Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is seen during the second half of Friday’s season-ending NBA play-in loss against the Suns in Phoenix.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
Dang, that sure felt like the end. It was emotional. Dramatic. The on-court hug, the heartfelt words, all the signals and cues pointing toward a goodbye.
But was that really Steve Kerr’s final game as the greatest head coach in Warriors history?
We’ve been building toward this denouement for a year, ever since it became clear that Kerr was content to go into this season without a contract extension. And now that we are here, it’s becoming apparent that many insiders feel he will walk away from the Warriors. That’s what is being written. Some of Kerr’s friends privately believe that’s what will happen. That’s what Draymond Green said, on his podcast, that he was sensing.
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But if Kerr told ESPN the truth — the outlet reported he said his return was 50-50 just last week — that means there’s a lot of gray area. And that is what is being mulled and debated right now, as he and owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy look toward the future.
Should we believe Kerr when he said in the last game in Phoenix, with his arms around his two partners in dynasty creation, Stephen Curry and Green, “I don’t know what happens next”?
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“That was kind of a jolt of a message,” Curry said in the poignant aftermath. “But he left the door open.”
Warriors forward Draymond Green, guard Stephen Curry and head coach Steve Kerr embrace during the closing minutes of Friday’s NBA play-in loss to the Suns in Phoenix.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
Curry’s won’t be the loudest voice in this discussion. That’s not his way. But his voice is the most important, because he will remain the centerpiece of the team. If we are to believe him, he and Kerr hadn’t really talked about the future as of last Friday.
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That makes sense, because professional sports is about the present, every day, until the season is over. It’s for the rest of us to speculate about the future.
“We’ll have those conversations where I get to understand where his mind is at,” Curry said. “He’s not going to open up on that front at any point during this season, because we still had a job to do.”
But Curry doesn’t need to have a conversation to know what his coach is thinking. He and Kerr have had a mind meld for the past 12 seasons, a beautiful connection that produced four championships and six trips to the NBA Finals.
“I want Coach to be happy, I want him to be excited about the job, I want him to have an opportunity to enjoy what he does, whatever that means for him,” Curry said. “I’m not going to try to tell anyone what to do. He knows how I feel about him.
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“I want him to look at the situation and feel he’s the right guy.”
ESPN reported that Lacob wants to hear Kerr “express a hunger to continue executing the nitty-gritty details of the daily job.” While Kerr has looked frustrated and tired at times during the past exhausting season, he has continuously expressed his pride and enthusiasm over coaching the team. But if Lacob wants Kerr — after all he has accomplished — to construct some kind of PowerPoint presentation to sell himself, well, that seems unlikely.
Kerr is right that “these jobs have an expiration date.” The voice gets stale, fresh blood is needed. But is that date now?
As Curry said, the team has to “adapt and evolve.” And that means change. But the Warriors will still be building around Curry. They will likely be looking for veteran players to come in and complement him. Green, who was floated as a trade chip in February, may or may not be back. That kind of roster construction points toward the need for a veteran coach, one who knows how to manage complicated personalities. (And could any other coach manage Green?)
It would be an incredible risk to get some newbie out of the college ranks who has never dealt with the NBA. Florida’s Todd Golden is a name that has been out there — but he’s only a couple of years older than Curry (and also has unsavory misconduct allegations in his past). Would he, or any untested coach, really be an answer?
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Is there an assistant out there who would be better than Kerr? Could the Warriors elevate Jerry Stackhouse or Terry Stotts and, if they did, would that really represent a fresh start? Did the New York Knicks’ face-plant against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference playoff series put Mike Brown’s job in jeopardy with erratic Knicks ownership, and could he be a long-shot candidate?
And, though this decision may be made before the May 10 draft lottery, could that change plans? The Warriors currently have a 9.4% chance of landing a top-four pick, but funny things happen — just ask the Dallas Mavericks. Could a thumb be placed on the scale to keep the NBA’s greatest showman’s team more relevant, and also reward one of the few lottery teams that didn’t tank?
There are so many personal dynamics involved. Is it simply too tiring working for Lacob? Does Lacob blame Kerr for the recent failings, despite all the injuries? How much of a voice does Dunleavy have? What does Kerr’s wife, Margot, think? How important is it for Kerr to coach alongside his son, Nicholas? And, critically, how can he walk away from the final act of Curry?
We are at an inflection point for the Warriors. Almost 40 years ago, the architect of the last great Bay Area dynasty walked away from the job. The 49ers were at a different point — a dazzling team still at the height of its powers. The Warriors aren’t that. They need to change, but that change needs to be thoughtful, not rash.
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Bill Walsh and Steve Kerr share many traits, including being among the best ever at their jobs.
Kerr is one of one, a seminal figure in Bay Area sports. Is this really the end?