Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Steve Kerr has agreed to return as head coach of the Golden State Warriors after accepting a two-year contract, his agents told ESPN on Saturday. Kerr, whose contract was expiring at the end of the season, said after the Warriors were eliminated in the NBA’s play-in tournament that he did not know if he’d be back for a 13th season with the club.
“These jobs all have an expiration date,” Kerr said following an emotional moment with stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green on the court after the Warriors’ season-ending loss to Phoenix on April 17. “There is a run that happens, and when the run ends, sometimes it’s time for new blood and new ideas,” the coach said. Green had stoked speculation that 60-year-old Kerr would call it quits with remarks on his podcast.
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But ESPN, citing Dan Eveloff and Rick Smith of Priority Sports, said Kerr had decided to stay. ESPN, citing unnamed league sources, said the two-year deal will keep Kerr as the highest-paid coach in the NBA annually. He made $17.5 million last year.
Golden State won the 2015 NBA title in Kerr’s first season at the helm and won three more in 2017, 2018, and 2022. This season the Warriors had battled into the play-in despite multiple injury setbacks. Jimmy Butler, brought in to bolster the aging duo of Curry and Green, tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in January. Moses Moody was stretchered off in March with a torn knee tendon. Curry, 38, missed time with a sprained ankle then was sidelined for 27 straight games with a nagging knee injury.
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