Steve Kerr may be nearing the end of his time as head coach of the Golden State Warriors with whispers about retirement circulating, though one insider seems to think he’ll eventually sign a contract extension and coach Stephen Curry for as long as he can.
“You hear whispers all the time that Steve is a little burnt out, and he might just retire and then he’ll go eventually do his Team USA thing, focus on that solely,” Jason Dumas said. “But I think he’ll end up re-signing with the Warriors.
“You coach a person like Steph Curry, you want to ride that out until stuff is done. It would be like if Phil [Jackson] left Michael Jordan before Michael Jordan was done.”
Kerr is heading into the final year of his contract, which may be heightening the speculation about his future. The upcoming 2023-24 season will be his 10th as head coach of the Warriors, and he will turn 58 years old before the campaign begins.
It would be difficult to find a current coach with the resume that Kerr possesses, with four NBA championships, two other NBA Finals appearances, a record 73-win regular season and winning percentages of 66.5 in the regular season and 70.7 in the playoffs.
That success led to Kerr being named head coach for USA Basketball, and he will be leading the American team at the 2023 FIBA World Cup this summer in advance of the 2024 Paris Olympics next summer.
Kerr previously worked under Gregg Popovich on Team USA and played for him while with the San Antonio Spurs. Their relationship has led to a report that Kerr may be in line to someday take over for Popovich in San Antonio, with Kenny Atkinson possibly Kerr’s successor on Golden State.
A factor for Kerr to consider regarding his NBA future is the departure of Bob Myers as Warriors president and general manager this offseason. Myers hired Kerr prior to the 2014-15 season and the duo worked together for an incredible run of success.
Kerr also may be influenced by an escalating market in NBA coaching salaries, with Monty Williams of the Detroit Pistons setting a standard that reportedly could bode very well financially for coaches like Kerr and Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat.
Mike Dunleavy Jr. has taken over for Myers as general manager and made several notable moves this offseason, including trading Jordan Poole to the Washington Wizards to acquire Chris Paul and re-signing Draymond Green after the longtime Warriors stalwart opted out of his contract.
Green’s new four-year deal aligns closely with the three years remaining on Curry’s contract, so they could be able to add multiple additional championships. Kerr, despite being worn down by the job at times, seems likely to be there as well.
