Episode 6: Steve Kerr

Adam Stanco’s in-depth interview with Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr. They discuss Kerr’s childhood, including an early love of multiple sports and what he learned while traveling around the globe. He reveals some remarkable tales from his time at Arizona, including when he first realized he could be an NBA player. Kerr explains how those Lute Olson-coached teams have inspired his current practices and how a loss in the 1988 Final Four still haunts him today. He explains what it was like to play for some legendary NBA coaches and what he learned from the likes of Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich, Cotton Fitzsimmons, and Lenny Wilkens. He tells some fascinating stories about Michael Jordan’s competitiveness and explains why Draymond Green is comparable to Dennis Rodman. Plus, Kerr lets us know how he found out DeMarcus Cousins was joining the Warriors and why he thinks Boogie will fit right in. He also opens up about why he feels the need to speak out against social injustices.

Find out more at 40YearCoach.com and follow us on Twitter...

Adam Stanco: @naismithlives

40 Year Coach Podcast: @40YearCoach

Steve Kerr: @SteveKerr

Sydney Smith: @SydGSmitty

Episode Transcript

(00:14):
This is the forty Year Coach podcast. I'm Adam Stanko. If you're wondering
why we are called the forty YearCoach, well, it's because legendary University
of Chicago football coach amos Alonzo Staggwas once asked after an undefeated season if
it was his best ever. Hisresponse, I won't know that for another
twenty years or so. That's becausealongside winning, personal development is equally as

(00:36):
important for the complete coach. Asa coach, as a teacher, as
a leader. Will your impact befelt for four years or for forty years.
If you enjoy this podcast, rateand review on iTunes and subscribe,
you don't want to miss some ofthe guests we have coming up. If
you don't have an iPhone, youcan always check us out on spreaker,
and you can always check us outat the forty Year Coach dot Com to

(00:58):
learn more about what we're doing.Now. Time for our guests. Steve
Kerr, his old teammates say he'sgot the mightas touch. Everything he touches
turns to gold. He was oneof the most important players in the history
of the University of Arizona, helpingto lead the team to the eighty eight
Final four. He's the NBA's alltime leader in three point field goal percentage
and won three rings with the Bulls, two with the Spurs, and that

(01:21):
says a player went on to becomea wildly successful broadcaster and then a part
owner at GM for the Suns duringsome of their glory years, and in
just four seasons as a head coach, he's been to the NBA Finals four
times, led the Warriors to anNBA record seventy three wins, and he's
one of only six NBA head coacheswith three NBA titles. Steve Kerr,

(01:42):
Welcome to the Four of Year CoachPodcast. Thanks Adam, good to be
here. I'm super excited to talkto you because you're one of those people
that in basketball circles people will alwayssay, you know that hypothetical, who
were four people that you would chooseto have dinner with if possible? And
you've been on my list because ofyour upbringing and of course you know the

(02:04):
success that you've had and just youknow all all your dealings with the media.
But I want to start out there'sa book that I absolutely love,
a Season Inside by John Feinstein,and that during your fifth year senior year
at Arizona captured some of what youwere going through throughout the year. And
there's a passage in there that saysthat when the crowd roars Steve Kerr in

(02:30):
answer to hearing his name, itgives you chills. Kerr almost blocks the
sound of his own name out.By now, he's a little embarrassed that
he's singled out this way. WhenI get older, though, I'm sure
I'll love showing tapes of it toall my kids, he said. They'll
say to me, gee, Daddy, you must have been a great player,
and I'll say, yeah, Iwas, and then I'll put the
tape away before the game starts sothey won't find out the truth. Kurr

(02:52):
is so popular here that freshman MattMuellbach occasionally tells women that he is Steve
Kerr. Yes, be Steve Kerr, to try to impress them. He
says, works, Kerr says,laughing, funny, It never worked out
all that well for me. MattMuebach swears that story isn't true, and
I've been wondering for years whether itis true. So can you clear that
up? How much truth is thereat the story that Matt Muebak used to

(03:12):
claim you Steve Kerry. I wouldbelieve Matt, I mean the stories about
him. But first of all,I'm just impressed that you went back twenty
but seven years with nineteen what wasit eighty eight? So thirty years.
That's pretty impressive. Well done.Well, I've been holding out of that
book for a long time, soI figured if we ever crossed paths,

(03:36):
I had that question to ask you. So, coach, I want to
go back to your early life.Born in Beirut, Lebanon. Such a
unique upbringing. Your father at thetime Middle East political science professor at the
American University in Lebanon. But thenyou started, you know you He then
took a job at UCLA when youwere one, and then you started traveling

(03:59):
around a lot. How would youdescribe your early life? Um, well,
I don't remember much of my youknow, my my first few years,
you know, being born in Beirutand growing up, Um are not
growing up, but but you know, it's kind of first three four years
of my life. I spent quitea bit of time over there, but

(04:21):
most of my childhood was spent inla you know, my dad was teaching
at Ucla and and uh pretty idylliclife, you know in Pacific Palisades,
California, and going to UCLA gameswith my brother and uh, you know,
pretty uh pretty typical suburban life.I was. I was really fortunate.

(04:43):
And but as we got older,my dad started taking sabbaticals and that's
when we really started to see theworld and experience different cultures and and move
around a little bit. And youknow, that experience has really, I
think, in many ways, shapedme and shaped my view of the world.
Now. How so, I thinkjust seeing different cultures, seeing how

(05:14):
different people live, even though,um, everyone kind of wants the same
thing. Everyone's looking for the samethings happiness and you know, a job
and a way to care for theirfamilies and and you know, you want
something that's that's uh solid and healthy, and everyone wants the same thing,

(05:39):
really, but but there's a kindof a different way of going about it
in different places, different countries.And for me, you know, I
spent a few years in Egypt.I saw really major poverty um all over
the city of Cairo. That madea big effect on me. I was
ten years old, and you know, kind of thought of life is southern

(06:01):
California and sitting on the beach andh and all of a sudden, I
got to look at what real povertywas, and it was you know,
it was eye opening. Um.So I think just experiencing all that at
a young age, UM, Ithink it probably increases your compassion and your
tolerance and your awareness of Um,you know, how how alike we all

(06:27):
are, and yet how we livewe live differently based on our own culture.
I've heard people say that the bestway to share someone's racism is to
have them travel around the world.Yeah. Um, you go back to
to the States eventually and go toPacific Palisades High School and and I think

(06:51):
a lot of people don't recall thatyou were an outstanding baseball player, um,
and that during your junior years andsenior years you made the city final
in LA and yet you lost toa really talented pitcher in Brett Saberhagen.
Is this this story true? Thestory is true? Yeah, it was.

