Kawakami: Kerr on his Warriors future and more — ‘I would guess that it will keep going’

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At any other point in his career, probably with almost any other coaching job, and at any other high or low moment in this Warriors run, Steve Kerr would not be nearly so happy to keep his future so open-ended.

Coaches understandably fight for contract extensions almost as hard — or, in some cases, harder — as they fight for wins and playoff seeding. You live to see another day, then you negotiate for a raise and 1,000 more days and keep on doing that forever if possible.

But at 60, heading into his 12th season as the Warriors’ coach, Kerr told the front office months ago that he doesn’t want to talk about extending his contract past next summer, even though GM Mike Dunleavy has said he’d be happy to talk about a new deal for Kerr at any time.

“I would never have felt this way, even a few years ago,” Kerr said on my podcast last week. “Most of the time, you’re looking for a long-term deal to protect yourself because we’re all vulnerable.

“I’m lucky to be in this position where I can kind of determine my own course. I love that Mike and Joe [Lacob] are respecting that. I think it’s very healthy for everybody.”

Having the option to put off a contractual decision is a true luxury, Kerr knows, possible only because of the four NBA titles won in his tenure, the money he’s made over this period, and the greatest luxury of all: having Stephen Curry as the North Star of everything the Warriors do.

It’s been good with the Warriors for more than a decade. It’s still good, especially after the sprint to close last season, once Jimmy Butler was acquired, and with Al Horford signed up for this season.

But at some point, it might not be good. This is a very old team that got bounced in the second round of the playoffs last season, when Curry suffered a hamstring injury. The Warriors will have to do different things relatively soon.

What’s worked for 11 years might not work for another five years or, perhaps, another five months. Who knows?

“I think one of the things that I’m aware of is in sports, in every sport, there’s kind of an expiration date on coaching jobs,” Kerr said. “And if you feel as a coach that it’s not clicking any more, then it’s time to go.

“I don’t think that’s the case. I don’t believe that that’s where we are right now. I think I’m very comfortable with the players. I know they respect me. We have a great collaboration. Love working with Mike, love working with this whole organization.

“So if you had to ask me, I would guess that it will keep going. But I don’t really feel that’s the right call to make, because I just want to see where this all is.”

What would he do if he left this job? Coach somewhere else? Pursue one of his many other interests? Spend all his time with his kids and grandkids?

“As I get older, I think a lot about what would drive me from the NBA, and what would that mean?” Kerr said. “I love being part of a team, being part of a group, collaborating.

“[But] the travel, the length of the season does start to wear on you a little bit. Life, you know, enters the equation — family, all that stuff. So this is really more about, let’s just see where everything is at the end of the year or midway through the year, whatever it is. … I want to see how I feel six months from now and how the organization feels, too.”

Bob Myers left the Warriors in May 2023. Klay Thompson exited a year later. Everybody not named Lacob will leave their current role with the franchise eventually.

But Kerr’s ambivalence doesn’t mean his departure is teed up for next spring. In fact, Kerr generally agrees that things very likely could go well this season, which would lead to a new deal. It’s just that Kerr doesn’t want either side to have to make that call until everybody feels good about it.

“Maybe … we’re at the All-Star break and it’s, like, ‘Hey, this is going to keep going, let’s do [an extension],’” Kerr said. “But for right now, let’s just kind of see where this all goes. I’m perfectly comfortable with whatever happens. But I love what I do, and I would imagine I’ll keep doing this.”

Kerr assures that this is not uncertainty about how to coach this group, with younger players moving into larger roles, or about the Warriors’ chances in the Western Conference this season.

“You look at the West, and OKC is clearly the best team,” Kerr said. “Denver, I think, had a great summer, and [Nikola] Jokic is Jokic. You start going down the list and it’s like, Clippers, Lakers, Rockets, us, Memphis, Spurs, you know. … Timberwolves, I didn’t even mention them. … You’re already [almost] getting into double-digit teams that are going to be good.

“We feel like we’re going to be good. We showed it at the end of last year after we got Jimmy, that we were a strong team. So where can you gain an edge? … We’re tweaking a few things at both ends of the floor, just trying to get a little bit better, because that may be the difference between avoiding the play-in or not.

“You obviously run everything through Steph and Jimmy. You anchor the defense with Draymond, and you’ve got all these young guys who are coming up, playing better and better. … I think we can be really good.”

Here are some other highlights from our conversation.

• Kerr said he’s talked with Jonathan Kuminga about his role and future after the long, weird negotiation to get him signed to a two-year, $48-million deal.

