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Anthony Slater: Steve Kerr goes in depth on his partnership with Joe Lacob. Said they won’t agree on everything. Lacob may not like a decision he makes. Kerr may not love a specific sideline reaction. But they are ultimately aligned.
Nick Friedell: The biggest takeaway from Kerr/Dunleavy press conferences? It feels like everybody is aligned again. Kerr said part of what success looks like for Warriors next season is recommitting to the process of getting better each day again. Kerr, Dunleavy and Lacob all on same page.
What went into Kerr's decision to return to the Warriors? He still wants to coach. That was the first box to check in this multilayered process. Kerr stepped away from the grind for about a week, had an important meeting with Joe Lacob and Mike Dunleavy, went on a golf trip and came back invigorated about the idea of remaining in the mix. Kerr is 60. There are lucrative media opportunities available to him that wouldn't require near the time or mental exertion, but the ground-zero NBA competitiveness is in Kerr's blood. It's why he never loved front office work, fell in love with coaching and isn't ready to leave it. So he isn't.
Kerr had multiple meetings with controlling owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy in the last two weeks, discussing everything from offensive philosophy to the long-term outlook of the roster to the bigger picture direction of the franchise and, eventually, the contract terms it would require to bring Kerr back. "It was never going to be about money," one team source said. "We had to make the best basketball decision."
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Among the issues the front office would like to see from Kerr are a readiness to embrace greater flexibility with coaching schemes, particularly as they relate to the team’s younger players, while also demanding more accountability from all players, including Curry and Green. Whether Steve Kerr returns will not be decided by the size of the contract that might come his way. This is not, per sources, a play for more money. This is, rather, about professional and personal principles.
After Steve Kerr concluded his meetings with players and staff last week, many with knowledge of those conversations came away believing he was still interested in coaching the Warriors. Those meetings, per several league sources, included discussions not only about last season's Warriors but also about the team’s future. Kerr came across to some as if he was preparing to re-sign and be on the bench next season. Nothing in that regard has changed this week.
But some of those close to the Warriors who early last week were anticipating Kerr’s departure now indicate there is a reasonable possibility that he returns. “From what I understand, (Kerr) in those meetings didn’t sound like someone who didn’t plan on coaching next season,” one league source said Tuesday. “I think it’s more like 50-50 that he comes back,” another league source said Wednesday afternoon. “When the season ended, I would have said it was at least 60-40 that he’d leave.”
Long-time Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr met with controlling owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy for two hours on Monday, league sources told ESPN, as the sides continue to figure out whether it is the best path forward for Kerr to continue as the coach. Both sides described the meeting as productive, but there remains no resolution nearly two weeks after the Warriors' season ended in Phoenix. Kerr, Lacob and Dunleavy plan to reconvene next week to continue discussions, league sources said. Kerr will take a previously planned golf trip to close out this week as those around him continue to describe Kerr as torn about his own side of the choice. "It's April," one source said. "We don't need to rush."
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That lottery pick is an important tool within the Warriors' plan to rearrange the roster this upcoming summer, which is part of the equation in Kerr's decision whether to return. At this stage of his life and career - 60 years old, having just wrapped his 12th season in the same role - there's an agreed belief that Kerr still makes sense as the head coach leading a firm playoff contender built around Steph Curry and Draymond Green, but not necessarily the fresh face of a reconstruction. "I still love coaching, but I get it," Kerr said the night the Warriors were eliminated. "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."
Team sources remain adamant that this is purely a "basketball decision", based around Kerr's desire to keep coaching, management's desire for some offensive philosophy and staffing tweaks and whether there's a collective belief that the Warriors will be able to utilize transaction season to better beef up its roster to compete in a crowded conference.
The signs continue to point to yes — at least for another season. Kerr, 60, still has the fire to do the job and would like to continue coaching Curry, the man who helped him create the culture that produced four NBA championships. Kerr and Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy have repeatedly said throughout the season that they would discuss the future after this campaign ended. A team source reiterated the same message in recent days. Another team source highlighted the need for organizational alignment regarding the road ahead — from owner Joe Lacob on down — as an important aspect in those talks.
"I have zero doubt that Joe will always do right by Steve Kerr," Green stated. "Joe went out and hired Steve Kerr when nobody believed that was the right answer. He'll always do right by people. As tough as he is, when you get around that tough ass exterior ... there's an incredible human being."