(07:15):
Uh, we made the city finalsmy junior year and uh, you
know, we were on a greatrun and we thought, for sure we're
gonna win the whole thing, andwe end up losing thirteen nothing in the
at Dodger Stadium and we get nohit. Nobody nobody gets a hit.
Um. And uh, we hadn'tever heard of this pitcher, Saberhagen,

(07:39):
and about I think he I thinkhe got drafted kind of late in the
MLB draft that year, and uhhe was MVP of the World Series two
years later. So we all felta lot better about that. Amazing,
amazing. So why during that time, what was it about basketball that uh,

(08:01):
you know that you that you hada love for, especially since you
had so much talent in baseball.I didn't have that much. It's not
like I, you know, couldhave played in college or anything. I
was a you know, a goodhigh school player. But I love baseball
growing up. You know, backthen was different. You played every sport.
You know, they didn't have thatspecializing um that that they do now

(08:22):
where you've got a year round coachand you play in you know, travel
ball in the off season and playa million games and you you know,
you kind of have to go downone path. And in many ways,
I think it's an advantage, umto to play different sports and to use
different muscles and you know, kindof see different games um and and then

(08:45):
apply those games to your room,your your favorite sport. I think soccer
has a tremendous influence on on basketball. You can see the guys who played
soccer growing up, Um, youknow Steve Nashtill co coach, guys like
that. You can see the influencehow they see the floor as much like
you'd see the field, UM andsoccer. And so I was. I

(09:11):
was one of those kids. Ijust played whatever was in uh was in
season, and I loved it.And but basketball was always my favorite.
I loved the movement, I lovedI loved shooting the ball. I loved
playing with four other people and youknow, trying to do everything as a
team. And it was by farthe most exciting of the sports that I

(09:35):
played and the one I wanted topursue. There's the famous story of your
quote unquote recruitment to Arizona, whichuh we will discuss. But but lude
Olsen had said about you that youhad a good feel for the game.
Where do you think that came fromat that time? Uh, well,

(09:58):
he had a chance to se heplayed after my senior year had finished.
He had taken the Arizona job,I think in March, and so it
was kind of after the recruiting periodhad ended and I didn't have any scholarship
offers. So he traveled to southernCalifornia and watched the summer leagues and I

(10:18):
was playing in the summer leagues andI played pretty well, and so he,
uh, he gave me a chance, and you know, took a
chance on me. And I thinkI did have a good feel. I
just wasn't I wasn't very fast orstrong or athletic, but I could shoot
the ball and I knew knew howto play, and I think he recognized

(10:39):
that. At the time, therewas a quote from from Olson that said
you had a good feel, butthat you also shot the ball low um
and that you weren't going to getthe shot off in the Pac ten.
So obviously that changed over time.You found a way to get your shot
off um. And the and theway I've always heard the story is that

(11:01):
Lut's wife, Bobby had the quoteof saying, you got to be kidding
me when when Luke took her tocome see you play, and that he
was going to offer you a chanceto come to Arizona. What was that
period like for you, Well,it was it was frustrating, and it
was it was kind of scary.You know, I wasn't sure. I

(11:22):
mean, literally my senior year endedand I didn't have any offers. I
was. I had applied to aboutfour or five schools. I was thinking
about walking on at UM University ofColorado, you see, Santa Barbara UM.
I would have gone to Brown ifI had been admitted, but I
didn't get in UM. But thatwas that was an early choice or an

(11:46):
early possibility UM. But you know, a few, a few schools recruited
me. Gonzaga recruited me. Andthen I went up to Spokane for a
visit and played some pickup ball againstJohn Stockton and got absolutely destroyed, and
the coaches said, you know what, what, we'll pass, but thanks
anyway. So you know, Ifelt like I was closed. But I

(12:09):
just wasn't quite good enough to toget a scholarship, and so it was
very frustrating, and I really didn'tknow what was going to happen or what
I was going to do, butat all obviously worked out when I got
my chance that summer when coach Wilsonoffered me a scholarship. At that time,
was that a affirmation of something youunderstood about being able to play at

(12:33):
that at that level. No,not at all, not at all.
It was my god, I can'tbelieve my good fortune. You know,
I was. I was very practical, you know, I knew exactly what
had happened. I mean, hetakes a job, Luke takes a job
in March, and the team theyear before Arizona was four and twenty four,

(12:58):
so they were a mess, andyou know, he had to purge
like five guys off the roster andhe didn't have many options. So more
than anything, it was it waslike, all right, I've got this
incredible opportunity, but you know,I hope I don't blow it, you
know, And I knew, Iknew it was going to be really tough.
I knew I was in for fora huge challenge athletically, and uh

(13:26):
so I didn't. I didn't reallyhave any false hopes of going in there
and and you know, playing rightaway or anything like that. I just
wanted to get better and be ableto hold my own. We all know
now about the Lute Olsen and hishis legacy and what he built at Arizona,

(13:46):
but at that time, as youtalk about, as you guys are
overcoming that you know, four windsstart um prior and you know, struggling
in the league and all those things. What was it early on that you
noticed about his his ability to coachthat might have might have stood out and
felt really different. Well, hewas. He was incredibly passionate and organized.

(14:15):
And we had these detailed practices.You know, I was at John
Wooden disciple. I grew up atUCLA ball boy and and went to John
Wooden's camp and you know, soI was really well drilled when I was
a kid. And you know,we got to I got to Arizona and
we right away we're having these threehour practices where we're going over everything.

(14:37):
You know, we're going over everylittle detail. And you know, he
didn't mess around. I mean,he knew the job that was facing him,
and so we worked so hard anduh and he did not let us
skip any steps. He was suspendingguys occasionally for you know, missing curf

(15:00):
you or being a little late forpractice. I mean he was trying to
clean the whole thing up. Andit was incredible just to watch him at
work and watch how detailed he wasand he got that thing going so fast.
It was incredible. The second year. My second year we made the
NCAA tournament. You know, twoyears after going four and twenty four we

(15:24):
made the NCAA tournament. And soliterally just took him, took him a
year, about a year and ahalf to build the program. It was
amazing how much of what he instilledin those those practice plans and the pace
that you played with. Have heardoftentimes that you guys would work on fundamentals
for the first half of practice andthen you turn into unlv running rebels the

(15:46):
second half. How much of whathe implemented in those practices do you still
use today? Oh, you canask our guys with the Warriors, we
literally have a drill we called Ludolphindrill and you know we've gotten um it's
like a three on two or it'slike a transition drill that you know turns

(16:07):
into um kind of a defensive drill, and we used to do it in
Arizona and we do it throughout trainingcamp. We do it periodically during the
year and it's uh, yeah,something that we do quite a bit of.
And um, you know, I'veI've taken a lot from from Loot,

(16:29):
I've taken a lot from text WinnerPhil Jackson, Greg Popovich, It's
kind of everybody I've learned from ourpractice is really just a kind of a
blend of all these different different philosophiesand and concepts. In January of eighty
four, Um, everyone knows thatthe story about your father being assassinated.

