Steve Kerr critiqued rookie Yaxel Lendeborg’s game after Saturday’s 131-122 loss to the Phoenix Suns, on a night the forward scored a season-high 26 points. The Golden State Warriors head coach’s comments drew pushback online, and Detroit Pistons journalist Aaron Johnson was among those who took issue with them.

The loss dropped Golden State to 0-3. Playing for the third time in four days, the Warriors rested Stephen Curry (right knee), Draymond Green, Al Horford and Brandin Podziemski (all low back), and Lendeborg played a team-high 36 minutes.

How Steve Kerr’s Assessment of Yaxel Lendeborg Caused a Stir

Kerr’s critique began on the offensive end. “There was a play in the first half where he got free, and then he launched himself into (Khaman) Maluach… That’s gotta be a pull-up jumper, that’s gotta be a Euro step, that’s gotta be kick it out. In college, you can do that. But this is a different league.”

“He’ll learn. He’s playing a ton. He’s going to get all these reps. We’re going to keep showing him film. He’ll get better and better,” Kerr added.

The Warriors coach didn’t stop there. “His weak-side awareness right now is very poor. With his size, he should be one of our best defenders at the rim.”

A clip of the answer circulated overnight, and the criticism carried into Sunday. Posting Sunday morning, Johnson took aim at both the answer and the circumstances around it.

“Rather than speak highly of him, he throws his rookie under the bus and spends the bulk of his minute long answer critiquing him. Maybe don’t have all your top players take a night off less than a week into the season and throw said rookie out there with end of bench and two-way players.”

Kerr’s answer did open with praise for the first-year forward, though. “Yeah, he’s fearless, he’s huge, and he’s got a great skill set. He can dribble, pass and shoot.”

Content creator Jim Park, who posted shortly after the game, focused on how Kerr has used the rookie. He wrote that the coach “leaves Yaxel on an island to protect a 4G lineup at center, knowing full well that he has defensive issues. Please explain to me how this makes any sense.”

“Steve Kerr is the worst talent evaluator in the NBA and the master of misusing pretty much every single player he’s ever ‘coached…’ Kerr is the only fraud in the NBA who can’t scout the talents of his own players and forces them into positions where they don’t belong,” he added.

One fan went further, writing, “Kerr was asked what he’s most impressed with and he spent most of the answer nitpicking… No worse coach for a young player to play for.”

Lendeborg has drawn attention for his own comments this season, after trading words with Luka Dončić during the Warriors’ Oct. 21 opener, a 127-105 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Another fan pictured the rookie’s next news conference, echoing a phrase Lendeborg used about the Lakers star: “Yaxel: I’ve lost all respect for Coach Kerr.”

Another fan focused less on what Kerr said than on where he said it: “Always a good idea to coach through the media.”

The same fan followed up minutes later: “It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not. It doesn’t matter if the player did it first. Keep it in house.”

Not everyone saw a problem with it. Another fan wrote, “I like how if Yaxel is going to tell it how it is and speak so candidly in interviews, then Kerr is going to do the same when it comes to Yaxel.”

Lendeborg shot 9-of-19 from the field and 6-of-11 from 3-point range on Saturday, adding 9 rebounds and 5 assists, and finished plus-5 in a nine-point loss. Through three games, he is averaging 18.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists.

Golden State visits the Denver Nuggets on Monday, then faces the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road Wednesday before hosting the Lakers on Oct. 30.