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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."
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."
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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."
Draymond said he hadn’t heard about the Warriors coming close to a trade for Kawhi Leonard at the trade deadline until he read about it this week but definitely wasn’t shocked. And he fully expects Lacob and Dunleavy to keep chasing for big upgrades this summer. “Playing for a great organization with a great ownership group and a great front office group like we have, those possibilities are always there,” Draymond said. “I wouldn’t necessarily call it big-name hunting. Joe is just always trying to win. And whatever is going to give him the best possible chance to win, that’s what he’s going to win. If that’s a big name, if that’s a small name, whatever is going to give him the best possible chance to be a winner. That’s what he’s going to do. And you have to know that in playing here. … “I didn’t hear much about the Kawhi thing until it came out recently. But it doesn’t surprise me. Because again, I know how they are. We’ll deal with the consequences later, but let’s try to deal with winning first.”
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Draymond Green: Just going on to Nashville. Shout out to the owners. Don't charge them a relocation fee. They just going up the street and doing all us a favor. So, let's not charge Adam. Joe, I know you're on the competition committee. Joe Lacob. Um, let's not charge them a relocation fee. Please. Let them just do all Let them just do us all a favor and take the team to Nashville. No pro, no harm, no foul. The relocation fee, you got to leave that arena that I'm sure they own. Relocation fee, it's a swap. You leave that arena. You ain't got to pay the relocation fee. Go to Nashville. Do us all a favor, Adam. Nobody will be upset. Not one person will be upset. So GP said uh young GP GP2 my teammate GP said uh he'd request a trade immediately if if had a chance to play as a Seattle SuperSonic. I bet he would.
Could you have gotten more for Kuminga if you’d looked hard to trade him a year or two ago? “I don’t think so,” Lacob said. “People say I loved him as a player, I was protecting him, I was whatever. That’s just not true. I did like him. I like all our players. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be acquiring them if we didn’t all like them. But you know, it just didn’t work. It looked like it was going to work. It was off and on a lot.”
After the deadline, Dunleavy pushed back on the presumption that Draymond was actually offered because the Warriors and Bucks only spoke in the most general terms. Lacob backed that up. “He was never discussed in a trade; Mike was 100% correct what he said,” Lacob said. “I know he got a lot of crap for that. And it did look defensive. I mean, I think he would say that in retrospect. “But the truth is, the way these things are, you don’t just easily banter around names unless you’re getting serious. … We never really got engagement on some of the big deals to the point where you get into specific names. People can look at the roster and they can make assumptions about who might or might not have to go if you’ve got a certain person. “But I can tell you he was never shopped in any way. He’s a core person in our franchise. You don’t trade a Draymond Green simply or easily. You do it if you have to, and you’re getting tremendous value and you’re improving your team. Even Draymond has said he understands that. You have to look at these things. But his name was never specifically discussed with another team. And that’s the truth.”
“I saw where another owner came out today and spoke on it, [the Suns’] Mat Ishbia,” Lacob said of Ishbia’s social-media comments lambasting the idea of tanking. “I think you know, it is not in my DNA, nor in this organization’s DNA, to do that. … It’s not a good look. This is sports. We’re supposed to play to win. “And that’s just not a way I would be comfortable, ever, trying to improve our team.”