SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Warriors coach Steve Kerr always planned on staying put alongside Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and the rest of Golden State’s star-studded roster.
Kerr finalized his $35 million, two-year contract extension that takes him through the 2025-26 season. He is currently in his 10th season.
Golden State announced the deal Tuesday after the sides had reached agreement last Friday. The 58-year-old Kerr brought four NBA championships to the franchise in his first eight seasons as coach — and he wasn’t in a rush to sign beyond his current contract that had been set to expire after this season.
“I was never worried about anything. I knew I wanted to come back,” Kerr said Tuesday in Washington before the Warriors played the Wizards. “(Owner) Joe (Lacob) made it clear he wanted me back, and we worked it out and I couldn’t be more excited.”
READ MORE
LeBron scores 34 points, leads Lakers’ rally from 21-point deficit in 116-112 win over Clippers
Jamal Murray scores 32 points, Nuggets use big run to beat Kings 117-96
DeMar DeRozan scores 35 points, Bulls outlast Cavaliers 132-123 in 2OT
Kerr said the length of the extension, two years, was what he wanted.
“We’re in a really unique situation where we have an era that’s winding down and another era that’s coming and we’re trying to make them merge,” Kerr said. “Let’s keep it rolling for another couple years and then reassess at that point.”
Kerr will coach the U.S. team at the Paris Olympics this summer and had said repeatedly his focus was on coaching and not his unsettled contract situation.
After the Warriors beat Charlotte 97-84 on Friday, Kerr didn’t want to discuss the new deal but instead noted he felt “really good” about his future with Golden State. He led the Warriors to their first championship in 40 years as a rookie coach in 2014-15.
When he won his 500th game Feb. 15, he did so in just 764 games — the fifth-fewest games to accomplish the mark.
He is one of four Warriors coaches to win an NBA title, joining Eddie Gottlieb (1947), George Senesky (1956) and Alvin Attles (1975).
“Steve has played an immense role in our success over the last decade, success that has been duplicated by very few coaches in NBA history,” Lacob said in a statement. “His resumes as both a player and coach are astonishing, but not surprising, because his management skills and integrity as a person are off-the-charts and on display every single day.”
The average value of $17.5 million would be the most for any NBA coach. Other deals have a higher total value: Miami’s Erik Spoelstra agreed to an eight-year, $120 million extension earlier this year, while San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich (five years, $80 million) and Detroit’s Monty Williams (reported six years, $78 million) have bigger contracts in terms of total dollars.
In addition, Kerr’s extension is worth more annually than what he made in the entirety of his playing career, one in which he was part of five NBA championship teams.
With the deal going through 2025-26, that matches up with the final year Curry is under contract.
___
AP Sports Writer Ben Nuckols in Washington contributed to this report.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
