The Golden State Warriors might as well have won another NBA title based on head coach Steve Kerr\u2019s joy after their play-in tournament victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.<\/p>\n
As told by Kerr a few minutes later: \u201cFor one night. We\u2019re us. We\u2019re champions again.\u201d<\/p>\n
One final night. And perhaps for another.<\/p>\n
Kerr and the Warriors have elected to extend the iconic 12-year partnership that brought four NBA championships, six Western Conference crowns, a single-season record 73 wins and some of the most aesthetically pleasing basketball ever to the Bay Area, a source confirmed to the Chronicle on Saturday. The 60-year-old\u2019s contract was due to expire this offseason and meetings with controlling owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy concluded with a new two-year contract for Kerr.<\/p>\n
He stays with Golden State with a 604-353 record \u2013 for a .631 winning percentage, fourth all-time among those who\u2019ve coached at least 900 games \u2013 and 104-48 postseason mark for the third best winning percentage in playoff history.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still love coaching, but I get it,\u201d Kerr said after Golden State\u2019s season ended April 17 with a play-in tournament loss to the Phoenix Suns. \u201cThese jobs all have an expiration date. There\u2019s a run that happens and when the run ends, sometimes it’s time for new blood and new ideas and all that. If that\u2019s the case, then I will be just nothing but grateful for the most amazing opportunity any person could ever have.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not the case yet.<\/p>\n
Kerr succeeded Mark Jackson as Golden State\u2019s head coach in 2014, eschewing interest from the New York Knicks to coach what then was a burgeoning core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green. The motion offense and switching defense the Warriors implemented under Kerr \u2013 an alchemist of adjustments in the NBA\u2019s postseason \u2013 revolutionized basketball as the genesis for their dynasty.<\/p>\n
Along with the joyful ethos he preached.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Curry evolved from an All-Star into one of the greatest players in NBA history, pairing in the backcourt with Thompson, an all-time great shooter and rugged defender. Green turned from a tweener to a small-ball center who guarded across opposing lineups, keying their two-way flexibility as an all-time great defender and crafty facilitator. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Iguodala, Kevin Durant \u2014 as a two-time NBA Finals MVP \u2014 Andrew Bogut, Shaun Livingston, Harrison Barnes, David West, Kevon Looney, Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole played critical roles along the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t win in this league without great players,\u201d Kerr said after his 600th win. \u201cAnd I was blessed from the day I took this job with incredible talent. \u2026 Just to be a part of this (organization), I\u2019m so blessed. Most organizations are not this strong and not this aligned. I\u2019m very lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n
But age and attrition have weakened the Warriors, who won their last title in 2022 and ended their season short of the playoffs in two of the last three years. A recent report from ESPN noted management\u2019s desire for strategic adjustments and better managing turnovers, long a weakness for the Warriors under Kerr.<\/p>\n
A midseason email from Lacob to a fan that got leaked revealed frustration, highlighting \u201cStyle of play. Coaches desires regarding players. League trends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Curry and Green, however, hoped he\u2019d return.<\/p>\n
They got what they wanted.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows how I feel about it. That shouldn\u2019t even need to be said,\u201d Curry said after the season ended. \u201cHowever it goes \u2026 you\u2019re thankful for what we\u2019ve been able to accomplish over this run.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Golden State Warriors might as well have won another NBA title based on head coach Steve Kerr\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":308393,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[7000,101,103,102,104,106,105,17007],"class_list":["post-308392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-golden-state-warriors","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-steve-kerr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/308393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}