(16:52):
He was then president of that AmericanUniversity in Beyroute. Um. What what
I'm curious about is after after youfind out the news. I'm curious because
I know a lot of coaches havegone through this where where their players are
dealing with tragedy. Um, youknow, whether whether it be at home

(17:14):
or with friends or what have you. Um, what is it that the
coaching staff did to help support youduring during that time? Well, it
really was like a family, youknow. They mean Coach Olson built it
like a way. We team mealsat his house and barbecues, and his

(17:37):
wife, Bobby was kind of theteam mom, and and so right away
you felt like you were part ofa family. And so at that time,
UM, you know that's what Ifelt. Everybody took care of me,
and the coaches took care of me, and I ended up going to
stay at Coach Olson's house for acouple of nights, and you know it

(18:00):
was my uh definitely my family awayfrom home. So I was lucky to
have have all those people in mylife. In as you're progressing there at
Arizona then, um, you know, people think about that that fifth year
senior season, that the team thatgoes thirty five and three. But in

(18:22):
eighty six you're playing for the UnitedStates team that was loaded, Uh,
Sean Elliott, David Robinson, RonnieCsychlee, Kenny Smith, um Loots coaching
the team and you suffer knee injuryin the semifinals. Curious as to what
you what you remember about that specificday and where you thought your future was

(18:45):
going to go from there. Well, more than anything, that experience was
sort of when I realized I actuallycould compete with the best players in the
country. I mean, the factPac ten at the time was it was
not great. It was it wasdecent um, but um, you know

(19:07):
you're you're playing against the best inthe ACC in the Big East. Um,
you know, Muggsy Bogs was outthere hounding me full court, and
you know Tommy Amaker from Duke andhad all these all Americans and uh,
and it was it was it wasan awesome experience, and I had a
really good run, played well forthe team. I was in the rotation,

(19:32):
kind of like the first guard offthe bench, and then uh towre
my acl then in the Semis andagainst Brazil, and at that point I
didn't really know, you know,what was going to happen, but I
had the team doctor there was wastelling me that some people don't come back

(19:52):
from that injury. But immediately uponreturn to Tucson, the an orthopedic surgeon
there named Kim Houston, who whotold me, you know, we're gonna
fix this and you're gonna be fine, and you're gonna play again next year.
You're you know, you're you're gonnahave to take a year off,
but you're gonna rehabit and you'll bebetter than ever. And so that's that's

(20:15):
what happened. I took the yearoff, red shirted, and in many
ways it was the best thing thatcould have happened, because we had a
pretty young team that was really blossomingand UH and that extra year allowed us,
I think, to to develop andbecome a great team that we were
in eighty eight. It's pretty remarkablethat Sean Elliott and yourself were on that

(20:38):
team, and both of you guysmade recoveries that at the time was thought
to be, you know, unfathomable, that unfathomable that you'd reached the level
of play you did after after sufferingthose those injuries. The other thing that
I've always found interesting is that teamwent on to be a Russian team that
Pete Nwell said was the greatest Russianteam that that they ever had. So,

(20:59):
um, pretty pretty talented squad.You're playing on an obviously significant that
you were in that that rotation.How much did your game change when you
when you return from injury? Uh, not much, to be honest with
you. It's not like I wasdoing much slashing and leaping beforehand anyway.
So I was just pretty much thesame player. I just took some time

(21:22):
over the summer. You know.It was the injury happened in July of
eighty six, and so by thetime the season started in eighty seven,
it was, you know, fifteenmonths later or soum So it took it
took about a year to really feelgood, and then another few months to
get my rhythm. And once westarted the season in October, I felt

(21:45):
great and my game didn't really changeat all, and we we were loaded
and we had I think we hadfive or six future NBA players, and
we also had Kenny Lofton who wenton to have incredible baseball career, So
we had we had a great team. And it's interesting when you watch those

(22:06):
those teams play from thirty years ago. It's wild to say that now as
you as you brought up us asI watched them play, you know,
people think about you your career andyou know your time with the Bulls and
Spurs as being a sharp shooter.But it's funny because when I watched those
teams play and you talked about itin practice, they actually remind me a

(22:26):
lot of of what you guys dowith the Warriors in terms of your pace
and in terms of pushing the ballin shooting threes and the ball movement is
wild. I mean, it wasdifferent time back then in college basketball in
general, but it just feels likeshades of the Warriors when I when I
watched the old tapes of those Arizonateams. Yeah, well, I think

(22:48):
the similarity is that we had,much like with the Warriors, we had
five guys on the floor who couldall shoot and pass, you know,
and it's such a game is sodifferent when when you have multiple skilled players
who are all unselfish. And Ithink as a team that year, we
shot fifty five percent for the season, which is almost unheard of, you

(23:14):
know, but everybody was so unselfishand skilled and the ball moved and and
that's the best way to play basketball. It's it's hard to find the personnel,
uh, to be able to dothat. Um, but that's that's
what we've got with the Warriors now, and that's what we had back then
with an Arizona team, and it's, uh, it's incredible to you know,

(23:37):
to to enjoy the game that way. Yeah, it's it's pretty wild.
And I think about that Sean Elliottsand the Craig mcmillin's of the world.
At their size, guys weren't handlingthe ball and passing as as as
as they sort of do now.It's it's it was kind of rare,
but that style will play was sointeresting to me as you guys go to
that ninety eighty eight NCAA tournament.UM, I've always found it fascinating about

(24:03):
your career. It's like, that'sthe one team that I think Arizona should
have won the national championship that year, and you've had so much success later
on. Was there anything that youguys lose to Oklahoma in the final four
and I know how how difficult thatwas for you. Was there anything lessons
that you could take away in losingthat you that you later applied to to

(24:25):
the rest of your career. Uh, not really, since I still haven't
let that loss go. Uh Sonow, it's just, you know,
it's the nature of that tournament.Um, it's why it's so great that
it's one one game you're done.Um, But it was it was absolutely

