Warriors coach Steve Kerr said last week that he’s “comfortable” coaching the 2025-26 NBA season on the last year of his contract with Golden State.
But on the same day, general manager Mike Dunleavy added that he “selfishly” wants Kerr back with the Warriors for a long time.
So, what’s the hold up? Kerr explained to Tim Kawakami on Monday’s episode of “The TK Show” why he’s in no rush to sign an extension despite the Warriors’ desire for him to return next season and beyond.
“I think Mike respects the fact that I’m just at the point in my career, and we are at the point organizationally, where I just want to make sure everything is feels right, and for them, too — not just for me, but for the players, for them,” Kerr told Kawakami. “I think one of the things that I’m aware of is in sports, and every sport, there’s kind of an expiration date on on coaching jobs, and if you feel as a coach that it’s not clicking anymore, then it’s time to go, and I don’t think that’s the case. I don’t believe that that’s where we are right now.
“I think I’m very comfortable with the players. I know they respect me. We have a great collaboration. Love working with Mike, love working with this whole organization. So if you had to ask me, I would guess that it’ll keep going. But I just, I don’t really feel like that’s the right call to make, because I just want to see where this all is. And maybe we’re at the All-Star break, and it’s like, ‘Hey, this is going to keep going. Let’s do it,’ you know, but for right now, let’s just kind of see where this all goes. And like I said, I’m perfectly comfortable with whatever happens, but I love what I do, and I would imagine I’ll keep doing this.”
Kerr signed his two-year, $35 million contract extension in February 2024. With two years left on Steph Curry’s contract, two left on Draymond Green’s with a player option in the final year and Jimmy Butler also signed through the 2026-27 NBA season, it only seems right that Kerr would stick around for at least one more year.
But there’s plenty that goes into that decision, Kerr explained, team aside.
“As I get older, I think a lot about what would drive me from the NBA, you know?” Kerr told Kawakami. “And what would that mean? I love being part of a team, being part of a group, collaborating. The travel, the length of the season does start to wear on you. A little bit of life enters the equation, family, all that stuff, grandkids. So this is really more about let’s just see where everything is at the end of the year, or midway through the year, whatever it is.
“But I didn’t really feel like addressing this stuff right now, because I want to see how I feel six months from now, and how the organization feels, too.”
No matter how — or when — Kerr’s Warriors tenure ends, many members of Dub Nation likely will feel the conclusion came prematurely.
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