Longtime Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr is entering the 2025-26 NBA season on an expiring contract. However, the 60-year-old appears unconcerned about solidifying his long-term future on the sidelines.
Since taking the reins in Golden State ahead of the 2014-15 campaign, Kerr has enjoyed immense success, winning four NBA championships, including three as the architect of the franchise’s mid-to-late 2010s dynasty. In 2022, the spacing and team play-oriented basketball mind was named one of the “15 Greatest Coaches in NBA History” as part of the league’s 75th anniversary celebration.
The Warriors’ aging Stephen Curry-led core’s playoff success has diminished since winning their 2022 title, as they have not advanced past the second round. Still, Kerr’s squad remains a dark-horse Western Conference contender, with Curry’s co-star Jimmy Butler III gearing up for his first full season in the Bay Area.
How Is Steve Kerr Approaching His Contract Year With the Warriors?
Following Golden State’s first practice of the season on Tuesday, Kerr spoke in depth about his contract situation, offering candid insight into his mindset.
The 2016 NBA Coach of the Year underscored how at home he feels in his position as the league’s second-longest-tenured coach, noting that he intends to take a patient approach.
“I’m very comfortable going into the season with a year left,” Kerr said. “I’m so aligned with [general manager] Mike [Dunleavy] and [owner] Joe [Lacob]. We talked about this; there’s no reason for discussion or concern. This is kind of a point in our relationship where let’s just see how it is at the end of the year.
“I love my job. I love what I’m doing every day. I can’t wait to get to the building. Hopefully, I’m here for another few years. But I think it makes sense for the organization and for me to see where this thing is at the end of the year, where they are and where I am.”
Kerr signed a historic two-year, $35 million contract extension midway through the 2023-24 campaign after beginning that season on a similar expiring deal. However, he foresees talks unfolding differently this time around.
“I don’t anticipate any negotiation during the season,” Kerr speculated. “Who knows, maybe it all comes up at some point, and they come to me. But I’m not the slightest bit concerned about it. I don’t think about it. I just think it makes perfect sense for all of us [to wait].”
The former NBA sharpshooter concluded by expressing a desire to finish his Warriors coaching stint on a high note, regardless of when it ultimately comes to a close.
“However this ends, it’s going to be done in a really quality way,” Kerr shared optimistically. “It’s going to happen the right way. If it’s meant for me to keep going, I’m going to keep going. If it’s meant to be for the team to move on to someone else, there will be nothing but gratitude and appreciation.”
Steve Kerr is on the final season of his contract. He doesn’t anticipate negotiating an extension during the season. Wants to be with Warriors beyond but acknowledges it’s fluid.
“However this ends, it’s going to be done in a really quality way.”
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Kerr and Co. will look to build on last season’s 48-win finish that culminated in a Round 2 exit, with Curry sidelined due to a left hamstring strain.
