The Golden State Warriors have established themselves as one of the NBA‘s great dynasties, having achieved four championships behind star player Steph Curry, and supporting cast members like Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Kevin Durant.
However, the mastermind behind the four championships is head coach Steve Kerr, who achieved multiple championships in his playing days under some of the best minds in basketball.
Five of his championships as a player came while on the Chicago Bulls alongside Michael Jordan, with Phil Jackson as coach, while another championship arrived when he played for Greg Popovich on the Spurs.
After coaching the Warriors since 2014, his future with the team seemingly hangs in the balance amid a season where Curry and Jimmy Butler are out with injuries, and Golden State holds a play-in spot for a chance at the postseason, which won’t include Butler or recently injured player Moses Moody.
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Kerr is currently in the last year of his contract, but hasn’t signed the extension yet, which leaves it unclear whether he might opt to discontinue coaching the Warriors. However, on a recent “Warriors Plus/Minus” podcast, The Athletic’s Nick Friedell indicated that Curry “wants Steve” to return as their coach.
“I’ve been asked repeatedly — Tim, I know you have, too. Do you think Steve’s coming back? I absolutely do because I think this team, especially because of what we’ve been talking about now tonight on this episode,” he said.
“They want to go for it. There’s not another person you’re going to plug in that’s going to take them to some other spot more than Steve Kerr. Plus, the fact that Steph wants him and they have a partnership for all these years,” Friedell said on the podcast.
The Golden State Warriors could be a tough sell for their longtime coach due to the state of their team. Butler suffered a grueling torn right ACL injury in January, ending his season prematurely. Curry has been recovering from a knee issue for weeks with no official return date yet, and Moody just recently suffered a gruesome season-ending torn left patellar tendon last week.
With that in mind, even if the Warriors get a playoff spot and even if Curry is able to rejoin the team for any postseason games, their chances of a championship in this stacked Western Conference seem slim.
In January, The Ringer’s Logan Murdock reported that “multiple assistant coaches have been operating under the premise that [Kerr] will not return next season.”
Still, the bond that Kerr has developed with Curry and other players remains strong, and it seems that they would want him as their guide rather than someone new as they contend for more championships.
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