Steve Kerr was first brought into the collective consciousness as a potential NBA head coach by Phil Jackson, who had his eyes set on Kerr as the new Knicks head coach due, primarily, to his familiarity with the triangle offense.
Kerr eventually landed with the Warriors -- a better fit for him personally due to his family residing in California, and a better roster to coach that’s more suited to winning in the immediate future.
But the triangle offense part hasn’t changed.
The Warriors will be running it at least partly under Kerr, which helps explain why Luke Walton, who played seven of his eight full Lakers seasons under Jackson, was added as an assistant coach.
From CSNBayArea.com:When asked what Kerr is expecting him to bring to the table, Walton cited several things.
“Being a younger, former player, being able to still get out there and mix it up with the guys when need be,” he explained. “We are gonna run parts of the triangle offense and I know that thing front and back so he’s counting on me to be able to help out a lot in that area.”
For the majority of his career with the Lakers, Walton played under Phil Jackson’s “triangle offense.”
Steve Kerr is also well versed with the triangle from his playing days under Jackson in Chicago.
The triangle offense is much-maligned by the non-believers -- those who like to say it only worked for Jackson because of the powerhouse level of personnel he had running it on his championship teams.
That’s true to a certain extent, but the reasons it hasn’t been successful elsewhere largely have to do with the lack of a coaching staff experienced enough in it to properly teach the offense from scratch. Kerr hopes to change that with the Warriors, and adding Walton to the fold is certain to help in getting some of the principles of the triangle in place by the time next season begins.
