Steve Kerr claims his departure from the Golden State Warriors, whenever that may be, will be an amicable parting of ways
In February, Steve Kerr re-signed with the Golden State Warriors on a historic two-year contract, capping some discussion earlier in the season about his future with the team.
As a just return for the tremendous success he has delivered to the Warriors over the last ten years, Kerr has agreed to a $35 million contract that will pay him the biggest annual salary of any coach in league history over the next two seasons.
Although the Golden State Warriors’ fading dynasty and the prospect of a last dance have received a lot of attention, the team seems content to hang on to its core for the next two seasons, which includes Kerr as head coach.
For the next two years, Kerr, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and other important veterans are all bound by contracts; in free agency, the Warriors might pursue a comparable amount of time for Klay Thompson.
While it doesn’t seem like Kerr’s tenure with the team is about to end, the 58-year-old has acknowledged to NBC’s Raj Mathai that, when the time comes, the team and their greatest coach ever will part ways amicably.
“However, my contract will expire at some point, possibly in two years. Perhaps that’s when I should walk on and the Warriors should look for fresh blood and new ideas. When that day arrives, we’ll both know it. One thing I can assure you of is that, whenever it occurs, the parting of ways will be quite cordial.”
This season, Kerr received a good deal of criticism because it was the Warriors’ third consecutive season without making the playoffs in his ten years as head coach. A major point of criticism has been his handling of Golden State’s younger players, which escalated in January when it was revealed that third-year forward Jonathan Kuminga had “lost faith” in Kerr.
Kuminga became one of the team’s main scorers and one of the league’s most improved players almost immediately after the two appeared to have made up. Even while Kuminga’s development and the opportunities given to rookies Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis this season have drawn criticism for Kerr’s handling of younger players, there has been a noticeable change.
But even outside of the young Warriors players, Kerr is clearly deserving of the honor of finishing this chapter as the captain of the illustrious Curry-Green-Thompson three.
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