Steve Kerr has benefitted tremendously from decisions the Timberwolves have made over the years, but Minnesota may have gotten an assist from the world champion head coach of the Golden State Warriors.
On a press tour ahead of Wednesday’s Netflix release of “Hustle,” 20-year-old Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards said it was a pre-draft workout in front of Kerr and the Warriors that changed his work ethic.
“I was working out for the Warriors pre-draft and Steve Kerr is there,” Edwards began during an interview, “and we working out and I’m doing this drill that they say that Steph [Curry] be doing. I’m running, touching the line, shoot … you gotta make it like five in a row and I couldn’t do it. I’m too tired. I’m like man, this is too much. But I’m not saying this, I’m just jogging.
“And after the workout, Steve comes to me and goes, ‘You can’t go any faster?’ I’m like, ‘I thought I was going pretty fast.’ He was like, ‘Nah, do it again.’ So I did it again. I’m going fast, I’m going fast and he stops me and like, ‘You can’t go faster than that?’ So at this point I’m like, this is very bad. So now I’m trying to sprint and now I’m looking all crazy and missing left, missing right.
“So we go to dinner and he’s telling me, ‘If we’re going to draft you at No. 2 you gotta be a hard worker. You ain’t working hard enough.’ I think that was a stumble in the road for me. I called my trainer afterwards and I was like, ‘Hey, bro, we gotta change.'”
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Edwards added: “Steve Kerr told me how Steph and [Kevin Durant] used to work out super hard. It might not be long, but it’s super hard when they’re in there. Ever since then is when I feel like I took that next step.”
Golden State had the No. 2 pick in that draft, and there’s a chance they would’ve taken Edwards had Minnesota not selected him with the No. 1 overall pick.
Does Kerr motivating Edwards to perform at a higher level make up for ex-Minnesota GM David Kahn passing on Steph Curry twice in the 2009 NBA Draft? LOL. No. But maybe it’s a sign that the basketball gods are starting to look at Minnesota with a bit of favor.