(24:49):
the you know, the game thatI that I still remember. You know,
you remember the bad games more thanthe good ones. And we were
loaded. Homo was too, andI think they finished that season with the
same record we did, and likethirty five and three or something, and

(25:10):
they had Mookie Blaylock and Stacy Kingand Harvey Grant, all these NBA players
and they had a great team.But yeah, that was a tough night
for me. And that's when Ireplay in my head and wish we could
have back. And now I wishI didn't ask you about it. I'm
sorry really ruined my day. Thankhere you go. I'm sorry. So

(25:30):
the good dudes, though, youcome out of that and you're you end
up getting drafted as as a latesecond round pick. Um during that during
the fifth year senior season, howmuch thought had you put into your future
and whether it was going to beas an NBA player. You know,
at that point, I think,based on my experience in eighty six playing

(25:53):
with all those guys from the ACCin the Big East, I thought,
you know, I got a chancehere, I could I could possibly make
it in the NBA. I didn'tthink it was likely, but I knew
i'd get a chance that I couldgo to somebody's training camp. And my
my thought at that time was ifI don't make it, I'm going to

(26:15):
go and try to play in Europe. And so I had had designs on
a professional career. I just wasn'tsure exactly how it would unfold. And
it turned out perfectly that Phoenix draftedme. It was a little bit of
a hometown favor. I think,you know, Phoenix who was trying to

(26:37):
to always trying to get the attentionof two Sons. You know, the
Sons have never really grabbed two sonsattention, and I think they were trying
to get a little interest from twoson and it was a little bit of
a like I said, a hometownfavor. But it's a great experience to
be there, and they kept mearound for the year and helped me get

(26:59):
started the same way they did withDeAndre Ayton, right, I mean the
same thing, very similar. Yeah, what are your memories of draft day?
Oh? It was so different backthen. They only televised the first
round, and I was pretty sureI wasn't going in the first round,

(27:19):
you know, I was. Iremember watching late in the first thinking,
you know, just maybe I couldget picked here late in the first but
I wasn't. As soon as thefirst round ended, I was just at
my mom's house in the policy andI got a phone call from a reporter
telling me that the Suns had takenme. This was a couple hours after

(27:42):
the draft ended. I think,just showing you how old I am.
You know, no internet, notelevised second round or anything, and so
the reporter gave me the news andthat was pretty excited. Awesome. It's
awesome memory. Uh. You know, it's funny people talk about you playing

(28:03):
for and you just mentioned I meanTech Winner and Phil Jackson and Greg Popovich.
But you played for Cotton fitz Simmonstoo, and Lenny Wilkins, two
outstanding coaches that I think a lotof young people today don't don't realize the
impact that they had in the game. Um. When you first got to
the Suns, what, m whatwas it about Cotton fitz Simmons that stood
out to you? Well, hewas so different from loot Um. He

(28:27):
was his nickname was like the riverboatgambler. You know, he was thin,
he was from Missouri. He hadthis thick southern accent. He had
this great sense of humor. Hewas aggressive. Um, he wanted his
teams to play fast and everything wasjust up tempo, fun um wives cracks

(28:52):
um. He was a real characterand he turned that team around quickly too.
That team made conference finals against theLakers, I think a year after
winning about twenty eight games. Sothat was Kevin Johnson, Dan Marley,
Tom Chambers, Jeff hornessac, alot of good a lot of really good

(29:15):
players, and but Cotton was wasa great coach. And I think more
than anything, what I remembered thinkingwas, you know, every coach is
it is so unique and different basedon his own personality, and Cotton was
was authentic and everyone loved to bearound him. When you move on to

(29:37):
the Calves and you're playing for forLenny Wilkins, you actually started twenty games
when Craig Elow was hurt and youhad a chance to guard Jordan. How'd
that experience go? That was reallywhen my career got started. You know
that the Suns gave me a chanceto hang around the league, but I
never really played much. The Cabsgave me a shot to play, and

(30:03):
that that first year with them gaveme an idea that I could actually do
this and make it in the league. Um, I didn't know for how
long, but you know, atat minimum I could I could hang on
a little bit and get some playingtime. So I was thrilled and I
loved Lenny. Lenny was a greatcoach, Hall of fame coach, very

(30:23):
quiet, very reserved, but youknow, very much into the details of
the game, and we only hada handful of plays. He was I
think he enjoyed keeping things simple interms of the menu, but making sure

(30:45):
that we executed really well. Youknow, the few things that we did
run and we had a great teamLarry Announce for Adherty Mark Price, and
that it was kind of a themeof my career. I kept getting lucky
and going to great teams. Andit's a lot easier to find a role

(31:07):
on great teams than on bad ones. Bad ones, there's there's no such
thing as a role player on abad team, you know, But on
a great team, you get toget a chance to help a team win.
You can carve out a role andit's it's it's just so much fun.
How much have you taken that intowhat you do now today? Also
the idea of understanding where you canmake a role player fit into your rotation.

(31:32):
And the reason that I that Iasked that is, you know,
um, I think the one thingthat I've so admired watching from Afar you
you coach the Warriors, is youknow, you get the accolades for you
know, uh, you see StephCurry out there and you know the three
point percentage that he's got or wesee you know what Kevin Durant's been able

(31:52):
to do, and how I thinkyou've gotten a lot of credit for the
chemistry, uh, you know andmaking guys fit into the role. But
what I found interesting is how youimplement rookies and try to get them minutes
during the year, and you know, guys like Quinn Cook who have shown
significant talent, you know, inthe G League all of a sudden,

(32:13):
you know, and certainly a dukelike You're finding a place to get them
in. So how much of yourown career, I guess did you do
you then look at role players sortof differently and trying to find a way
to build their confidence. Yeah,A lot of that is my experience.
You know, I played fifteen years, and only maybe seven or eight of
the years was I in the rotationof teams I played on. In the

(32:37):
other seven or eight, I waskind of, you know, eleven twelfth
man, and you know, whenyou're the twelfth man and you never get
in, you don't even feel likeyou're on the team sometimes. And I
thought I learned a valuable lesson fromPhil Jackson in Chicago when he would just
play everybody. And it's easier todo obviously, when you've got great talent

(33:00):
and you can afford to gamble andand maybe even lose a few games along
the way by playing everybody and givingguys an opportunity but Phil used to do
that routinely, and there's a realstrength, uh in chemistry that comes from
that. Everybody feels more invested,everybody feels more part of it, and

(33:22):
you can get to that point um, the group seems stronger and you build
a lot of momentum. So it'ssomething I try to do. So then
when you hit the game winner againstthe Jazz, and there's the video of
you saying that you'll be ready ifStockton comes off of Jordan, Um,

(33:42):
that's that's something then that that's builtup in terms of confidence over over the
course of a season. Yeah,I think, you know, at that
point I was, I was inthe rotation with with the Bulls, I
was playing every night, and youknow, it was I think hitting a
big shot is for some people.For some guys it's natural, you know,

(34:07):
for others you kind of have tolearn how to do it. I
had to learn how to let go. And I think the biggest thing with
with a big shot you have toaccept the fact that you might fail,
you know, And that's a hardthing if you're a perfectionist us a hard
thing to come to grips with.But it's the only way to approach it.

