Steve Kerr will return as coach of the Golden State Warriors next season, according to ESPN. The decision — a new two-year deal that will keep him as the NBA’s highest-paid coach — ends a year of speculation due to Kerr’s expiring contract. He will now return at least for next season, aligning him with Stephen Curry, who has one year left on his contract, and Draymond Green, who has a player option he is expected to either pick up to remain with the Warriors or decline in favor of a longer-term extension.
Kerr, 60, signed a two-year, $35 million contract extension in 2024, keeping him with the team through this season. However, with that contract ending and the Warriors struggling through a frustrating season, there was no certainty that Kerr would want to remain with the team beyond that deal. In December, he referred to the Warriors as a “fading dynasty,” and he would echo the sentiment throughout the season. Curry is 38. Green is 36. Klay Thompson is gone, and this era of Warriors history is nearing its end.
When Golden State was eliminated from the Play-In Tournament by the Phoenix Suns on April 17, Kerr acknowledged that it might be in everyone’s best interest for him to move on.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. I still love coaching, but I get it,” Kerr explained. “These jobs all have an expiration date. There is a run that happens and when the run ends, sometimes it’s time for new blood and new ideas and all that.”
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However, in December, Kerr told The Athletic that he “will never leave Steph Curry.” That sentiment seems to have won out in Golden State, and now Kerr and the Warriors will look forward to an offseason in which they are expected to be extremely aggressive in one last push to give Curry a real chance at a fifth championship.
Golden State made a strong push for Giannis Antetokounmpo at the trade deadline and is expected to try again this offseason. The other big name they are known to have tried for at the deadline, Kawhi Leonard, would seemingly hold similar appeal. There have even been rumors that former Finals foe LeBron James — who played for Kerr at the 2024 Olympics — will be a target in free agency if he decides to continue his playing career.
What the future holds for the Warriors’ roster remains to be seen. For now, all we know is that they will have continuity on the bench. After a historically successful 12-year coaching tenure that included four championships, Kerr has decided to return for a 13th season in the Bay.
