Steve Kerr has no considerations about his long-term standing as coach of the Golden State Warriors regardless of heading into the ultimate yr of his contract.
Owner Joe Lacob and new normal supervisor Mike Dunleavy Jr. have expressed a need to get a contract extension and Kerr is assured one thing will work out — even when it doesn’t occur earlier than the beginning of the season.
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“I feel great about my position here,” Kerr mentioned Monday. “I want to be here. I know Mike and Joe want me here, and so I’m very confident something will get done. But I’m not stressed about it at all. I’m perfectly capable of coaching whether I have one year left or an extension. Makes no difference.”
Kerr has a 473-238 file in 9 years as Warriors coach and has led the crew to 4 championships and two different journeys to the NBA Finals.
He has been part of a championship core led by Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. Golden State prolonged Green’s contract earlier this offseason, conserving each him and Curry below crew management by means of the 2025-26 season.
Like Kerr, Thompson is coming into the ultimate yr of his contract and Dunleavy mentioned the crew desires to get extensions accomplished with each.
“I think when you’re working off that idea, you can come to a deal and hopefully we can do that,” Dunleavy mentioned. “In those scenarios, there’s no real timeline in the immediate future that we have to abide by, so we’ll continue to have conversations. But the main goal is secure those guys moving forward, and I think they feel a little bit of the same. We are optimistic, and I think we are in a good place there.”
The Warriors are set to open coaching camp subsequent week with hopes of rebounding from a second-round playoff exit final season.
Golden State by no means discovered groove within the 2022-23 season, with a preseason observe struggle between Green and now-departed Jordan Poole hovering over the franchise all season.
Kerr and Dunleavy have repeatedly talked a few lack of “connectivity” on final season’s crew and imagine that may enhance this season.
“A year ago, we came in off a championship, and let our guard down a little bit, frankly,” Kerr mentioned. “It’s human nature, but it’s sort of the way things work. When you lose in the second round and you feel like you’ve had a disappointing year, it’s a lot easier to come in and be focused. It’s a lot easier for me to come in as a coach and be more demanding, and I think the players will expect that, too.”
This yr’s crew may have a special look with the offseason addition of Chris Paul, who was acquired within the deal that despatched Poole to Washington.
Paul is a 12-time All-Star and has spent the offseason working his manner into the brand new crew. Dunleavy mentioned he was significantly impressed that Paul not too long ago took a 6 a.m. business flight to participate in a casual offseason scrimmage.
Kerr mentioned he has loved build up his relationship with Paul and appreciates that the 38-year-old prefers speaking on the telephone as an alternative of texting.
“I’m thrilled to coach him,” Kerr mentioned. “He’s one of the great competitors I’ve ever seen; his command of the game, the way he controls the action. His teams tend to get a great shot possession after possession. He understands what wins. So I’m really excited to coach Chris and I know he’s really excited to be here.”
The Warriors haven’t fairly found out precisely how Paul will match into the rotation with starters Curry, Thompson, Green, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney all again.
Paul has by no means come off the bench in his profession and Kerr mentioned he’ll work on numerous lineup combos in coaching camp earlier than selecting one for the beginning of the season.
“We basically have six starters, the way I look at, and only five can go each night,” he mentioned. “I haven’t decided yet what we’re going to do.”
