4:06pm: Myers didn’t disclose what violation Erman committed, but he made it clear the coach’s removal was not based on a “basketball decision,” Leung revealed. “Something like this needed to be discussed with general counsel, (human resources), as we would with any other employee,” Myers said. “It took a couple days to go through the proper channels.”
Jackson expressed his disappointment of Erman’s firing. “[Erman] made a mistake,” Jackson said. “He owns it. He’s done a lot for me, he’s done a lot for this organization, and I’m pulling for him to make a comeback. I’m pulling for him to move on and become a great coach, and I believe that that can happen.”
It appears for the time being that Erman’s removal from his position is in fact unrelated to Scalabrine’s demotion.
2:23pm: The Warriors have fired assistant coach Darren Erman due to a violation of company policy, the team announced. Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle originally reported the move this afternoon (via Twitter). Golden State GM Bob Myers says the decision to let go of Erman is unrelated to the recent demotion of assistant Brian Scalabrine, relays Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group (on Twitter). The move means the Warriors now employ only three official assistant coaches.
Erman’s removal from the staff is peculiar since it comes only 12 days after Scalabrine was stripped of his position, and it’s unprecedented that a playoff team terminates two assistant coaches just weeks before the postseason. Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group hears the decision to let go of Erman wasn’t made by Mark Jackson, who was the one that made the call to demote Scalabrine (Twitter link). However, Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News doesn’t think the pair of coaching moves are unrelated, and he sees a high level of instability within the organization (three Twitter links).
Erman was hired by the Warriors in 2011 after spending four years as an assistant with the Celtics. The ties he made with Tom Thibodeau during his tenure in Boston could result in a job offer from the Bulls this offseason, suggests K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). In the meantime, the Warriors will have to make do with their diminished coaching staff as the playoffs approach.