Steve Kerr 'Can't Wait' To Coach Warriors' New Signing

A number of eyebrows were raised when Golden State Warriors signed D’Angelo Russell from Brooklyn Nets as part of the deal that saw Kevin Durant move in the opposite direction and Andre Iguodala got traded to the Memphis Grizzlies. It was written off as a move just to lower the impact of their two-time NBA Finals MVP leaving in free agency.

Russell was considered a short-term trade acquisition and many NBA experts are predicting a quick exit for the young point guard. They expect the Warriors to put the player up for trade before the 2019-20 season concludes but Steve Kerr seems to suggest otherwise.

The three-time NBA championship-winning coach has indicated that Russell could have a long-term future with the team after praising the 23-year-old's abilities and revealing that he “can’t wait to coach him”. He admits that they will have to change their style of play and run more pick-and-roll plays while also being curious as to how Russell will mesh with the team’s de-facto leader Stephen Curry.

“[He’s a dynamic] player in the pick and roll, excellent shooter and I like his in-between game,” Kerr told Monte Poole on Wednesday’s episode of The Warriors Insider Podcast, as quoted on Fadeaway World. “He makes a lot of plays out of the pick-and-roll. Those float shots are tough to master, and he makes those pretty routinely. So, we can do a lot of things with D’Angelo on and off the ball.”

“I’m anxious to get started with him and see how he’s going to play with Steph,” Kerr said. “We’ll probably run more pick-and-roll than we have in the past, given our change in personnel. But, I’m really excited to have him on board and can’t wait to coach him.”

The Warriors have gone from title favorites to now many putting them in the pool of teams that could miss the playoffs, but apart from Iguodala, Kerr’s team still has all the players who helped them win the 2015 NBA championship. They will be without Klay Thompson until the All-Star break owing to an ACL injury but will have Russell to back Curry in the backcourt.