(34:29):
You know, you have to haveto have no fear of failure,
and so it took me a whileto really feel comfortable in those situations.
And playing with the Bulls gave mea lot of experience and you know,
playing in big games and getting plentyof opportunities to make a big play.

(34:49):
As far as Jordan Is is concerned, Uh, I've heard you talk about
the idea that it was once heunderstood the team concept that sort of everything
changed for him. What do youmean by that, Well, this this
was not my own observation. Thiswas this was the what the Bulls players

(35:16):
who had been there before me toldme. They told me a story about
the Finals in ninety one, theirfirst title, when they beat beat the
Lakers. And you know, earlyin Michael's career, he was just putting
up these monster numbers. I thinkhe averaged thirty six a game one year,

(35:37):
but you know, they weren't gettingover the hump. And I think
Phil Jackson's whole philosophy was to gethim to trust his teammates, and I
think during that finals, the storythat went around the Bulls in later years
was that that Michael was getting doneteamed and during the I think the deciding

(36:05):
game, and Phil call the timeout and said who's open and uh,
and Michael wouldn't respond at first,and Phil asked again, who's open?
And uh. You know, Michaelknows the game as well as anybody.
Finally he just said Paxson. AndPhil said, will throw him the damn
ball then, and he can goback to the box score. I'll bet

(36:27):
you Packson had like fifteen points inthe fourth quarter. I remember watching the
game, but a lot of peoplewith the Bulls were who were there.
I didn't come until the next year, but a lot of people were that
team told me later on they justsaid that. You know, that was
the moment where it all clicked,where he realized, all right, I
gotta trust everybody, trust my teammates, and if I do it, you

(36:51):
know, it makes us even morepowerful. A lot was made this past
NBA season that of sort of thosesame ideas as you pushing that onto to
Kevin Durant for that same idea,a guy that's just so dominant and could
score basically any time he sets hismind to it, finding others would you

(37:13):
say that's fair, that's there's acomparison there. Ah, I don't know.
I'm not sure that I'm not sureif that's if I would compare it.
Um. I know I did tellKevin that story about Michael, And
you know, I think there aretimes when every great player, great offensive

(37:37):
player, is trying to be tooaggressive and needs to to kind of distribute
and lighten the pressure on himself.So but every players unique to himself,
and and Kevin can get any shothe wants any time because of his size
and any but he's naturally so unselfishthat he doesn't really have any desire to

(38:05):
shoot every time and take over.You know he will, but I think
he's he's more comfortable when everybody's justkind of in the flow and doing their
thing. In terms of that stickingwith that Bulls team. UM. The
one thing about Michael Jordan and thestories you know, we've heard again,

(38:25):
there's so many iconic stories that you'reinvolved with, the the fight with Michael
Jordan, um, that you hadduring during practice. But to me,
look what stands out within all thatis this idea of his just intense competitiveness,
how much of his desire to winall the time also came within the

(38:54):
idea of helping the team win andmaking you guys get better. Oh,
that was the entire purpose. Ithink there's no question that was his way
of motivating the group, you know. And and Michael always felt that if
you couldn't handle the pressure in practice, um, that you weren't gonna be

(39:15):
able to handle the pressure in aplayoff game. And he was right.
And so he he personally put pressureon everybody, um, day and day
out. And the way he approachedpractice was unlike anything I've ever seen from
anyone else, you know, itwas the level of competition was just off

(39:37):
the charts because he set that thattone and outsider um, trying to win
every single drill, every single moment, um, yelling, screaming, you
know, getting on people, um, just lifting the entire bar. And

(40:00):
so you had to be ready forsure. Also on that team, of
course, Dennis Rodman ends up playinga role and his skill set was so
unique, um and so interesting.How what did you learn from Phil Jackson
in terms of dealing with a personalitylike a Dennis Rodman. Well, Phil

(40:22):
was great about giving everyone space andrecognizing that everybody was different, everybody needed
to be treated differently. You know, you just can't have a set of
rules and and say all right,this is this is you know, this
is it my way or the highwaytype thing. You've got to understand people.

(40:45):
You've got to find a pretty uniquebalance between discipline and sort of freedom.
And and I think he handled Dennisperfectly. And Michael and Phil were
really kind of a pair. Youknow, they led the team as a
duo and so they worked off eachother, and Dennis had so much respect

(41:07):
for both of them that he wasnever really a problem. You know,
he was a lot of that stuffwasn't act anyway. He was pretty quiet
off the court and guys really likedhim, and you know, he just
he put on the show when themedia came around. But but he was

(41:28):
he was exactly what we needed becausewe were we were a very skilled team.
But when he arrived, we hadthat toughness and defensive tenacity that similar
to what Draymond Green does for uswith the Warriors. Dennis was just a
monster like Draymond is. Yeah,I was actually going to ask you about

(41:50):
how you see the similarities with thetwo as far as as basketball players go
on the court, and especially interms of their defensive abilities, because I
think people talk about Robin's rebounding,but I think they forget especially during the
Pistons years too. I mean,he guarded every position on the floor.
So you've you've certainly noticed those thosesimilarities. That's been something that you've thought

(42:15):
about as a coach as as theyears have gone through. Oh yeah,
yeah, very similar The game ismuch different now, you know, the
rules are different. There aren't manylow post aircraft carrier guys who dominated games
like Shack and Tim Duncan and PatrickEwing and Hakim. Those guys don't really

(42:37):
exist anymore. So it's almost alldefensive versatility. You know, guarding sixty
seven wings and then guarding six footpoint guards and then you know switching back
and forth between all that stuff,and Draymond does that better than anybody in
the league. There wasn't a lotof switching back then. But that team,

(43:01):
that Bulls team, I think wasa little ahead of its time because
the versatility that between Michael Scottie,Dennis Rod and Ron Harper Tony kuk a
team would have been phenomenal in today'sgame. They would have switched everything and
just been incredibly dominant. And Draymondand Dennis basically feel that that same type

(43:24):
role. When I talk to NBAplayers, they they always bring up the
point they feel like fans miss,and that is great organizations function differently from
the top to the bottom than thanorganizations that that struggle, and it's it's
consistent. And so when you lookat a you know, when you go

(43:44):
to a Spurs practice, or youknow at their workout facility or what have
you, things just just run differently. What was it about the Bulls that
during that run other than Phil andMichael that that was that was the reason
that there was so much success thereat that time. Well, Jerry Krouse
built a great roster around Michael Um. You know, Scottie Pippen was acquired

(44:08):
on a draft day trade with HoraceGrant. You had multiple role players who
came in over the years who canreally played a big, big role in
the success of the team. Butthe important thing to know really is that

(44:29):
everything, even the best organizations,everything is built around that transcendent superstar player.
And when I say transcended, Imean he transcends not you know,
the game itself and as a culturesetter, and the coach obviously helps.

