Steve Kerr agrees to 2-year deal to remain with Warriors
After exactly three weeks of deliberation, Steve Kerr agreed to a two-year contract to return as coach of the Golden State Warriors, reaching terms to continue the partnership into what will be his 13th season and beyond in the position, Dan Eveloff and Rick Smith of Priority Sports told ESPN on Saturday.
The deal will keep Kerr as the highest-paid coach in the NBA annually, league sources said. He made $17.5 million last season.
Kerr had multiple meetings with controlling owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy in the past two weeks, discussing everything from offensive philosophy to the long-term outlook of the roster to the bigger-picture direction of the franchise and, eventually, the contract terms it would require to bring Kerr back.
"It was never going to be about money," one team source said. "We had to make the best basketball decision."
Since the beginning of this week, it has been generally known within the franchise that Kerr intended to return, but the loose ends were tied up Friday night and Saturday morning, team sources told ESPN, keeping Kerr in charge of the fading days and potentially final chapter of the Steph Curry era in Golden State.
This was not a foregone conclusion. Kerr hinted at possibly departing in October, announcing in training camp that he wouldn't be seeking a contract extension, preferring to let the final season of his deal play out before deciding on his future. The injury-ravaged 37-45 Warriors finished as the 10th seed in the Western Conference and were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in the play-in bracket, ending a stretch of disappointment that had Kerr and the franchise theorizing whether a split could be best.
"I still love coaching, but I get it," Kerr said the night the Warriors were eliminated in Phoenix. "These jobs all have an expiration date. There is a run that happens, and when the run ends, sometimes, it's time for new blood and new ideas."
Warriors management even did some light information gathering on possible replacements if Kerr left, but the major figures -- Lacob, Dunleavy, Curry -- never desired a divorce, having the necessary conversations and giving Kerr the needed time to bring him back in the fold.
"I want Coach to be happy," Curry said after the elimination. "I want him to be excited about the job. I want him to believe he's the right guy for the job. I want him to have an opportunity to enjoy what he does. ... He knows how I feel about him. That shouldn't even need to be said."
Kerr was hired in May 2014, viewed initially as a controversial move by Lacob and then-general manager Bob Myers. Mark Jackson, Kerr's predecessor, was popular among players, including Curry, who was rising into stardom after Golden State's 51-31 record in the 2013-14 season. But the franchise believed it needed an altered offensive scheme and different leadership approach, declining Curry's preference and landing on Kerr, who also debated taking the New York Knicks' coaching job that summer.
In 2014-15, Kerr's first season as head coach -- at any level -- the Warriors won a league-high 67 games and finished with the NBA's best defense and second-ranked offense. Curry was named MVP. Then, they powered through the playoffs for the franchise's first NBA title in 40 years.
They were even better the following regular season, winning an NBA-record 73 games while Curry became the first unanimous MVP in league history. They were upset in the NBA Finals that June by the Cleveland Cavaliers, but signed superstar wing Kevin Durant in July and supercharged the league's most recent dynasty.
The Warriors won NBA titles in 2017, 2018 and 2022, giving them four titles under Kerr in six trips to the Finals. Kerr won five as a player with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs.
There has been turbulence. Kerr had to step away from the team twice during his dozen years as head coach due to complications from a back surgery, and the Warriors failed to make the playoffs in four out of the past seven seasons, fading from realistic contention as the team's core aged, and its higher-profile draft picks didn't pan out.
But his résumé is among the all-time greats. This past regular season, Kerr became the fourth-fastest coach in NBA history to reach 600 wins, needing only 943 games. Only Phil Jackson (805), Pat Riley (832) and Gregg Popovich (887) did it quicker. Jackson and Popovich are Kerr's coaching mentors, playing for both. Kerr joins them as one of only six coaches with at least four NBA titles. Jackson has 11. Red Auerbach has nine. Popovich, Riley and John Kundla have five.
The next important date for the Warriors is the NBA lottery Sunday night. They have the 11th-best odds, giving them a 9.4% chance of moving into the top four of a loaded draft and a 77.6% chance of remaining in the 11th slot.
The Warriors will then shift their attention to improving the roster via free agency and trades. With Kerr back and Curry under contract for one more season -- and expected to have extension conversations later this summer, league sources said -- the front office intends to be aggressive in rearranging the team to better compete for a playoff spot in a crowded conference.br/]
