Warriors never rebuilt trust after Green-Poole incident, Steve Kerr says - ESPN

SAN FRANCISCO — There are a handful of reasons why Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn't think his team was a championship team this season.

Their 11-30 road record, for one. The fact that they led the league in pace but were second-to-last in transition efficiency was another. Their inability to defend without fouling is why he thinks they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals.

But for Kerr, the biggest reason of all was a lack of trust.

«Anytime some trust is lost, then it makes the process much more difficult, and there was some trust lost,» Kerr said at his exit interview on Tuesday. «That's as blunt as I can be. We have to get back to what has made us really successful, which is a really trusting environment and a group that relies on one another and makes each other better.»

The moment the Warriors lost trust in each other dates all the way back to training camp, when Draymond Green punched Jordan Poole. Green spent a week away from the team, something that was said to be a mutual decision between Green and the organization, but he was back by opening night. The Warriors insisted the incident was behind them, but it was evident it wasn't.

The culture, joy and chemistry that had been the ethos of the Warriors' dynasty weren't there.

«There's no hiding from it — the incident with Draymond and Jordan at the beginning of the year played a role in that,» Kerr said. «It's hard for that not to impact a team.»

Kerr said he doesn't believe all of the trust and chemistry was gone, saying the team relied heavily on both to make it to the second round of the playoffs. But by the time the Lakers had them on the brink of elimination, it was clear they didn't have an identity to fall back on.