(44:52):
But if you don't have you know, Michael Jordan. If you don't have
Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, ifyou don't have Scottie Hip and you know
Tim duncan Um, it doesn't matterif you read our back Greg, you
know Greg top of it. Imean, you just it doesn't work.
You have to have talent. Butbut that talent has to build from the

(45:15):
inside the culture that leads to winning. And that was the main thing.
I mean, Michael retired and everybodyleft, and the Bulls didn't get to
the playoffs for another ten years orsomething. So the good organizations add the
right pieces and treat the players welland put them in a position to succeed.

(45:35):
But it's it's the great players Ithink who make great organizations in regards
to that greatness. I mean,now the talk with you know, people
want to say that Lebron James isa better player than than Michael Jordan was,
and what have you not worried aboutgetting into that, and you know,
unless you want to answer for people. But I but my bigger thing
is I'm curious, is there astory that you can share the shed's light

(46:00):
on just how great Michael Jordan wasas someone who played alongside him. Oh,
gosh. I mean it was everysingle night that that you witnessed his
greatness. He had such a dominantpresence on the floor, even in a

(46:22):
league filled with superstar players and youknow, the world's best athletes. He
was so much the alpha in thegym, and I think teams were scared
of him. I think referees wereafraid of him. I think everybody was
afraid of him. And he wasso good every single night. He never

(46:43):
took a night off. He knewthat people were coming from from all over
the world to my tickets to seehim play. He took that very seriously
and he'd put on a show nightafter night. The skill level his shooting,
his footwork was was just amazing.And the physical dominance in an era

(47:06):
when you could you could be veryphysical. Uh, Michael played through all
that stuff and uh and just absolutelydestroyed people and owned the league for you
know a decade, well they decadethat followed. You end up with the
Spurs and you know, as youmentioned Greg Popovic and you're with Tim Duncan,

(47:27):
who who might have been the bestplayer for his era? Um,
what about Tim Duncan's greatness that stoodout to you? Um, just the
consistency, and he humility. Youknow, he loves loved the game.
He still loves it. You know, he would still be playing if his
body would allow him to do so. He absolutely loved practice, loved the

(47:55):
camaraderie, never never tutored his ownhorn ever, really wanted much to do
with commercials or endorsements or anything likethat, and had the ultimate respect from
his teammates as a result of theway he conducted himself every day. And

(48:15):
Steph Curry reminds me a lot ofTim. You know, Steph's more playful
and more joyful. He expresses hisjoy more so than Tim, but very
similar combination of humility and and andlove for the game and confidence in his

(48:36):
in himself, and it's a greatpowerful combination. It's really interesting when when
your career came to a close,how much thought was put into going into
coaching as opposed to what you endedup doing broadcasting and then eventually becoming a

(48:57):
GM. I think I knew Iwanted to coach at some point, but
my kids when I retired in twothousand and three, my kids who were
like nine and I'm seven and fouror something like that, So you know,
I really didn't feel like I wantedto be a way for that long.

(49:20):
I was. I was ready todo something that allowed me to stay
home a lot more and and TVwas perfect. You know. TNT gave
me the opportunity right away to todo to do games once a week with
Marv Albert, and that was anincredible opportunity, so much fun and absolutely

(49:42):
loved that that time in my lifebecause I was I was home a lot,
but still able to stay in thegame and travel just enough but not
too much, and and be partof everything. How much were you able
to learn about the game watching asa broadcaster. I think the best part

(50:07):
being a broadcaster in terms of helpingme prepare to coach, was was the
brief visit we would have before everygame with the opposing coaches. So,
you know, you do a game, you sit down with each coach for
five to ten minutes just to justto get some inside scoop to help you

(50:27):
with the broadcast. I learned somuch in those meetings. Some coaches were
more revealing than others, but theywere all really gracious with their time,
and it was you know, that'swhere you really kind of got a look
behind the curtain. So to speak. And and I started taking notes um

(50:51):
pretty early on in my broadcasting dayswith an eye on coaching, and I
started keeping files on you know,things I liked, things I didn't like,
things that I wanted to employ ifI coached, and I had an
eye on it. I just wantedto wait for the right time. Well,

(51:12):
the one thing about after you broadcastingcareer comes to a close, you
end up with the Suns and that'swhere your association with Rick Welts comes into
play, and you know, justgets into the Hall of Fame and you've
been talking about how great that isand wrote about him. What kind of
impacts as Rick Welts had on youand on on the NBA. Yeah,

(51:37):
working with Rick was one of thebest parts of my tenure in Phoenix.
I was there three years as GMand Rick was team president, so we
worked pretty closely together. And he'sjust one of those guys you just want
to be around. He's got thisgreat energy and uh and still a sense
of camaraderie and the group and ybodyin the organization loved him. And when

(52:04):
he went to Golden State from Phoenix, I went back to TV after those
three years of Phoenix and when hewent to Golden State, you know,
a couple of years later, Iknew they were on the right track because
they were hiring really good people acrossthe board, and so it made this

(52:24):
Warrior's job that much more enticing whenit did open up. As far as
the Warriors are concerned, obviously,there was a lot of talk about what
your decision was going to be.And you know, whether you go to
Golden State, there's where are yougoing to go to the Knicks? What
was it about the Warriors and theirfuture? I mean, we see it

(52:46):
now and it seems obvious, butbut at that time, what was it
about the organization that had you sointerested? Well, some of it is
obvious. I mean, you know, all you had to do was watch
some play It's very rare at afifty win team opens up in terms of
the head coaching position. And Ihad watched them, you know, Steph

