[Friedell] “The Draymond/Jordan thing,” Kerr explained. “In the old days, I mean it happened to me. Michael Jordan punched me in practice. It’s the exact same episode. Nobody found out about it until years later.”
Internally, Kerr’s culture has also been tested. The most notable example was when Green punched former teammate Jordan Poole during a training camp practice at the start of the 2022-23 season – an incident that hovered over the team for the entirety of that season, testing the ideals that Kerr always wants his players to feel within the confines of the team.
“The Draymond/Jordan thing,” Kerr explained. “In the old days, I mean it happened to me. Michael Jordan punched me in practice. It’s the exact same episode. Nobody found out about it until years later.”
That balance extends beyond basketball. Kerr has supported his players to find a way to stay connected to family while navigating demanding schedules like Jimmy Butler asking to travel separately at times from the team to spend time with his kids.
“I think every coach has a different way of approaching things based on his own personality, his own experiences, but the biggest thing is are your players connected? Are they feeling cared for? Are they enjoying coming to work every day?” Kerr said. “Because if all those things happen, they’re going to play really hard and try to do the right thing to win.”
Which is why, even with his Warriors’ future unsettled, Kerr’s long-term role may come down to the very culture he helped establish, and whether the future still aligns with the team’s path ahead.
“If you’re lucky enough to have Steph and Dray and the culture that exists, and then, you keep bringing in guys to join, and they’re all in on the culture, it just seems to become a force of its own,” Kerr said. “And I think you can’t ever take it for granted. You just can’t.”
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7181591/2026/04/14/steve-kerr-whats-next-warriors-future/