Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors aren’t breaking up anytime soon.
This comes from Kerr himself, as well as owner Joe Lacob and general manager Bob Myers, according to The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami:
Kerr and general manager Bob Myers held the initial talks — and Kerr, Myers and Warriors owner Joe Lacob all told The Athletic on Sunday that they fully expect that Kerr will sign an extension next summer.
“We just agreed we’d wait,” Kerr said. “I’ve got two years left on my deal and wanted to make sure that everything went well this year health-wise. And I don’t anticipate any issues going forward.
“I don’t have any desire to be anywhere else. So I’m sure when we get down to it, we’ll come to an agreement pretty quickly.”
Kerr will have another year left on the deal he signed in 2014 at the end of this season, so the extension talks and plans come as no surprise. The Warriors have won two titles under his watch, transforming from the fringe contender they were when he took over, to an absolute juggernaut that is shaping, if ruining, the NBA’s competitive balance. They are the billboard for dynastic greatness, the standard to which all championship hopefuls must hold themselves.
The players deserve a lion’s share of the credit for what’s transpired, but Kerr has created a culture and laid an on-court foundation that transcends even him. Not every head coach in the league, however great, is capable of doing that.
To that end, his long-term future with the team has only ever been in doubt because of his health issues. He missed a bulk of the 2015-16 campaign tending to his back, and then again missed some time last year. The only way he isn’t the one coaching this Warriors squad into the foreseeable future is if he’s physically unable to do so.