(53:09):
Curry, Clay Thompson, I'd watchedthese guys lighted up in the playoffs,
and they were young, and theylooked like they were just getting ready to
win big. So that was thatwas the obvious part. You know,
talent as everything as a coach,and so that was the easy part,
but they maybe the part that wasn'tas obvious to everybody. But what was

(53:34):
important to me was every time Iwent to Golden State as a player,
uh, I could feel as greatenergy in the crowd and as a broadcaster,
U, the crowd at Oracle overthe years just blew me away,
the energy, the passion for thegame, um And. And this was

(53:58):
at a time when the Warriors werepretty lousy, you know, but you'd
come in as an opponent and you'dfeel this this electricity in the building,
and you know, that's that's soimportant to play in front of fans who
love the game like that. Itadds so much to what you're trying to
accomplish. And so that was abig factor. Um And, not to

(54:22):
mention living in the Bay Area andstaying in California, but I've always loved
the Bay I always loved playing againstthe Warriors and doing their games here as
a broadcaster, and so this waspretty much a no brainer when it all
came down to him. One ofthe things that's always stood out to me

(54:43):
about about you as as a asa coach and as a player is that
you've been able to seemingly take somebig moments, um. And Uh,
Matt Mubachu. We mentioned earlier youyour former college team. Uh, he's
mentioned you've been able to take bigmoments and make them feel not big.

(55:04):
And he told me a story aboutyour team being down three one to the
thunder famously having your your comeback inthat series. But you're driving to the
arena down three one, and youcall him to tell him some random golf
story. And and Matt, Mattcalled me after this and says, you
won't believe this. I just gotoff the phone with Kerr and he you

(55:29):
know how much pressure he's under,and he's calling me to tell me about
some golf story. So I wasjust curious to ask, you know,
how do you do that? Howdo you take these moments that to the
rest of the world feel just monumentaland at least somehow fake it if nothing
else. Uh, you know,it's a good question. I don't really

(55:51):
know. I think it's um maybeperspective. Yeah, you know, we
all want to win like crazy,and you know, moments seem seem huge
and all that, but um,you just you know, it's a game
in the end, and you playbetter if you're loose. And relaxed,

(56:15):
and UM, I think I thinkyou have to You have to be that
way. You got to feel thatway in order for your team to feel
that and for them to be looseand relaxed. Um, I need to
feel that atmosphere with the team,and so we'd try to not take not
let things, you know, getget too serious and too feel, too

(56:37):
critical and all that stuff. SoI don't know, I mean, it's
just feels right. It makes itmakes sense. Um, you've talked about
the how that the part of thefun for you and coaching is, you
know, melding all these different personalitiestogether. And it's interesting to me because
you know, Phil Jackson famously didthat with the Bulls, and then Greg

(56:59):
popa itch famously from almost an internationalperspective did that with with the Spurs,
and uh, Sean Elliott had toldme on a podcast long ago that you
know, Popovich was great at takingguys out to dinner and and uh,
you know, telling them about thescargo and the wine and all that.
Uh. What is it that you'vedone to you know, try to bring

(57:22):
all these really fascinating, interesting personalitiestogether on the Warriors. Uh. You
know that both Phil and Pop impactedbe in a big way in that regard.
Just trying to change the subject awayfrom basketball sometimes, you know,
bring in interesting guest speakers. Uh, maybe taking the team to a movie.

(57:45):
Maybe, uh, you know,having a pinklong tournament, or you
know, doing something totally random anddifferent. And I think just the conversation
every day. Um, you talkup with a group, but you also
get to know the individuals and youcommunicate with them daily. You get to

(58:08):
know their families, you get toknow what they what they love, what
they're interested in. And I thinkkeeping it different it is one of the
keys. It's it's what makes Popand Phil pretty unique and different. And
you know, I think we allhave to be authentic to ourselves. But

(58:29):
I think that the NBA season issuch a grind and such a long call
that you've you've got to you've gotto change things up and and you know,
keep it interesting if you can.As far as this current roster is
concerned, I mean, obviously everyoneknows Steph Curry and Clay Thompson just the
records they broke in and their successis as shooters. Kevin Durant, you

(58:52):
know, one of the best shootersin league history. Never mind for a
guy that's you know over you know, six eight, I mean anyone at
that size. I mean certainly thatthe list is very short. I mean
it's Larry Bird, it's you know, Dirk and and UH and KD.
You have some of the greatest shootersof all time on your roster. Um

(59:15):
in what ways have you been ableto relate as a guy that is also
one of the best shooters in NBAhistory? And what ways have you been
able to connect with those guys aboutjust the art of shooting, the craft
of shooting, the mindset. Whatways have you guys been able to have
that connection? You know, there'sall there's almost none of that, to

(59:36):
be honest with you, because Ithink and I was sort of a marginal
player. These guys are all superstars. I think it's very different. I
connect much better with with the reservebecause I can um, I can remember
what it's like to be a reserve. I'll never know what it's like to

(59:57):
be a superstar, to have thatkind of pressure. The shooting part,
that's you know. I don't evertalk to uh, Steph or Clay or
Katie about their their form. Imean, they're such great shooters already.
I maybe once a year I mightmention something to one of them about it,
maybe a little tip if if Isee something, But they're they're all

(01:00:19):
such great players, such great shooters. Um, I don't really have to
say much of anything. And Idefinitely don't mention my own career because nowhere
close to theirs. The How aboutthe role that Bruce Frasier plays, I
know, you know, former Arizonateammate of years, he goes by q
um and people see him as theas the gray hair man with the with

(01:00:45):
the beard, you know, workingwith Steph and Clay Pregame and um giving
them passes. From what I've understoodthat he's he's played a big role just
in terms of, you know,keeping those guys in a great mental state.
Yeah, he's done a great job. Most interesting man in the world.

(01:01:05):
We call him kind of kind oflooks like the Jill Seki's guy,
but uh, yeah, he's uh, he works closely with Steph and Kadi.
Um. You know, he's alittle bit of a horse whisperer,
you how he's uh, he keepsguys loose and keeps them ready. Um,
he's worked pretty closely with Steve Nashover the years and developed some some

(01:01:31):
routines and and workouts that Steve usedwhen he was playing. Steve's a consultant
of ours and so um, there'sbeen a lot of a lot of really
good stuff that's sort of translated fromSteve through Q to to Steph and Kadi
and UM it's fun to watch themall work together. Steve will come up

(01:01:52):
occasionally and work with our guys too, and and Q has been great.
He's uh, he's just got awaywith people and a way of keeping things
fun and loose and just enjoying thewhole process. Can you take me through
the day when you found out thatyou guys were signing to Marcus Cousins.

