Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr isn’t worried about his contract situation, even though he’s down to his final year of a $35 million deal.
“I don’t anticipate any negotiation during the season,” Kerr said. “Who knows – maybe it all comes up at some point, and they come to me. But I’m not the slightest bit concerned about it. I don’t think about it. I just think it makes perfect sense for all of us [to wait].”
Kerr’s heading into his 12th season with the Warriors. That’s a long run in the pressure-cooker world of NBA coaching.
The former Bulls guard has built quite a legacy in the Bay Area, leading Golden State to four NBA championships. He even picked up Coach of the Year honors back in 2016.
Despite all that success, Kerr still has the fire to win more.
“I love my job,” Kerr said. “I love what I’m doing every day. I can’t wait to get to the building. Hopefully, I’m here for another few years. But I think it makes sense for the organization and for me to see where this thing is at the end of the year – where they are and where I am.”
The timing makes sense when you look at the bigger picture.
The Warriors’ core stars – Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green – all have two years left on their deals. Both Curry and Green have consistently backed Kerr through the years.
“Hopefully, that means we run it back, we keep going with this group, that’d be awesome. But I like the fact we can do it how we want it,” Kerr said.
The Warriors’ recent performance has been a bit of a roller coaster.
They won their fourth title under Kerr in 2022, but then got knocked out in the first round in 2023.
They missed the playoffs entirely in 2023-24.
Last season showed signs of improvement as they finished 48-34 and made it to the conference semifinals.
“I’m very comfortable going into the season with a year left,” Kerr added. “I’m so aligned with [general manager] Mike [Dunleavy] and [owner] Joe [Lacob]. We talked about this – there’s no reason for discussion or concern. This is kind of a point in our relationship where let’s just see how it is at the end of the year.”
The numbers tell the story of Kerr’s impressive run: a 567-308 record in regular season games and a even better 104-48 mark in the playoffs.
His Warriors have reached the NBA Finals six times and only missed the playoffs three times since he took over in May 2014.
Will this be Kerr’s final season in Golden State? Only time will tell, but both sides seem content to let the season play out before making any decisions.
