Steve Kerr's Future With Warriors Could Come Down To Negotiating More Than Sentimentality

I think Steve Kerr has sent the message out that he would be very interested in returning to coach the Warriors, said Brian Windhorst on Yahoo Sports Daily. But what I think people have misunderstood about this [is that] this is not a straight emotional decision, like, 'Do I have it within me to coach the Warriors or not?' There's not a contract sitting on the table. It's not like the Warriors said, 'Hey man, sign this at any time, whenever you feel like it.' They did not have contract extension discussions. They called those off. Steve called those off. He is making the highest salary amongst all NBA coaches at 17 million, and the team has not performed at, you know, that's a championship-competition-level salary. This team is not a championship contender right now. The other thing, and my colleagues Ramona Shelburne and Anthony Slater have reported on this, there is some desire within the organization for Steve Kerr to potentially change his coaching staff, and some desire for Steve Kerr to change some strategy, particularly offensively. Now, that is not a controversial statement. When a team that is this expensive and this veteran underachieves and misses the playoffs, to say that you want potential changes is not a shocking thing. But the question is: is Kerr willing to make those changes? Is Kerr willing to coach for a different salary next year? These are the real questions. This is where the rubber meets the road. He obviously has to ask himself the question of whether he can invest himself in the job, but he's indicated that he'd like to. This might come down to a negotiating thing. It might not be sentimental at all. This might be good old-fashioned negotiating. Steve Kerr can leave the sideline and walk right into a broadcasting job, in a selection of places, for big money and an easier life. So his leverage is there that he has that out there. This is not the framing that I think people have in mind that it's just, you know, does he wipe away the tears and sign the contract? There are other things to be dealt with here. The Warriors hired Kerr away from his broadcasting role with TNT in 2014 to replace Mark Jackson and they went on to reach five straight Finals and win three championships with a fourth title coming in 2022. The Warriors have only won two playoff series over the past four seasons.