Steve Kerr recently agreed to a two-year, $35 million contract extension with the Golden State Warriors that will keep him as the team’s head coach through the 2025-2026 season.
This new deal makes Kerr the highest-paid coach in NBA history at $17.5 million per year.
Kerr’s Success with the Warriors
In Kerr‘s nine seasons coaching the Warriors so far, he has led the team to tremendous success including 4 NBA championships in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022.
The team also made the NBA Finals two other times under Kerr in 2016 and 2019.
He has a regular season record of 501-264 for a .655 winning percentage, which ranks fifth-best all-time in NBA history.
Clearly, Kerr and the Warriors have formed an incredibly successful partnership over the past decade. By securing Kerr‘s services for at least three more years, the Warriors are signaling their intention to continue contending for championships by maintaining stability and continuity on the coaching staff even as their championship core of stars like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green get older.
Keeping the Championship Window Open
By extending Kerr now, the Warriors are trying to keep their championship window open for as long as possible.
Curry is under contract for two more years after this season, while Green is signed for three more years. Thompson‘s contract expires after this year, but the Warriors could look to re-sign him if he is willing to take a pay cut from his current $40 million salary.
Over the next three years covered by Kerr‘s extension, the expectation is that Curry, Thompson and Green will remain productive players capable of impacting winning, although their minutes and regular season availability may be managed more carefully.
Other key contributors like Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski are also signed beyond the next couple years.
With a core that has already won four titles together and a coach in Kerr that they have tremendous trust and belief in, the Warriors are betting that they have enough left in the tank as a group to compete for more championships over the next three years.
Developing the Supporting Cast
While keeping Curry, Thompson and Green healthy and effective will be crucial, the Warriors also need to build up and develop the supporting cast around their veteran star trio if they want to legitimately contend.
Over the past couple years, the Warriors have worked to add youth and athleticism to the roster through players like Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and James Wiseman.
Kerr‘s ability to develop and integrate younger players into contributing rotation roles will be pivotal going forward. It has always been a bit of an open question how good Kerr is at developing young players versus established stars, so this extension gives him the runway to put that to the test.
He has already shown positive signs with Poole‘s emergence as a budding star and Kuminga playing a key role this season.
Maintaining Continuity Amidst Change
In securing Steve Kerr‘s future with the Warriors, the team is creating some sense of stability and continuity amidst an organization that has experienced a lot of front office turnover recently.
President of basketball operations Bob Myers and long-time executive consultant Jerry West both left their roles with the franchise over the past year.
Having Kerr‘s familiar face still pacing up and down the sidelines with his unique blend of humility, motivation and strategic basketball IQ keeps at least one key component of the Warriors‘ identity and culture firmly in place.
There may be some changes around the fringes, but with Kerr locked in the team is signaling that their core philosophies and identity that has made them so successful isn’t going anywhere. That consistency and commitment to culture should only aid them in staying competitive and smoothly transitioning between eras of Warriors basketball.
The Next Era of Warriors Basketball
At 58 years old, it’s highly unlikely that Steve Kerr intends to coach the Warriors for another decade or more as they move into a new era building around their promising youth. But by agreeing to this extension, Kerr gives the team security and leadership at the head coaching position for the rest of Curry, Thompson and Green‘s careers.
When Curry and the veteran core eventually retire or move on, Kerr can help usher in the next generation of Warriors talent without the pressure of being in a contract year. His extension lines up nicely with the timeline of Kuminga, Moody and Podziemski continuing to develop into potential franchise cornerstones down the road.
Once those young players emerge as stars capable of carrying the torch for the Warriors, Kerr and the team can have an orderly transition to a new coach if they choose to at that point.
But for now, securing Steve Kerr provides needed direction and stability to this current iteration of championship-caliber Warriors basketball.
The Bottom Line
Steve Kerr has been integral to the Warriors‘ identity and success for nearly the past decade. His extension doesn’t necessarily change their short term trajectory or capability to compete at a high level over the next few years. But it does reinforce the franchise’s commitment to the culture, system and leadership style Kerr has fostered.
With more certainty around their head coaching position secured, the Warriors can continue trying to reload and retool around Curry and their veteran core in the hopes of squeezing out a few more championship runs. Simultaneously, Kerr‘s presence provides consistency and guidance for young players like Kuminga to continue developing until the torch can eventually be passed seamlessly to the next generation of Warriors stars.
So while this extension doesn’t radically change anything right now, it does solidify Steve Kerr‘s role in shaping both the present and future of this Warriors franchise.
Sources:
www.nba.com/news/report-steve-kerr-extension-warriors-coach-feb-23
www.cbssports.com/nba/news/steve-kerr-becomes-nbas-highest-paid-coach-after-signing-two-year-35m-contract-extension-per-report/
www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/nba/article-13120277/steve-kerr-extension-golden-state-contract.html
