Was Kerr Coaching Or Just Riding The Splash Bus?

I’m asking the uncomfortable Warriors question: is Steve Kerr still the right coach, or has the job outgrown the dynasty era. I dig into Kerr’s legacy, his player development track record, and the moments that make me wonder how much was coaching versus a loaded roster.

• Weighing Steve Kerr’s Warriors legacy through the lens of talent and timing 
• Arguing Kerr benefited from Mark Jackson’s early groundwork 
• Breaking down why roster context matters for championship narratives 
• Giving Kerr credit for role players and Jordan Poole’s rise 
• Questioning the development path for high-upside prospects like Jonathan Kuminga 
• Revisiting James Wiseman as a symbol of missed young-star outcomes 
• Criticizing Team USA rotation logic around Jayson Tatum 
• Comparing Kerr’s long-term proof to Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich 
• Debating whether the Warriors need a new voice to start a new era 

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Transcript

Intro And The Kerr Question

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What's up, everybody? It's your favorite show, it's favorite show, get a bucket. I'm your host, Train as usual. Hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. Look, we're gonna get right on into it. I'm talking about the Golden State Warriors. Should they look to fire Steve Kerr? Or should Steve Kerr want to be gone? Like, let's talk about it, shall we? Because again, we his legacy, we're gonna talk about. Some of my gripes, we're gonna talk about. And some of the coaching comps that he might be able to go up with, we're gonna talk about. Now, like I said, we're gonna talk about some of my gripes. Keep in mind his legacy, end of day. You could say he was lucky. Now, you need a little, you need a little luck in the game of basket. In all of sports, to be clear. But Buddy was like gift-wrapped. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, eventually Kevin Durant, Boogie Cousins, like Andre Iguidala, Sean Livingston, like bro, he had a treasure trove of players. He got fed the silver spoon, no gold spoon. That's even better. So he was given Mark Jackson's infrastructure. Like Mark Jackson did all the legwork at the beginning, the dirty work, the grunt work. Now, to be clear, Steve Kerr did still do his job and they won a championship, but it was also very tough to lose those championships. It took the NBA intervening in one of them for that to occur, plus some injuries. So again, ladies and gentlemen, the legacy for Steve Kerr could be viewed as lucky. Hell, if it won't for Steph Curry's 2022 postseason, you really would have, everybody would have been saying, oh, well, he hasn't won in a while, and all he and he only won when he had the best team or two of the three best players in the league. Because what has he done after the fact? Well, let's think about it. We could talk about it, and these are one of them, these are some of my gripes too. In terms of player development, I'm not gonna slander him too much on players like on a player like James Wiseman. James Wiseman was drafted number two, supposed to be their big up and coming, right? For whatever reason, he just hasn't panned out in the league. So I'm not gonna chastise Steve Kerr too, too much. But I do give him kudos on drafting a player like Jordan Poole and being able to utilize him. Jordan Poole probably would have still been on the team if won't for that Draymond Green situation. Moses Moody has been showing some promise. He was a late lottery pick, number 14 in 2021. Ryan Rollins has been hooping. He's been getting a bucket for the Milwaukee Bucks. But he was traded because of how Jordan Poole was playing. Pedensky, number 19 pick in 2023. He's playing, he was, he was having, he's had some good games. Trace Jackson Davis, no longer on the team, but drafted number 57 and was doing pretty well as a role player. Quentin Post, 52. He played the pose, no pun intended. Seven-footer, you can't teach height, but I like how Quentin Post has been developing. So the role players he's been working with. It's the players, the young players with a lot of potential that I question. And the reason why I question, because again, someone like Jonathan Kaminga, you mean telling me we couldn't have found a lot of P.T. or a decent amount of P.T. for Jonathan Kaminga? Because when I'm listening to his teammates like Steph, like Jimmy Butler, they speak relatively high of him. They don't talk bad about him. They want the best for him. So it seemed like there was an issue with him and Steve Kirk. And I thought you should have been able to coach up Jonathan Kaminga. At worst, give him enough, get him enough PT to where you could trade him and flip him for a better prospect. But we couldn't have got that done. And again, that's what helps. I bring up James Wiseman only because of Kaminga. Just focusing on Jonathan Kaminga, yes. Adding James Wiseman helps out. So again, in terms of young potentials, like the young stars, the young studs, that's not Steve Kerr's job. Hence why I'm saying Buddy is lucky because again, he he he he has Steph Curry. So he don't have to worry about the top pick. He eventually got players like a Jimmy Butler. You had Clay Thompson for a little second, Draymond Green been productive. You have these players already established. We're talking about the new era, and that's not Steve Kerr's role. And you can say, well, that's just a that's just a small sample size, even though we're dating this back to 2019. Again, he's a role player head coach for sure. But the young stars, eh? And let's think about when he was on Team USA. Some of his moves were illogical. Not playing Jason Tatum because, as he put it, we're going up against quick guards. Are we saying Jason Tatum can't guard quick guards? He was one of your leading rebounders. You mean telling me you can't utilize rebounding like that? I'm sorry. Are we not going up against Nicola Jokic? Are we like, do we not need extra bodies on the floor? It just doesn't make sense to me. It didn't. So again, ladies and gentlemen, Kurt, like Steve Kerr's legacy. Lucky. And honestly, I could say the same thing about another player. Like, like, let's say, for example, Phil Jackson, right? We know he had Michael Jordan. We know he had Scottie Pippen. We know the Bulls were on a tear. They were doing their thing. I wonder what the legacy of Phil Jackson would have been if he did not go to the Lakers and do what he did coaching wise. Would he have also been called lucky? Now, Greg Popovich isn't necessarily called lucky. Because he remained with that Spurs team for a long time and won multiple championships over like throughout different decades. Phil won like multiple three-peats over different decades. Well, I guess two in one decade and then another one. It was close. It was close to multiple decades. But they we yeah, we we we almost did our thing. We almost did our thing. He almost got two three-peats in two different decades. That's very tough. So that's about what we would need to see from Steve Kerr before we call him lucky as a final thing. So again, ladies and gentlemen, when we're looking at Steve Kerr and the Warriors, I do wonder: is it time for the Warriors to let go of Steve Kerr? Should Steve Kerr want to let go of the Warriors? Should Stephen Curry want to have a new head coach? I get it. That's been your coach for this long time. I understand that. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, sometimes you just need a new change. And maybe we're at that time period. I personally hope that Steve Kerr can go and showcase, hey, he can win without that star study organization that he had to begin with. Because if he can, all right, now we can put you on a different pedestal like we do with Phil Jackson. But if we can't, well, again, we're gonna have to question your entire career. So, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I'm gonna end it right there, and I'm curious, what do you all think Steve Kerr should do? And the Warriors. Should Steve Kerr want to return to the Warriors? Should the Warriors want Steve Kerr to return? Should that happen? Should Steph Curry want him to return? Because this might have been the last time we see Steve Kerr, Steph Curry, and Draymond Green on the same team. So that could have been this could be the end of an era. So I'm curious, ladies and gentlemen, do you think Steve Kerr is just a lucky head coach? Do you think he's a good head coach? Do you think the Warriors should keep him? Let me know your thoughts. But, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that does conclude the end of the episode. So please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Get a Bucket. I hope you are all having a good one. Take care.