(01:02:17):
Yeah. I was actually in SanDiego, where our kind of our home
bases, our family home base,and we spend a couple months in the
summer there, and I was drivingup to LA to meet Bob Meyers,
our GM. We were going tomeet with a free agent in LA and

(01:02:37):
Bob called me on the drive upand he said, did well slight change
and plans. We're still going tomeet with the free agent, but after
that we're going to talk to deMarcus Cousins agent because he wants to come
and play for us, and Iwas excuse me, it was totally out

(01:03:00):
of the blue. I mean,you know, we we only had are
the mini mid level exception five anda half million, and you know,
he was a twenty million dollar playerlast year, so we didn't see that
one coming. But it all workedout, and we've spent the whole day
calling our our players, our keyplayers, you know, asking their opinion,

(01:03:24):
talking about talking to de Marcus,you know, asking him questions how
he thought he'd fit in, kindof going back and forth between his agent
him. He wasn't there in La, so we were getting to Marcus on
the phone. It was all reallyreally a quick transaction. And I think

(01:03:49):
it's gonna be great. I thinkhe's going to really make this season a
lot more interesting for us, andit's going to be it's gonna be a
challenge that our guys are going tobe ready for. It'll keep things interesting
and challenging all at once. Butyou know, he's an incredibly talented player,
so we're excited to coach him.It seemed like the craziest thing for

(01:04:11):
everyone involved in the NBA world,but as media members fans, we are
all watching this thing saying I can'tbelieve this, but I think back to
your time with the Bulls and PhilJackson was able to implement you know,
these these different again, these thesepersonalities that came in from the outside when
people were shocked that the Bulls wouldgrab them. I mean people think of

(01:04:32):
Dennis Rodman, but also Tony kuCoach. I mean, after everything that
had gone down with you know,Jordan and Pippin with Coo Coach at the
Olympics, to then bring him intothe fold, how much of that do
you think that you've drawn on alreadyor even thought about as as you're trying
to incorporate DeMarcus into what you're doingon a daily basis. Well, the

(01:04:54):
thing in the NBA is if youhave to have the foundation um in place
already to be able to bring inyou know, different different guys who you
know who maybe maybe if if youknow you didn't have the foundation, you'd
be worried about the chemistry or thatkind of thing. But when you have

(01:05:17):
the core that we do and thestrength of the foundation with Raymond and andre
Igodala and Steph and Katie and playSean Livingston when you have all that,
the strength of the foundation is goingto handle whatever comes our way. And

(01:05:38):
and I think DeMarcus is in aposition where, you know, he needs
to help him rebuild his career afterthe injury. We need him to help
us win another title, um,because it's hard to win three in a
row and it's going to be along season and we need each other.
And that's a good, good situationto be him. I know you need
to get come, but be remissif I didn't, you know, ask

(01:06:01):
you about um, your takes politically, but what But what I'm most curious
on that front is just sort ofabout what you were talking about about.
You know, these different people andthese these strong personalities and sort of this
family that you've created. What isit that you think the rest of the
country could learn right now about whatgoes on inside a successful NBA locker room.

(01:06:29):
Uh, that's uh, I don'tknow, that's a that's a pretty
ambitious metaphor. FAA we got,yeah, we got, we got,
we got. We got big problemsin this country. But I do think
that it's worth talking about, youknow, why basketball is important, you

(01:06:50):
know, and and sports in general. Um, I've had a lot of
people come up to me and sayhow much fun they have watching us play,
and they're so much joy and passionand energy, and how great it
is at this time in our country'sexistence. You know, just how much

(01:07:11):
anger there is out there, justhow great it is to be able to
to sit down and watch the Warriorsplay, and that that means a lot
to me. You know, Ithink, I think, you know,
sports in general are a great diversion, and hopefully we can be role models
for some kids and an example ofhow to how to get along and how
to compete and how to you know, play fair and all that stuff.

(01:07:34):
But I'm not that naive to thinkit's going to translate to politics. But
if we can make people happy,then that's the main thing. Well,
I do appreciate that you've been willingto speak out on social injustices, and
I think it's been a huge example. I have, um, a fourteen
year old, a twelve year old, two daughters and then a one and

(01:07:57):
a half year old son, andI and my daughters, you know,
um, they know at this pointthey're they're not even big basketball fans,
even though you know that's been disappointingfor me, but they but they know
about the impact that Steve Kerr hasmade socially and the things that you speak
out about, and it's it takescourage and I just want to thank you
for for being willing to to speakout when you know that the response might

(01:08:23):
not always be positive. So sothank you for that. Oh, I
appreciate it. Um, yeah,it's the times they're calling for it for
sure. Um, They're just we'rein a weird place right now as a
country, and it's scary. SoI think people need to need to speak
out. And you know, Ithink dignity matters. I think respect matters,

(01:08:46):
and I think there's not not enoughof it right now. Yeah,
and it's it's it's odd for meto watch this country is you know,
playing basketball in my whole life andbeing involved in basketball and you know,
the the idea of the friendships andthe relationships that you build in connections,
but also just dealing with people ofdifferent backgrounds has always been something that's meant

(01:09:09):
so much to me. And obviouslyit's something that you recognize and personify and
I really appreciate it. It It'smeant a lot, not just again it
may be ambitious but I do thinkit's it's made a difference. So I
thank you for that and thank youfor your time today, coach, and
I wish you a ton of successon the season. Really appreciate it.

(01:09:29):
Take care again. Huge thanks toSteve Kerr. Unbelievable to think that in
four years the success that he's hadwith the Warriors, but I guess when
you think about his history, sortof all makes sense. All the people
he learned from and just the kindof person that he is. Huge thanks
to Coach Steve Kerr. I wantto remind people that if you enjoy this

(01:09:50):
podcast, please rate and review uson iTunes and subscribe. You don't want
to miss some of the guests wehave coming up. Steve Kerr obviously was
unbelievable, you had Dick by Teal, Bob Huggins, check out the old
ones, and you're gonna want tomake sure you subscribe so you don't miss
any of the ones coming up.If you do not have an iPhone,
you can always check us out onspreaker, and of course you should check

(01:10:10):
out our website forty yearcoach dot comto learn more about what we are doing.
Special thanks also to Mark Eisenberg.I want to thank Sydney Smith and
I want to thank Ari Kay forediting the podcast. Also want to thank
Matt Mulebach for setting this interview up. Appreciate you, Matt. I'm Adam
Stanko. You can catch me onTwitter at Nay Smith Liz, and you

(01:10:31):
can catch this podcast on Twitter atforty year Coach. Thanks for listening, mis