Steve Kerr has a new addition to his coaching staff.
On Monday, the Golden State Warriors announced former guard Leandro Barbosa would join Kerr’s staff as a player-mentor coach. After playing two years in Brazil since leaving the NBA, the former Sixth Man of the Year revealed he was retiring as a player to jump into coaching.
Following Barbosa’s transition, the Golden State Warriors head coach chimed in on social media. Kerr shared an article about Barbosa’s move from the court to the bench with the caption “LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!”
Via @SteveKerr on Twitter:
https://t.co/TuZM1rzhz1 LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
— Steve Kerr (@SteveKerr) September 14, 2020
During a conference call with Bay Area media, Barbosa spoke about his close relationship with Kerr.
I had a couple of text messages back and forth with Steve [Kerr]. I’ve always been talking to him. He’s been my coach when I was here. He also was my friend. We had a really close relationship when he was a GM for the Phoenix Suns, so every once in a while, we used to talk. And he mentioned to me what I want to do after I play. I always told him that I wanted to be an assistant coach, not a head coach, but, be able to talk to the players, kind of teach them. I think I’m kind of good at that, and he gave me the opportunity. And I talked to the family, my wife and she said ‘yes, let’s do it.’
Listen to Barbosa’s full conference call via Warriors SoundCloud:
Barbosa spent two of his 14 NBA seasons in the Bay Area with Kerr on the sidelines.
The veteran guard was a key piece off the bench in Golden State’s run to the NBA Finals in 2015. During the Warriors’ championship bid, Barbosa played in 66 games, averaging 7.1 points on 47.4% shooting from the field with 1.5 assists, 1.4 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per contest.
[lawrence-related id=31252,25506,31056,30933]
[vertical-gallery id=31000]