Steve Kerr spilled the beans amid the Dubs’ rare win. Generally, the Warriors coach has a calm and relaxed demeanor at the pressers, irrespective of the result of the game. However, tonight’s tight win over the Detroit Pistons brought out a touch of candidness from the 9x NBA Champ. Maybe the tough win amid the slump brought out this emotion. The star coach was so relaxed that he went on to critique himself on the recurring mistake that he kept committing over the years involving 3x NBA Champ, Kevon Looney.

The big man, who came off the bench for the majority of the season, played a significant role in tonight’s victory. In fact, it was an all-around effort from the Bay Area team. Gui Santos, who barely had any visibility this season, made a strong case tonight, dropping 13 points with 4 three-pointers. Similarly. Looney, the rebound machine, not only collected 8 rebounds but dropped 8 points with 4-6 FG and 2 steals in his 21 minutes.

Speaking of Looney’s efforts, Steve Kerr said, “This happens every year. I take Loon out of the lineup, bring him back, and then I’m like, why did I take Loon out of the lineup? You know, he’s a winner. So I just thought there were a lot of guys who really contributed tonight to what you’re talking about, defense to offense. The game connecting, you know, that’s why we had multiple runs.” 

Looney has been part of the Warriors fold since the 2015-16 season and has made significant contributions to all three rings. However, the big man never really found a spot in the team’s rotation in his career. 23.9 minutes per game during the 2022-23 season was his highest-ever game time, and it also went down in the next two seasons after the introduction of Trayce Jackson-Davis. So, it’s safe to say that Steve Kerr hasn’t tapped Looney’s full potential. Moreover, it’s not only with Looney but with a few others too.

Did Steve Kerr really mismanage the Warriors roster?

Well, the Warriors did have an underwhelming stretch this season. At the same time, Kerr’s player rotation policy cannot be directly reasoned behind the team’s failure. However, it has become a subject of debate this season. The Warriors did have a flying start with a 12-3 record. One of the talking points behind that achievement was the team’s 12-man rotation.

The Warriors bench particularly had an impressive run. Speaking of it, he said, “I’ve never played 12 before, but we’re going to do it. It’s not easy on anybody, but we just have to trust that, from one night to the next, we’re going to find guys and combinations that really work.” At that point, Kerr wasn’t clear about a fixed starting lineup as he kept experimenting until he said he would stick with De’Anthony Melton.

However, it didn’t last long as Melton suffered a season-ending injury and the team’s downfall literally began from there. Following that, Kerr has toyed around the team’s starting lineup with multiple combinations, but nothing seemed to work. One of the problematic parts of his decision was not picking Jonathan Kuminga as a starter. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.