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Darren Erman fired by Warriors for secretly recording conversations, according to report

Erman, who was just re-hired by the Celtics, was fired by the Warriors for recording coaches and players without their knowledge.

USA TODAY Sports

Former Golden State Warriors assistant coach Darren Erman was fired in early April for secretly recording conversations between the team's coaches and players, according to ESPN's Chris Broussard.

When Erman was fired, the reason given was "a violation of company policy." This violation reportedly involved numerous recordings of coaches' meetings, meetings between coaches and players and other informal discussions among coaches without their knowledge.

Broussard says Erman wasn't always present for the recordings, sometimes leaving his phone behind to tape the conversations. It's unclear if Erman shared the recordings with Warriors executives.

Erman was reportedly caught in the act after recording conversations for three weeks. After being caught, Warriors head coach Mark Jackson kept Erman on the staff for another week before the assistant was fired by management.

Despite the scandal, Erman has landed on his feet with the Boston Celtics as their new director of NBA scouting, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Erman was a coaching associate with the Celtics under Doc Rivers from 2007-11. Wojnarowski disputes Broussard's report, stating that Erman was fired over a single recorded conversation of Warriors coaches "who had been working to undermine his game preparation and relationships with players."

The whole situation highlights the dysfunction going on in Golden State. Brian Scalabrine was demoted to the Warriors' D-League team in March due to some reported issues between Scalabrine and the rest of the Warriors' coaching staff, and Jackson himself is on thin ice despite his team's success. Grantland's Zach Lowe says consensus around the league is that Jackson will be gone unless the Warriors make a deep playoff run.