Keith Smart will not be the head coach of the Golden State Warriors next season, reports Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area. Smart coached the Warriors to a 36-46 in his first full season as an NBA head coach after spending seven seasons as an assistant coach under Eric Musselman, Mike Montgomery and, most notably, Don Nelson. The Warriors went 26-56 under Nelson in 2009-10, and improved 10 games with Smart in the lead chair and the additions of David Lee and Dorell Wright.
Keith Smart Fired By Warriors After One Season As Head Coach, According To Report
The Warriors’ current owners, Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, had reached an agreement in principle to buy the team before Golden State’s front office named Smart as Nelson’s successor last summer, but weren’t officially in place at the helm of the franchise. Lacob hadn’t seemed particularly committed to Smart in interviews late in the season, but did extend the contract of general manager Larry Riley, a close Nelson friend who ran the front office before Lacob’s takeover. Lacob also brought in former agent Bob Myers as an assistant GM and heir apparent to Riley’s position.
It’s unclear whether any of Smart’s assistant coaches will have a shot at the job. Lacob is considered to be stats-minded, and observers have speculated he may want to bring the next rising star of coaching in.
For more on the Warriors’ coaching search, visit Golden State Of Mind and SB Nation Bay Area.
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