Steve Kerr is not worried about missing any time on the sidelines next season.
Back issues forced him out of action at different points of the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns, but the Golden State Warriors’ head coach doesn’t anticipate any issues leading into 2017-18. As he told the San Francisco Chronicle‘s Scott Ostler (h/t CBS Sports’ Chris Barnewell):
“I fully expect to coach all year,” Kerr says in a no-nonsense tone. “That’s my expectation. And for many years to come.” …
“It’s all right, it’s all right,” Steve Kerr, 51, says with a shrug. “I’d love to say that I’m all better, but not the case. I’m feeling better, having a good summer, relaxing. But it’s just been an ongoing thing now for two years.”
Kerr’s self-prognosis is clearly good news for the Warriors. They don’t necessarily need him on the sidelines per se. They run like a well-oiled machine. Four All-NBA talents, plus one of the Association’s deepest benches, are completely capable of running roughshod over the the rest of the league all by themselves.
Still, Golden State’s head honcho is not unimportant. He has forged a culture, as we’ve said many times, that transcends his own presence. The Warriors are the free-flowing, happy-go-lucky, fun-loving band of champions they’ve come to be in large part because of him. Though they have shown they can win without him on almost any stage, soldiering on without him, for any time at all, is an obstacle they needn’t experience again. Because while they’re amazing without him, they’re even better when he’s there.
