ABU DHABI, U.A.E. – In the midst of their dynastic run, the Warriors offered Mike Brown a unique dynamic to contemplate a new coaching strategy.

The team’s veterans, as any casual observer could recognize, operated on a string, of sorts. Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson were, at that point, so accustomed to playing off one another, so aware of each other’s movements and tendencies, they were basically playing mental telepathy basketball. Add to the mix Kevin Durant, one of the greatest and smartest talents of our time, and the Warriors frequently were unstoppable during Brown’s tenure as lead assistant (2016-22).

But it wasn’t seamless. The issue? The younger players, who were interchangeable and often forgettable during those years, were too far behind to fit in. They were the basic Algebra I students suddenly thrust into an AP Calculus course.

Excellence at the top of rotation is a good problem to have for a basketball team, but a problem for player development, nonetheless. So with Golden State’s young players as inspiration, the coach began the creation of the new Mike Brown system.