OAKLAND -- Though much has been said about the agonies and challenges facing Steve Kerr, including speculation about when, or if, he'll return as head coach of the Warriors, little has been put into words that capture the significance of his absence.
This is perhaps because it can be difficult to explain how one man is able to influence a roster of supremely talented athletes, at the wealthiest point of life, with wildly divergent personalities, at different career stages.
Veteran guard Shaun Livingston, a man who knows perspective as well as anyone in the NBA, took a moment Saturday to cut through the palaver and pity to offer a clear and vivid illustration of Kerr's value as a man and as a coach.
"It's just his presence, his personality," Livingston began. "His character, the way he fits in with us. He's kind of the battery pack, in the sense that he makes everybody go. He keeps us all (in harmony), everybody from staff, training staff, coaching staff to the players.
"He bridges the gaps, in the sense of communication, and he makes it light."
In short, Kerr's value to the franchise is far greater than his duties as a coach. He has an easy, breezy charisma insofar as he's so comfortable submerging his own ego while being remarkably good at making everyone matter.
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Moreover, Kerr is decidedly inclusive, explicitly emphatically open to ideas. He's an outreach specialist whose sensibilities are contagious.
All of which helps create a sprightly and genial workplace, something the Warriors sought when they hired Kerr to replace the swaggering and dogmatic Mark Jackson in May 2014.
"Every day it's something new, in a sense, and that's hard to do," Livingston said. "We're here for six to nine months for the past couple years, seeing the same faces. So it is kind of like a job. But (Kerr) makes it more like a game and tries to make sure we're enjoying ourselves out there."
Kerr wants to live his life and coach basketball around four basic tenets: joy, mindfulness, compassion and competition. Maintaining a balance of the four can be difficult, especially when Kerr is dealing with the searing pain that has him on the sideline for an indefinite period.
But Kerr never strays far. His players seem to see and, more important, feel that.
Draymond Green and Kerr, each volatile in his own way, don't always see eye-to-eye. Yet Green on several occasions has noted that Kerr "always seems to find the right thing to say, at the right time."
Veteran David West points out that anyone who spends any time around Kerr can sense his basic humanity. Veteran Andre Iguodala, one of the team's co-captains, speaks of Kerr's curiosity and desire to broaden his horizons.
Stephen Curry, the other co-captain, kept the ball from the Warriors' Game 4 win over Portland last Monday night, punctuating a series sweep, and gave it to Kerr, who missed Games 3 and 4 while coping with this prolonged post-surgery pain.
Lead assistant Mike Brown, the acting head coach in Kerr's absence, concedes he has benefited from being around Kerr and this team.
"The tone he sets is the best I've been around," said Brown, who has been involved in the NBA since 1992. "This is a special, special situation, and he's big reason why."
So it's not just Livingston who throwing rose petals at the boss. He just happened to convey in a few words the effect Kerr has on the team and within the building.
"He's our leader," Livingston said. "He's somebody that we count on."
