© Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Oh, Steve. That’s not a great look. The Warriors’ head coach made some, err, head-scratching comments on Monday according to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Drew Shiller.
The quote, regardless of the intention, pointed at the friction behind the scenes in that 2018-19 season in which the Warriors lost to the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals.
“That last year was tough,” Kerr said. “There was a lot going on; some that you know about and some that you don’t. That was very difficult.”
Kerr continued, explaining why he enjoyed last season.
“We had a great energy, great spirit, great camaraderie,” Kerr said. “Losing sucked. But what you want is a good vibe. You want to look forward to going to the gym every day and seeing everybody.”
Maybe Kerr’s intention was simply to highlight how much he enjoys coaching this current group of young players. But calling a season in which you finish with the NBA’s worst record by some margin, better than one in which you made the NBA Finals… it’s hard to see that as anything other than a shot at Kevin Durant.
Of course, Durant, the very active Twitter user, took quick notice of Kerr’s comments.
Durant responded, “This is hilarious.”
This is hilarious
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) March 22, 2021
This probably means Steve Kerr’s next press conference will be led off with at least a handful of questions about what he meant, and how on earth last season could have been more enjoyable than the one preceded it. Was it a slight at Durant? He seemed to think so, and it’s hard to blame him.