Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr missed over a month at the end of the 2016-17 NBA season as his team was racing undefeated through the playoffs and into the NBA Finals. His health concerns were troubling and many wondered if his days as a head coach were numbered. While assistant head coach Mike Brown was masterful in leading The Warriors into the NBA Finals, Kerr finally made his return in the middle of the Finals and coached his team to their second NBA Championship in three seasons.
The future of Steve Kerr
After the NBA Finals, Golden State Warriors stated that Steve Kerr will be back next season as the head coach of the team.
Kerr spoke to ESPN and said that it isn’t just one year either and he plans to coach the Warriors for many more years after that. While Steve wouldn’t talk about his health condition in the interview, he said that he plans on coaching in the NBA for a very long time.
Those health conditions included nausea and migraines and they all tied into a back surgery that Steve Kerr had two years ago. While Steve was trying to work through the pain and nausea using natural and alternative remedies, he finally was forced to take the break to try to fix the problems.
Steve Kerr has his first back surgery in July 2015 and missed a few months because he needed a follow-up surgery. He came back in January 2016 and won Coach of the Year despite the missed time after the Warriors won a record 65 games.
However, Kerr said that his missed time was about pain management and not about any other health concerns.
He was questionable to return before the end of the NBA season but made his return in Game 2 the NBA Finals, where he said he was lucky to have coached his Golden State Warriors to a second championship.
The Golden State Warriors
It is clear that Steve Kerr does not want to jeopardize his position with the Golden State Warriors. He said that it is rare to have a lineup as talented as the one he coaches, with four All-Star caliber starters. Kerr calls himself very lucky to be in this position and loves his job coaching them. He said that he wants to keep coaching these players for a long time and that is the plan – to push forward.
Steve Kerr has a great chance of continuing with his lineup as well. While Steph Curry has an option coming where he can leave if he chooses, that won’t happen as Curry has said he can’t see himself playing anywhere else but with the Golden State Warriors. Kevin Durant said he will opt out of the second year of his contract but just so he can re-sign at a lower rate to help the team keep their major stars for another year.
