Steve Kerr became head coach of the Golden State Warriors in 2014 and has had one of the best runs in NBA history.
Kerr’s NBA career spanned from 1988 to 2003 and had stints with the Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs (twice), and Portland Trail Blazers, winning five titles along the way (1996-1999, 2003).
Steve Kerr’s Run With The Warriors
With the Warriors, Kerr has amassed a career record of 567-308 in the regular season, a .648 winning percentage. However, the postseason has defined his coaching career. He is 104-48 with the Warriors in the playoffs, including five trips to the NBA Finals and four championship victories (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022).
The Warriors are looking to make one more run with Kerr manning the show, featuring a team led by Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green.
Last season, the Warriors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in the play-in and upset the second-seeded Houston Rockets in the first round before being knocked out of the postseason by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Semifinals.
However, one key contributor, Jonathan Kuminga, remains a restricted free agent.
Former NBA Champion Has Major Issues With Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr
Although there have been plenty of rumors surrounding Kuminga, he has yet to find a home in free agency. He claims he is just fine with that and is in no hurry to make a decision.
“I saw Jonathan Kuminga this morning at a workout in Miami. He’s in good spirits; he had a good workout,” ESPN Insider Shams Charania said. “He did tell me, though, that he is in absolutely no rush on doing a deal with the Warriors right now, and he is not accepting their current offers.”
Former NBA Champion Kendrick Perkins, appearing on “Road Trippin’,” explained why he does not like the way the Warriors have handled the Kuminga situation.
“I feel like this is a bad look on the Golden State Warriors in my opinion,” Perkins said. “I honestly do. I feel like this is a bad look on the Golden State Warriors. I feel like this is a bad look on Steve Kerr.”
Perkins puts a lot of the blame on the headman.
“Steve Kerr, in my opinion, has a hard time of letting young guys be great,” Perkins explained. “The only person that I’ve seen him wrap his arms around as a young guy is [Brandin] Podziemski. And Podziemski is going to have a long career as a role player. But when it comes down to guys elevating, and you see a guy that has the potential to be a franchise guy, Steve Kerr is holding these guys back. Why?”
Perkins believes benching Kuminga at times in the postseason has potentially stunted his growth and wondered why Kerr hasn’t adjusted his game to younger players like Kuminga, using former Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich (who Kerr played for) and current Indiana Pacers head man Rick Carlisle as coaches who have been successful in turning their attention to younger players.
“If they let him loose, he has All-Star/All-NBA potential,” Perkins stated.
Whether Perkins’ bold claim about Kuminga’s potential becomes true or not remains to be seen, but he is definitely a valuable asset, and it is certainly a surprise he is still without a home.
