This year, Steve Kerr did his best to contain a variety of outlandish characters on the Golden State Warriors. It’s safe to say he failed because the squad lost in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
Guard Jordan Poole was one person who frequently found himself at the center of Warriors turmoil.
When explaining why he loved the Miami Heat so much on Draymond Green’s podcast this past week, Kerr looked to be taking a very direct low-key swipe at Poole.
“None of those guys on Miami are sitting there saying, ‘Well, I didn’t play,’ or ‘Man, they put in so-and-so.’ They’re just all about winning,” Kerr said.
“And you know this from our groups that we’ve had, when you have that championship mentality, every guy is bought in, every guy is just trying to win, nobody — nobody cares about any of that stuff.”
Steve Kerr didn’t end it there, he continued saying:
“You don’t go in the locker room saying, ‘Well, I should have played more.’ You just wanna win. And that’s the beauty of finding that magic when you have a championship team, is that everybody is bought in, and it makes the decision for the coach really simple. You just go with your gut, and go with whoever’s playing well.”
Poole struggled over the most of this year’s playoffs, which contributed to a decrease in his playing time. Throughout the postseason, he frequently voiced his dissatisfaction over this in public.
Late in the season, Poole and his teammates experienced a number of difficult exchanges as a result of his attitude, including one with Stephen Curry that was especially embarrassing.
It will be fascinating to see what kind of mentality Poole returns with for the upcoming season after Kerr took such harsh public blows at him recently.
He could either work hard and improve, or he could get much worse.
When the 2023–24 NBA season rolls around, Kerr will have to contend with what version of Poole? In either case, a solution will be found soon enough.
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