Report: Warriors’ assistant coach Ron Adams turns down Lakers offer

The Golden State Warriors have had a wild offseason that’s featured losing two important contributors in DeMarcus Cousins and Quinn Cook to the suddenly dangerous Los Angeles Lakers. Fortunately, the Western Conference champions in the Bay will not be losing one of the biggest pieces to their vaunted coaching staff, as ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk reports that assistant coach Ron Adams has turned down a Lakers’ offer and will remain in Golden State.

The report says he will stay in a “revised role” with the team.

Coach Adams is 71 years old and has has served under head coach Steve Kerr for the last five years after previously working as Brad Stevens’ top assistant in Boston. According to a New York Times piece by Kurt Streeter, Adams is the team’s “truth teller” and an immensely respected presence who keeps the Warriors’ edge from relenting.

Today, on a supremely tight-knit team, he’s like a revered grandfather: wise and beloved, confident enough to let himself be ribbed for his age, still stern and sharp enough to command respect and set a high bar.

Kerr has discovered that Adams’s truth-telling doesn’t show itself in dramatic confrontation but in the steady grind of the day to day.

Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson laud Adams for holding them accountable. “‘You could have contested that shot. … You could have made that guy miss. … You’ve got to use that length of yours . … Verticality! Verticality!’” Durant says, mimicking the way Adams bends his ear.

With the team turning over the roster on the fly and moving to a new building in San Francisco, it’s fantastic to retain Adam’s wisdom and focus on the sideline.