Early on Wednesday morning, Warriors assistant coach Stephen Silas got a call from his father. Paul Silas had just accepted the job as interim head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats. But he wasn’t just calling his son to share the good news.
“He said he wanted me to come with him and ‘I couldn’t do it without you,’ ” Silas said, recalling his father’s jarring statement. “And it wasn’t like it used to be — I can’t do it without you because I need you around. Now it’s ‘I can’t do it without you because of how good of a coach you are.’ That feels good to hear your dad say that. It’s hard to turn that down.”
Silas, who is in his fifth season on the Warriors’ bench, thought long and hard about tearing it down. He said he prayed, he sought the advice of people he’s close with and his bosses on the Warriors. In the end, he couldn’t pass it up.
Not only does he get to be with his father, but he gets a promotion. He will be the top assistant in Charlotte (also a team source said Silas “will be taken care of” in some capacity for next season even if his father doesn’t stick around). He was No. 2 assistant with the Warriors — behind Jerry Sichting — and his contract would have expired in July.
But Silas said he was happy with the Warriors. He helped head coach Keith Smart on offense and worked with all of the guards. Silas’ visit and work with guard Monta Ellis this offseason has been credited for part of the reason why Ellis has improved as a player and leader.
Silas works with undrafted rookie guard Jeremy Lin before and after every practice, and Lin sits next to Silas every game to pick the coach’s brain.
“I enjoy working for Keith,” Silas said. “I like what he’s doing, the way he does things, the input I have. Working for one of my best friends is cool. Plus, the relationships I have, especially with Monta and Stephen (Curry), that is going to be hard to walk away from.”
The Warriors are trying to decide whether to promote from within — for example, move Calbert Chaney up a seat and make shooting coach Mark Price a full-time assistant — or go find help from outside. Part of problem is that Smart gave Silas quite a bit of responsibility and he has the closest rapport with the players of any current assistant coach.
