t. That was very difficult. “
– Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) March 22, 2021
Kerr did not mention KD by name, but Durant responded very quickly with a vague open response to interpretation (although he is likely to see things differently from Kerr). Whether Durant is responding to the actual podcast or the quote in the tweet is also open to interpretation, but since there is no link in the tweet, it is likely that it was a response to the quote:
Although Kerr himself points out the obvious by saying that there are some things that fans don’t know about, the most visible sign of internal public strife came at the beginning of the season, after Durant and Draymond Green entered a verbal strife after an extension loss to Clippers. In an appearance on ESPN’s First take, Durant said that his and Green’s situation influenced his departure from the Bay Area (he signed with the Nets after that season, but you knew that). Green also gave a lengthy response about his relationship with Durant last April. You can read this here because your sincere answer is too long to be drawn.
Anyway, Durant’s race with the Warriors ended with him tearing his Achilles in the league finals. He signed with Brooklyn, but only made his debut more than a year later due to the same injury. All this to say that, perhaps, training that team was a little bad (after all, it is difficult to argue against a person’s opinion). But if you’re the type of person who likes stories adding context to sports, file that for the next time Golden State and Brooklyn play.
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