Steve Kerr 'disappointed' players 'made a mockery' of All-Star voting

ByETHAN SHERWOOD STRAUSS
January 23, 2017, 9:31 PM

— -- MIAMI -- Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr called out players who submitted non-serious All-Star selections on their ballots in their first season of claiming voting influence over the process, saying they "made a mockery" of the system.

The coach was asked whether he altered his own reserve selections based on which All-Star starters made the cut. Warriors teammates Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry both received starting selections, the latter over the protestations of Oklahoma City fans who wanted Russell Westbrook to make it on account of averaging a triple-double. Kerr said, "Sent my vote in yesterday, didn't alter anything" -- before pivoting.

"I am very disappointed in the players, though," he declared. "I mean, they've asked for a vote, and a lot of them just made a mockery of it."

Of the 324 players who voted, 128 did not vote for LeBron James and 154 did not vote for Kevin Durant, two seemingly obvious frontcourt picks. A large group of voters apparently voted for themselves, based on the number of role players who received one vote.

Kerr continued his thoughts on the disappointment. "So I don't know what the point is. So that was too bad, but all in all, these things are always going to be debatable about who's starting and who gets named. There's always going to be worthy players left out of the starting lineup, left out of the roster entirely. It's the same thing every year and I don't know what the perfect answer is."

When asked to elaborate on the specifics of the mockery, Kerr said, "I saw the list. I saw all the guys who got votes, and I don't know. Are you allowed to vote for yourself? So I don't know, are guys voting for themselves? I mean, there were 50 guys on there who had no business getting votes. So although a lot of people wrote in their buddies for the presidential vote as well, so maybe that's just their own way of making a statement. But I just -- I think if you're going to give the players [the vote], I think they should take it seriously. That's my own thought."