Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr will continue leading the franchise after reaching agreement on a two-year contract extension, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.
A person with knowledge of the talks confirmed to The Associated Press that while Kerr has agreed to the deal in principle, he has not yet put pen to paper on the contract. The source requested anonymity since the agreement still needs to be completed.
The contract extension comes after a disappointing season that saw Golden State fail to reach the playoffs for the second time in three years. The Warriors finished with the 10th seed in the Western Conference and were eliminated by Phoenix in the play-in tournament.
During his dozen years at the helm, Kerr has guided the Warriors to four NBA titles and six consecutive Finals appearances alongside stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. Following the playoff loss in Phoenix, Kerr embraced both players, acknowledging afterward that he wasn’t certain if they would continue working together.
This past season proved challenging as the Warriors posted a 37-45 record while battling multiple injuries. The team lost Jimmy Butler for the remainder of the season in January due to a right knee injury, while Curry missed 27 games with his own knee problems.
ESPN was first to report news of Kerr’s contract extension.
The 60-year-old coach took over the Warriors in 2014-15 and immediately delivered the franchise’s first championship in four decades. The following season began with Kerr sidelined as assistant coach Luke Walton guided the team to a historic 24-0 start. Kerr missed the first 43 games while recovering from severe complications related to two back surgeries, and the Warriors went on to win a record 73 games. He later took additional time away in 2017, with Mike Brown stepping in while Kerr had a procedure to address a spinal fluid leak.
Green had speculated on his podcast after the season concluded that Kerr might not return to the team.
Beyond basketball, Kerr has consistently used his position to advocate on issues including gun violence and social justice. His father, Malcolm, who served as president of the American University of Beirut, was killed in Beirut when Kerr was an 18-year-old college freshman at the University of Arizona.
In March 2018, Kerr participated in the Oakland March for Our Lives event. That same month, he joined Democratic Representatives Ro Khanna and Mike Thompson — who chaired the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force at the time — along with local students at a Newark Memorial High School town hall focused on school gun violence, praising young activists across the nation.
Kerr has expressed that balancing his roles as both a basketball coach and public advocate comes naturally given current events.
“I think in some ways the balance is presented to us, given what’s happening around the country,” Kerr said. “I know that when I played, players and coaches were never — maybe not never — rarely asked about politics and voting.”
