Ask Kerith Mailbag: Insights on championship rings, player-ref relations

Editor’s note: Kerith Burke, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Warriors reporter, will take you inside the two-time defending NBA champions as only she can each Friday with the Ask Kerith Mailbag. Send her a question on Twitter using the hashtag #askkerith

Tip-Off

Steph Curry scored 51 points in three quarters Wednesday night. Heading into Friday’s night’s game against the Knicks, he has 33 3-pointers in five games.

I’ve been a sports reporter for more than a decade. The fandom has been whittled out of me. No clapping in the press box. No feelings about great feats as you witness them. But, occasionally, there’s something I get to see in person that knocks my reporter hat off. Steph’s performance made me feel awe.

When I’m a podcast guest, I’m often asked about the Warriors’ place in history. The question takes on different versions, sometimes wondering what I think of super teams, whether it’s good or bad for the NBA, and what it means that the Warriors have won three out of the last four championships. I don’t think we fully appreciate greatness until we have the lens of hindsight to view it. It’s hard to contextualize something happening right in front of you. You have to think on it, compare it to things, weigh the scales. When it comes to the Warriors? It’s getting easier to make conclusions in the moment, because there are many moments. We are witnessing something profound in NBA history.

I don’t know if the Warriors will three-peat. I think it’s possible. As the picture develops game by game in a young season, it feels refreshing to have a sense of awe.

Game On!

From @CareyJohnson919: “Which organization members get championship rings and who decides that?!?

The Warriors’ owners, Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, are generous. Every Warriors employee, including part-time workers, gets a ring. Warriors PR estimates that comes to about 500 people.

Keep in mind there are different tiers of rings. The ones the players and coaches receive are exclusive bling. The ones employees get are a different version -- more practical but still in the “wow” category.

Every employee receiving a ring comes back to the philosophy of “Strength in Numbers.” Each person doing their job to help the organization’s success deserves credit.

Employees will be given their rings in the ceremony later this season.

Juantamad777 on instagram wants to know, “Where are the players from the 2018 warriors championship team not with the team anymore?”

Zaza Pachulia plays for the Detroit Pistons now.

JaVale McGee is with the Lakers.

Nick Young’s one-year deal with the Warriors is up, and he is a free agent. He’s not with a new team yet.

Pat McCaw is a mystery. He’s not playing. He declined to come to the championship ring ceremony. The Warriors own his rights and can match any offer he receives. It’s unclear what will develop here.

David West retired in the offseason. He joined Monte Poole on his podcast for a look at what’s next. One of the best parts of the interview is Monte and David joking about how the NBA is a young man’s game.

smshoreview on instagram says, “#askKerith how do you guys adjust so quickly to the different time zones? Do you have the same schedule every day? Thank you”

The NBA schedule does a pretty good job lumping together East Coast games so we’re not jumping all over the country from, say, New York to Utah to Philly. That would be ridiculous. There are times when road back-to-backs are tough, and we end up with less than 24 hours in a city. Sometimes friends ask how my time was in a city that I barely saw. I tell them the hotel lobby was great!

The schedule is similar every day. It’s easy to get in a routine. On game days, it’s bus, shoot-around, bus, brunch, bus, game, bus, fly. By the time the 60th game of the season comes around, the hardest thing is remembering my room number at whatever hotel we’re at now. The blur is strong.

@tennisbum959108 says, At every road game are there team dinners at the hotel and gathering of team and family. Any game film talked about during those gatherings??

When the guys gather to eat brunch, there’s some film study. That’s the time for the team meeting and study. For the younger guys, film study also can occur one-on-one with a coach on a laptop before games.

When the team gathers for dinner, there’s no film talk. That’s time to unwind. Players need some togetherness that’s not all work.

@mhyke926 wonders, “Are there any Eagles song you like?

This question comes from a moment on Twitter where I mentioned I was eating up all the recent drama about Fleetwood Mac and how Stevie Nicks kicked Lindsey Buckingham out of the band ahead of this year’s tour. I wondered what this drama was like in the 1970s.

That prompted someone to send me a story about the Eagles’ drama back in the day, and I took the opportunity to declare how much I hate the Eagles. Wait, let me put that in capital letters. I HATE THE EAGLES. My idea of hell is “Hotel California” on repeat.

This hatred was born in childhood. My mom had the Eagles’ greatest hits cassette in the car on heavy rotation. I guarantee you I can sing every song on that album, straight through -- a fact that makes me furious. Fortunately, my mom liked Whitney Houston and Prince, too.

So, no. There are no Eagles songs I like. And Don Henley’s solo stuff makes me cranky, too.

@shanetrey5 says, “You are now in charge of the arena music during games, and you can play whatever you want no matter who gets mad. What songs are we gonna hear all game? #askkerith”

I would love to do a New Jack Swing night at Oracle. Back-up plan? Non-stop Sandstorm.

@iyaayas1991 says, “dubs and players in general seem much less confrontational with refs so far this year. Did the players/refs have some discussions about last year? #AskKerith”

I’d like to think this will be a season with fewer blow-ups between players and refs, but we’re not 10 games into the season yet. Hard to judge.

However, players and refs had chats last season to communicate and reduce the tension. There were preseason chats as well. The goodwill should flow into this season. No one wants a crummy workplace, and I remember something from a recent practice where Kevin Durant was reflecting on the difficult job the refs do. No matter how confrontational a situation looks, both sides try to keep respect at the center of every interaction.

One thing bothering some players right now is confusion over what draws a whistle. From their perspective, they want more consistency. After the Warriors’ game in Denver, where the Nuggets had 42 free-throw attempts, Draymond Green said some of the calls were “questionable ... but in the same sense, some of the fouls we have are just dumb as hell,” pointing the finger back at their own play. So far, I think the diplomacy has been good.

From @Cukoo4u: “#askKerith Patrick McCaw? What’s the deal with him?”

This is still the most frequent question I’m seeing when it’s time for mailbag questions. I wrote about Pat McCaw in the first mailbag. Nothing has changed, really. Steve Kerr also recently said on 95.7 The Game: “We'd love to get him here. There's still a place for him here.”

High Five

I thought of this before Steph’s 51-point night, just so I don’t sound like a total ass-kisser with Mr. Curry book-ending this mailbag.

High five to Steph for saving me from a basketball to the face. Before the Nuggets game, I was talking to Bob Fitzgerald about the things I wanted to bring up during the broadcast. Steph cried out, “Heads up!” I turned to look, and that turn saved my face from a Spalding mark on the nose.

In my time on the sidelines at various jobs, I’ve never been donked with a ball. I’m sure I’ll regret typing that.

Follow Kerith on Twitter @KerithBurke and on Instagram @warriorskerith, and, of course, watch her on NBC Sports Bay Area’s Warriors coverage all season.