Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The Golden State Warriors face a raft of questions, including the future of coach Steve Kerr, after their elimination from the NBA play-in tournament. Kerr’s contract is expiring, and after 12 years with the club, he acknowledged after the Warriors’ loss to Phoenix on Friday night that he didn’t know if he’d be back. Golden State won the 2015 NBA title in Kerr’s first season at the helm and won three more in 2017, 2018, and 2022.
“These jobs all have an expiration date,” Kerr said after an emotional moment with stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green on the court. The battle-tested trio shared an extended embrace as Kerr told the players: “I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I love you guys to death. Thank you.” Curry said he didn’t know if it was a precursor to an official goodbye. “I don’t know if that’s a signal of anything,” Curry said. “It’s just that we wanted to appreciate what we have all poured into this journey.”
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Kerr told reporters after the game he would take some time and meet with team ownership and management to consider his future. “It may still go on. It may not,” he said. “But we all need to step away a little bit and then reconvene.” One thing Kerr was sure about: “I’m definitely not going and coaching somewhere else next year in the NBA.”
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 missed 27 straight games with a nagging knee injury. Curry has one season remaining on his contract and said he envisions several more NBA campaigns, while Green, the subject of trade speculation this season, said he also wants to stay. Curry admitted that he found Kerr’s comments as they hugged “kind of jolting.” “But he left the door open,” Curry added.
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