Enjoyed this observation in Richard Deitsch’s post on SI.com today. He asked beat reporters what it is like to cover the Golden State Warriors.

Not surprisingly, Steve Kerr, a former member of the media, gets it. But it goes even deeper according to Ethan Strauss, who covers the Warriors for ESPN.

Praising Kerr might sound like an affront to journalistic objectivity, but I think he’s objectively great to deal with. There aren’t many coaches with whom you can discuss Arabic dialects one second, and motion offense the next. Kerr was raised by academics, so he’s inclined to share and educate — more than most coaches, I think. Kerr’s a Popovich disciple, but his public persona stands in contrast to Pop’s opacity. That’s the difference between an academic background and a military background, I suppose.

And here’s another observation from Strauss on the Warriors being media friendly.

 The staff prides itself on attentiveness, PR head Raymond Ridder is indefatigable and the players comport themselves well in public. Also, they’ve had so much practice trying to wring positive coverage out of this formerly awful team. It’s like Raymond’s been swinging with the batting donut on for years. Now the weight has been lifted and then some.

There’s another aspect to this, though: Kerr allows his assistants to talk. Some coaches don’t, fearing that they might be undermined by their subordinates. Kerr’s secure enough in his position to ignore the paranoia that’s usually endemic to coaching.