Joe Lacob has Steve Kerr's replacement, and he's a she

I’m about to get a lot of women pissed off at me, and a lot of men, too, but would you all please hear me out, or read me out, before you march in protest to my corporate headquarters (a small cabin in my back yard)?

Here we go.

When Steve Kerr steps down as coach of the Golden State Warriors, his successor should be Natalie Nakase.

Nakase is the coach of the Golden State Valkyries.

Joe Lacob owns both teams, so this would be a simple transfer.

It would also be enormously complicated, because breaking down barriers is always fraught with peril. Fortunately, Lacob and Nakase are old hands when it comes to bucking the system and making breakthroughs in the face of skepticism and criticism.

They both pride themselves on their toughness and determination, so they’re perfect for this move.

The main obstacle to overcome will be the criticism, not unjustified, that Lacob is demeaning the women’s game by making a move that implies that Joe’s men’s team is more important to him than his women’s team is.

Lacob would explain that his two teams, like two of his children, carry equal weight in his heart. He would explain that Nakase is the best candidate he could find for the Warriors’ job, regardless of gender.

And he can’t say this, but dammit, if he doesn’t hire a woman NBA coach, who in the hell will?

Nakase would have to be on-board with this switcheroo, of course. That’s not automatic. She has found a great groove as coach of the Valks, in a very short time in her first head coaching gig. She already is a master at creating a culture, and at gaining the trust and respect of her players, and at coaching the damn game.

She has helped create the hottest team in sports. Considering the current state of the two Golden State teams, becoming head coach of the Warriors might be a demotion. Why go through all that just to prove an obvious point—that women can coach in the NBA?

Here’s why: It would be an important and long-overdue breakthrough.

The NBA simply does not hire women head coaches. Teams like to pretend that they might. Becky Hammon, with her WNBA success and her considerable NBA assistant-coaching experience, has interviewed for four NBA head coaching jobs and is 0-for-4.

Somebody’s got to break through that hardwood ceiling. Somebody’s got to start the process of normalizing what should be normal.

This is not an exact comp, because race and gender are separate things, but Raiders’ owner Al Davis hired the first NFL Black head coach, Art Shell, in 1983. Do you believe that before 1983 there had been no Black men qualified to coach an NFL team?

If Davis doesn’t make that hire, the NFL might have gone another decade ignoring legit Black candidates.

Remember back in 1987 when Dodgers’ general manager Al Campanis publicly stated that Blacks lack “the necessities” to be baseball managers or general managers? Well, most of baseball at the time seemed to share his opinion, judging by their hiring practices.

It’s like that in the NBA, where we don’t need words. Just look at the who’s not getting hired. Only one way to change that perception.

Here’s why Joe would at least give this idea some thought:

He is a risk taker and innovator. He loves putting fresh faces in new positions. He gave Mark Jackson his first (and only) NBA coaching job. He hired Kerr with zero coaching experience. He hired a rookie general manager (Bob Myers) and a rookie team president (Rick Welts).

With the Valkyries, Lacob hired a rookie GM, a rookie team president and a rookie head coach. All of them women. He hired a female arena PA announcer and a female PR chief.

Joe is an unabashed women’s basketball pioneer and believer.

Nakase is also a pioneer and a believer. She has been the first Asian American woman in several of her jobs, including a long stint as an NBA assistant and G League coach.

Nakase is not afraid to make a statement. In the heated debate over trans women playing women’s sports, she did not dodge the issue, but quietly and firmly planted her flag on the side of inclusion.

Valkyries’ fans, and WNBA fans in general, would be crushed by losing their already-beloved coach, but they would realize that they’re taking one for the team—Team Humanity.

Nakase would kill it in the NBA. Her quietly commanding presence and understated swagger would absolutely work—with players, media and fans.

The Bay Area has always led the progressive movements in sports. Al Davis was a Bay guy, so was Shell, and Frank Robinson and Bill Russell, the first black managers/coaches in MLB and the NBA. The Bay Area is the cradle of American women’s pro basketball.

We show the world how to do the right thing. Within a couple of years, we’ll have another opportunity.