DeMarcus Cousins reveals what Steve Kerr said before hanging up on first call

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Before DeMarcus Cousins officially chose to sign with the Warriors, he spoke with Bob Myers, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr.

Over the past several months, we've heard various details about Cousins' conversations with each member of the Warriors.

On Thursday, we learned another tidbit in an article Cousins wrote for The Players' Tribune:

Coach was funny on the phone. He was all about it, asking me how I saw myself in their system, things like that. And then right before we hung up, he goes, “You’re gonna make me have to actually coach this year, huh?”

[REWIND: Bob Myers had a mandate for Steve Kerr's phone call with DeMarcus Cousins]

On multiple occasions over the past couple of seasons, Kerr has joked with reporters that when the Warriors are clicking on offense, it's all because of great coaching and play-calling.

The 2015-16 NBA Coach of the Year knows the truth: The Warriors are so loaded with talent and high IQ players, there are times when he can just sit back and let his guys improvise and do their thing.

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But this season, integrating Cousins is a unique opportunity, and it's not going to be a perfectly smooth assimilation.

And that excites Kerr.

"Fitting DeMarcus into the group once he’s ready to play will be a really good challenge for us," Kerr told Anthony Slater of The Athletic last week. "It’s an intellectual challenge for our guys because you’re not plugging in a standstill 3-point shooter. You’re plugging in an All-Star player who can dominate a game with the ball.

[RELATED: Steve Kerr: 'One of the best things about living in the Bay Area...']

"It’s a bigger challenge to figure out how the piece fits and what combinations are going to work best. So I like the challenge, and I think the players will embrace that challenge."

Drew Shiller is the co-host of Warriors Outsiders. Follow him on Twitter @DrewShiller

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