There's no replacing a player the caliber of Kevin Durant. Andre Iguodala will be missed far more than even his absent on-court exploits will make it seem. For Steve Kerr, though, it's hard to imagine the departure of either player from the Golden State Warriors stinging more than that of Shaun Livingston.
Asked about Livingston after the veteran's release on Wednesday, the Warriors coach made it clear just how much he'll be missed, both on and off the floor.
“Man, I am sad today,” Kerr said, per Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. “Shaun is just an incredible human being. So poised and measured, mature, smart. We are going to miss him…
“He was a metronome — you could just count on him to be the same guy, day after day, no matter what the circumstances. Never any drama. Just steady, quiet leadership and an old-school post game that gave people fits. And of course, he fit well into our switching scheme and got his hands on a ton of high, long rebounds.”
Livingston's status with Golden State has been in doubt since the NBA Finals came to a close last month. He's openly pondered retirement in the interim, and it became clear leading up to free agency that the Warriors might be best served by taking advantage of his partially-guaranteed contract for 2019-20 by using the stretch provision.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Livingston intends to return for a 16th season in the NBA. Last season, the 33-year-old averaged 4.0 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.
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