Steve Kerr, normally measured and tactical with his words to the media, seemed uncharacteristically uncorked on Tuesday night when he publicly ripped one of his players, second-year guard Brandin Podziemski.
"He needs to be a smart player," Kerr said to the media. "He's one of our guys that's capable of making really good decisions. He had a lob when we were up [10] in the late second quarter that was frankly insane."
The next day in a radio interview with Willard & Dibs on 95.7 The Game, he continued to speak acerbically about Podziemski, saying, "He's lost a little focus on what actually wins [games]." Podziemski admitted after the game Kerr at one point threatened to bench him mid-game, of which he said, "I'm all for, I'm trying to get better."
Also on the phone interview with local radio, Kerr explained why he decided to be so public with his critiques of the second-year guard:
"Everything I said has already been said to Brandin. The reason I said it to the media is it puts a little pressure on him. I never say anything that I didn't think about first. That didn't just come you know, out of anger for the loss. That came because he needs to get the message. [That] message is a really important one because he's such a good player, he's such an important player for us."
Steve Kerr kept it 💯 while discussing the comments he made to the media about Brandin Podziemski following loss to the Nuggets pic.twitter.com/L7m8kMPCXh
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) December 5, 2024
Podziemski has been launched into a high-pressure role due to some early-season injuries the Warriors are up against. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green have both missed some time and are getting older, which Kerr acknowledged as a reason why the Warriors are asking Podziemski to, "speed up the process."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Steve Kerr Explains Why He Publicly Ripped Brandin Podziemski.
