MINNEAPOLIS — Steve Kerr was happy to see the NBA’s crackdown this season on flopping, one of his many hobby horses. But its inconsistent implementation left him scratching his head.
“It’s interesting,” the Warriors coach said Wednesday before they took on the Timberwolves. “I think everybody’s trying to figure out what’s a flop and what’s not.”
The new rules emphasis this season was the hot topic around the NBA after officials called three flops in the span of 90 seconds the previous night between the Lakers and Blazers.
Meanwhile, the Warriors have yet to have a flop called for or against them in their first four games of the season, despite Kerr’s consistent pleading with referees.
Golden State has been called for a handful of illegal screens that Kerr believed were a result of acting jobs. While the Warriors have been in communication with the league office, Kerr said he would keep those conversations private.
But he wasn’t afraid to send a public message to the NBA.
“We should be the No Bulls–t Association,” Kerr said. “Like, every bit of bulls–t the players try to pull, we should just say no, no, we’re not doing that. It’s a better game when guys aren’t flopping into each other, hooking each other, running into screens looking like they got hit by a car.
“It’s just a better game when officials have the ability to say, ‘No, we’re not buying into that.’ I feel like we are constantly as a league behind the players. The players are grifting and we’re chasing them, and we’re never getting ahead of them. That’s my biggest issue with it.”
Kerr clarified that he wasn’t complaining about the referees.
“I’m always calculated in the things that I say because I want the best thing for the league,” Kerr said. “I think sometimes it’s good to make these things a talking point. Obviously the flopping stuff last night became a talking point, so I’m adding my two cents.
“But I have been really consistent in my time here that anything that is BS should just be banished.”
There is at least one tried and true method for eliminating flopping, according to Kerr. He said he was talking with another coach who had the players call their own fouls in training camp.
“When you have the players call their own fouls, they don’t flop,” Kerr said. “I’m not saying that’s the answer. I think our officials do a great job. … What I’m saying is we need to stay ahead of all the players grifting. Easier said than done.”
