How Warriors’ summer of discovery shaped franchise’s greatness originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Inasmuch as the Warriors not so long ago were a microscopic dot on the national sports landscape with a loyal but seemingly cursed fan base, their rise to global phenomenon and, the most valuable team in the NBA is the most stunning in recent American sports.
It was only 10 summers ago that the Warriors’ ascent went from slow and steady to swift and steep. All the way to the top, mostly because the essential members of the franchise were furious.
Golden State CEO Joe Lacob was exasperated with his coach, Mark Jackson, and replaced him with Steve Kerr in May 2014.
The players, led by Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala, initially were unenthusiastic about the coaching change, as Jackson had led Golden State to its best two-year run in 22 years. Moreover, they were unanimously outraged after losing in seven games to the Los Angeles Clippers in a turbulent first-round NBA playoff series.
“We fought so hard this whole series, this whole season,” Curry said after the Warriors were eliminated. “It stings.”
The intensity of that series – there was a postgame confrontation after Game 7 at Staples Center – lit a fuse that stayed with the Warriors all summer, into training camp, throughout the season and into the 2015 playoffs.
Curry already had blossomed into a star. Klay Thompson had become a potent two-way weapon. Draymond Green realized he was a legitimate impact player. Veterans Andrew Bogut and Iguodala were convinced the Warriors were ready to become championship contenders.
Kerr was hired 11 days after the Warriors were ousted. Two months after that, general manager Bob Myers signed free agent Shaun Livingston, giving the team a third productive guard behind Curry and Thompson. In mid-September, Myers heeded Kerr’s recommendation to sign free agent Leandro Barbosa as the fourth guard.
Kerr, a first-time coach, eased his transition by coaching Golden State’s Summer League squad in Las Vegas and by arranging one-on-one meetings with veterans, even going to Australia to visit Bogut.
“That was huge,”…
..
