SAN JOSE – When Mike Brown joined the Warriors in July as their No. 1 assistant coach, replacing Luke Walton, reaction around the NBA was an outbreak of head-scratching.
Folks thought it was odd that head coach Steve Kerr would replace an offensive guy with a defensive guy.
They thought it was odder still that Kerr would hire a defensive assistant when he already had Ron Adams, widely considered the league’s top defensive assistant.
Kerr defended the move, saying Brown is a three-time head coach well versed in every facet of basketball.
So Brown, sitting for an interview on Monday, awaited the inevitable question about the label that amounts to a sweet morsel of a compliment wrapped inside a salty coating of thick, crunchy insult.