Steve Kerr doesn’t have the reputation of being a developmental coach.
Since taking the reigns with the Golden State Warriors, Kerr has refined some of the best talent of the current generation with little need to nurture blue-chip draft prospects. However, when speaking to the media on Sept. 29, Anthony Edwards revealed that a pre-draft workout with the Warriors changed how he approached his training regime.
Edwards recalled how Kerr pushed him to work harder during tryouts, questioning the budding superstar’s desire and hustle. Kerr and Edwards worked together during this year’s FIBA World Cup, at which the Timberwolves star was a featured part of Team USA’s offense.
“I thought I was working hard,” Edwards said at Timberwolves media day on Thursday. “When he came, I was going through drills and he kept stopping them, like, ‘That’s all you got? That’s all you got?’ And I’m like, ‘Bruh, I’m going hard as you want me to go. What you want me to do? I’m sweating crazy.’ .. .Me and my trainer riding home after dinner and we’re just talking like we got to pick it up. I don’t know how, I don’t know what we got to do, but we got to pick it up. After that. I became a madman at the gym.”
Edwards also recalled how Kerr informed him the Warriors wouldn’t take him with the No. 1 pick based on the effort he’d put in during the workout. Nevertheless, Edwards has developed into one of the most exciting prospects in the NBA and is expected to take another leap in the coming season.
Both Kerr and Edwards have spoken glowingly of each other in recent months, showing there is genuine respect between the two. Still, we can expect that respect to be paused when the Warriors and Timberwolves face off in the upcoming season.
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