Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Stephen Curry becomes contract extension-eligible at the end of August and the Warriors are confident — no matter how their offseason retooling turns out — that they will strike a deal that sets Curry up to retire as a Warrior. Golden State can present a two-year extension worth nearly $140 million … similar to the extension Jaylen Brown can command starting late in July from Boston. "I'm sure those conversations [will] happen and you can predict where they'll be going," Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy said Friday at a news conference to welcome back Kerr. "I don't see under any scenario where we don't want to figure out a way to have him finish here."
Nick Friedell: Mike Dunleavy on Draymond Green: "The ball's in his court" as far as player option goes. Dunleavy sounds optimistic that Draymond will be here to start next season. He said there's a feeling on both sides that Draymond finishes his career with the Warriors.
Anthony Slater: Mike Dunleavy said the Warriors will look at all options with the 11th pick. Using it in a “strong draft” or: “If there’s offers for the pick to move up, move back, trade for a veteran player that can help us.”
Advertisement
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."
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."
Advertisement
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.
On the management side, the Warriors are committed to Dunleavy and he remains committed to them, despite external noise about Chicago's front office vacancies. Dunleavy quietly signed an extension in recent months, team sources said, and has multiple years left on his deal.
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.
Bonzi Wells: We had a window but just after that game it was like so deflating. Matt Barnes: Sheed, you said you put the blame on yourself. Tell me why. Rasheed Wallace: Oh yeah cuz out of them 13 shots I missed, like six or seven of them and they was dummies too. Right there in front. Boom. Yo jump shot. Boom. Jump hook. Boom. Right there. I've missed all that sh*t. So, I put a majority of it on myself. And I also I think for me in my opinion where all that sh*t started going downhill was when Mike Dunleavy called the timeout after we was telling him not to call a timeout. He's trying to call a timeout and we trying to distract the refs like no, no, no…