SAN FRANCISCO– With the Jonathan Kuminga contract situation with the Golden State Warriors pretty much settled, there is another negotiation process flying under the radar– head coach Steve Kerr‘s. The architect of the Dubs’ four championships enters the final year of his current contract with Golden State. But while urgency tends to dominate most negotiation processes, Kerr is comfortable entering the season with his own contract situation unresolved.
“I’m very comfortable going into the season with a year left,” Kerr said Tuesday afternoon, after the Warriors’ first practice of training camp. “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.”
With the contracts of the Warriors’ veteran core of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler III, all aligned and set to expire in 2027, there has been speculation that Kerr would like to align his own situation to the timelines of his stars.
Kerr has obvious ties and history with Curry and Green through their sustained decade of success. It would make a lot of sense for Kerr to see this era of Warriors basketball largely defined by those two players through to the end.
But based on Kerr’s comments, he’s not dwelling on his future beyond this season.
“I love my job,” Kerr said. “I love what I’m doing every day; I can’t wait to get into 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. 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.”
Steve Kerr’s time in Golden State?
Kerr’s contract situation is a bit different from the last time he was up for a potential extension. The Warriors’ coach signed a record two-year, $35 million extension in the middle of the 2023-24 season, after offseason negotiations dragged into the season. This time around, it appears that Kerr does not expect contract negotiation chatter during the Dubs’ season.
“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].”
Head coaching remains one of the least secure positions in the NBA, which is saying something in a league dominated by turnover. Of the last six NBA champions, only Kerr and Oklahoma City’s Mark Daignault remain as the coaches of their teams. Only five coaches, including Kerr, have been with their teams longer than five seasons. Kerr’s tenure with the Warriors is an incredible feat of stability in an unstable league.
Regardless, Kerr’s transparency with his future signals that the golden era he helped build in the Bay is in its final stages. If and when the two sides decide to depart, Kerr intends to walk away with grace.
“However this ends, it’s going to be done in a really quality way,” Kerr said. “It’s going to happen the right way. If it’s meant for me to keep going, I’m going to keep going. If it’s meant to be for the team to move on to someone else, there will be nothing but gratitude and appreciation. This makes it easy for everybody. Let’s see where we are at the end of the year.”
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