I asked Kerr if he was upset that Kuminga’s agent repeatedly and publicly raised issues with Kerr’s coaching of the player.

“It doesn’t bother me,” Kerr said. “These types of things happen all the time in the NBA. … Everybody who plays in the NBA eventually has a contract dispute of some sort, and they all play out a little differently.

“But once it’s all resolved, that goes out the window, and then it becomes about the team and competing and trying to put together a great, great club.

“I’ve already talked to JK. We’ve had a good discussion. No hard feelings. Let’s go. Let’s get a move on. And I’m happy for him. It might not have been the contract that he wanted, but that’s a lot of money. This is life-changing money. And the idea is to help him get better, so that he can sign more of those deals and we can win more games.”

• So what’s Kuminga’s role on this team — whether he’s traded midseason, next offseason, or — least likely — stays with the team for several more years? Will he be more involved than last season, when he was benched for much of the first round of the playoffs?

“We think Steph and Jimmy and Draymond are all playing at a level that, if things fall our way, we think we have a real shot,” Kerr said. “So nobody really gets a guaranteed role of anything. But what everyone deserves is clarity. And that’s what I try to offer with every guy: ‘This is what we need. This is why you’re not in the rotation.’ And so those are periodic conversations throughout the year.”

Kerr always is looking for good two- or three-man combinations in his substitution pattern. The big problem for Kuminga came once Butler was acquired, when there wasn’t a great combination for Kuminga.

But Kerr has some ideas for this season.

“Well, this is going to be a shock, but [Kuminga] plays well with Steph — literally, everybody plays well with Steph,” Kerr said. “From there, that’s where the combinations … you start to get a feel. [Brandin Podziemski] is basically good with everybody.

“So you know, when I think about JK — Steph, BP, now we’ve got a space five. We’ve got two of them actually, with Quinten [Post] and Al. So I’m looking forward to putting [Kuminga] with Al, especially. Because Al’s got the ability to protect the rim, and he’s excellent defensively. Even at 39, he’s still a very good defender.

“To be really blunt, I mean, that’s part of the reason that JK hasn’t played as much as he has wanted to — because it’s been tougher to find a lot of combinations that click. … And because of the idea that you need shooting in the modern NBA, a space five could be something that really helps him.”

• Yes, you can tell that Kerr loves having Horford on this team. It gives him the option of going with Horford in the starting lineup, alongside Draymond, or as the center on the second unit or teamed with Post or Trayce Jackson-Davis as a rare double-center Warriors unit.

“Instantly, you see the spacing with Al as a four or a five,” Kerr said. “He’s out at the 3-point line, he catches it, he’s 6-10, and he gets a shot off quickly. It’s not just that he’s a good shooter, it’s that it is boom-boom, shot is up there.

“And conversely, you put him in the post, you give him ball, space somebody else out, he’s a great passer. ... Watching Al, like the first time we started doing that, instantly three assists, like little backdoor passes for layups to guys or hitting Steph on the perimeter.”

• Two young players Kerr mentions as big gainers in camp: Moses Moody, who got the first run as the starting shooting guard in scrimmages, and Podziemski. In podium sessions, Kerr has said he needs Podziemski to stop arguing with officials — and Kerr praised him for staying calm when the Warriors had NBA refs in for a scrimmage last week.

“He’s a competitor; he loves the game,” Kerr said. “He’s got high aspirations for himself, and I love that about him. At the same time, I want him to find the edge without the emotional downswings. And that’s what’s been so encouraging so far.

“And I’m gonna definitely stay on him about that, because I think his emotion can lift our team, and it can also put us in a tough spot.”

• Finally, I’ve asked Kerr this before ,because he was a player on the famous “Last Dance” Michael Jordan Bulls team in 1997-98: Is Kerr in any way setting up a last go-round for the Warriors’ dynasty this season?

“By no means am I looking at this as the last dance or my last dance,” Kerr said. “I think this team, obviously Steph and Draymond and Jimmy are all signed for two more years. That Bulls team, everybody was a free agent — Michael, Scottie [Pippen], Phil [Jackson], half the team, we were all free agents. So that was very clear-cut and defined. We were also coming off back-to-back championships. Very unique situation.

“This is different. This is more of a traditional NBA situation where you’ve got some aging stars. You’re just trying to be good for as long as you can. You don’t know if it’s going to be this year or two more years or three more years. None of us have any idea. So this is definitely not the last dance.”