The NBA has postponed a game between the Warriors and Jazz following the death of Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic. Milojevic, 46, suffered a heart attack in Salt Lake City on January 16 during a private team dinner and passed away the following day. Milojevic had served on Steve Kerr’s staff since 2021 and was well-regarded both within the NBA and abroad. Furthermore, at least one team interviewed Milojevic about their head coaching vacancy following the 2022/23 season.
Prior to coming to the NBA, Milojevic established himself as a proven winner in Eastern Europe. Additionally, his time coaching Serbian side Mega meant that he was closely involved with the early development of Nikola Jokic. “We are absolutely devastated by Dejan Milojević’s sudden passing. This is a shocking and tragic blow for everyone associated with the Warriors and an incredibly difficult time for his family, friends, and all of us who had the incredible pleasure to work with him. We grieve with and for his wife, Natasa, and their children, Nikola and Masa,” The Warriors wrote on social media.
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Steph Curry Pushes Warriors To Make Deadline Moves
The Warriors will step away from the game for the next few days to grieve their friend and colleague. However, with the trade deadline three weeks away, a number of questions are lingering for the organization. Steph Curry has openly expressed his desire for the Warriors to pursue some season-altering moves before the upcoming trade deadline. “We have a standard that’s pretty evident that, if things stay the same, that’s the definition of insanity, right? Keep doing the same thing expecting a different result? So, as players and what we can do, we have to control our effort, our focus, competitiveness, control the things that we can on the court. Like any NBA season, every organization has stuff that works itself out,” Curry said earlier in January.
The Warriors are 18-22, last in their division, and 1.5 games back from the playoffs. While Draymond Green returned to the team in their last outing, they also lost Chris Paul to a fractured hand. Paul is expected to be sidelined until after the All-Star Game, leaving the Warriors with limited options as how to right the listing ship.
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