Did the Golden State Warriors Fire Darren Erman Because of a Media Leak? (Photo: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
Less than two weeks after re-assigning assistant coach Brian Scalabrine, the Golden State Warriors announced Saturday they had fired Darren Erman.
Erman was fired following what the team called a “violation of company policy”. Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group writes:
General manager Bob Myers said firing Erman was not a basketball decision, but rather one made by the organization and unrelated to the recent reassignment of assistant coach Brian Scalabrine.
While Myers reported the firing as unrelated to Scal, there is some evidence to suggest that isn’t the case.
There’s been rumblings on social media that Erman could have been Yahoo! NBA writer Adrian Wojnarowski‘s source in a highly critical article following Scalabrine’s demotion.
A 2006 article by Jacob Kamaras of The Justice.org highlights established relationships between Erman, Scalabrine, and Wojnarowksi.
In addition to having coached with the Boston Celtics during Scalabrine’s time with the team, Erman was also Scal’s personal skill development coach. The article also featured this important nugget of information:
St. Anthony had a 30-0 record and finished ranked No. 2 in the nation during Erman’s first season. Adrian Wojnarowski wrote a best-selling book about this story, The Miracle of St. Anthony, in February 2005.
It’s definitely possible that Erman reacted poorly to a close friend and colleague getting the short stick from the Warriors and reached out to a media acquaintance to express his frustration.
Add to that, Adam Lauridsen of the San Jose Mercury’s GSW Fastbreak tweet:
For what it’s worth, I’m hearing that Erman’s firing was NOT related to harassment, sex, drugs or the like.
— Fast Break (@GSWFastBreak) April 7, 2014
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The Warriors didn’t provide a whole lot of explanation for Scal’s departure, leaving it up to the media to sort it out. In the end, it was indicated that an altercation between he, and another Warriors assistant, Pete Myers, that led to the move.
Perhaps it also led, indirectly, to Erman’s dismissal as well. It would fit with head coach Mark Jackson’s vague take on the events:
“He made a mistake,” Jackson said of Erman. “He owns it. He’s done a lot for me. He’s done a lot for this organization, and I’m pulling for him to make a comeback. I’m pulling for him to move on and become a great coach, and I believe that can happen.”
Whatever the case, the Warriors and Jackson have shown little signs of weakness following either coaching loss. With the team’s number of assistants down to just three, let’s hope that each remaining coaches can handle doing the work of five.
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