As the Golden State Warriors prepared for their Play-In Tournament game against the Los Angeles Clippers in April, longtime coach Steve Kerr, who has led the team to four titles, was planning to retire. He told ESPN the day before that game, which the Warriors won thanks to a vintage Stephen Curry performance, that he was 95% certain of his decision.
A month later, well after the Warriors were eliminated from the Play-In Tournament by the Phoenix Suns, he was sitting at the podium for a press conference to discuss the two-year extension he signed this week. The deal will ensure that he remains the highest-paid coach in the league, per ESPN. Last year, Kerr made $17.5 million.
"I'm thrilled to be back," Kerr said Friday. "I couldn't be more excited to continue on this job, and we had a great process the last few weeks trying to figure this out together, collaboratively. I don't think this actually happens in pro sports, honestly, where you have these kind of conversations and genuinely, authentically try to figure out together what's the right thing, you know? So I'm very lucky to be in this organization, to work with the people I do."
Wife's Comment Helped Kerr Realize His Decision
During an extended session with the Bay Area media, Kerr explained why he wanted to return, the impact Curry and Draymond Green had on his decision and where the Warriors can go from here after missing the playoffs for the second time in the last three years.
While Kerr had extensive discussions with Warriors owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy, he said that a comment from his wife helped him realize he wanted to continue with the organization.
"Ultimately, for me, I took about a week to really think about whether it was the right thing for me and my wife and I spoke every day about it and the bottom line was I still love what I do, which is what I told you guys throughout the season. I love coaching, I love being part of the Warriors," Kerr said.
"So at the end of about a week, my wife and I decided let's keep doing this if the Warriors want me to keep doing this. And it was, you know, my wife said something. She said, 'You might coach again someday, but you'll never coach the Warriors again.' And that was really meaningful to me because I love this team, I love our players, and that struck me," Kerr continued. "I couldn't imagine walking away from the Warriors. And so, at that point, it was really what do you guys want to do? And we had great meetings and over the course of about a week we all agreed let's do it. And so here I am."
Curry and Draymond Green Influence on Return
To no surprise, Kerr said that he spoke with both Curry and Draymond Green, the two longest-tenured Warriors, as he was trying to make a decision on his future.
Notably, Kerr said that they "did not have any impact or influence on whether I was going to be the coach." At least in terms of the front office's decision-making process. "I think one of the strong points of our organization is that our best player, who is one of the greatest players in the history of the game, is not telling Mike or Joe what to do," Kerr said. "He understands the repercussions of that, if he wanted to go down that path, and it's not healthy. It usually doesn't work out well when a player tries to dictate what an organization does."
But while Curry and Green may not have told the Warriors what to do, their conversations with Kerr did have an impact on his decision to return as coach.
"I know [Curry] wanted me to coach, I know I wanted to coach [Curry], and that mattered," Kerr said. "But ultimately we have a really special, strong bond that should carry over into our success as a team. I think I have a better chance of coaching this team than anybody else because of that relationship, my relationship with Draymond, my intimate knowledge of this team and this organization, and what we built together."