Why Steve Kerr ‘couldn’t imagine’ walking away from Warriors

SAN FRANCISCO – Steve Kerr's return to the Golden State Warriors was never a sure thing. And at times it even seemed doubtful. But at the end of the day, the man who brought four titles to the Bay and a decade plus of basketball excellence could not step away from the franchise he's made his home. Kerr could not walk away from Stephen Curry and Draymond Green and everything they built because he still has that passion for coaching and a hunger for winning.” I still love what I do,” Kerr said at his returning press conference. “If I were tired and burned out, then I would not be doing this, but I love my job. I love coaching the Warriors, being in this city, being in the Bay. So it all worked out.”How it worked out was a little more complicated than just Kerr deciding on a whim that he wanted to run it back.The 12-year head coach took a couple of weeks after the Warriors' Play-In elimination in Phoenix to weigh his future. He talked to his family, he consulted with Curry and Green, he engaged in several conversations with owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy, as he searched for what he wanted to do next– as he searched for the fire and motivation that drove him across his basketball career.And of those conversations, the most illuminating advice Kerr got came from his wife Margot.“My wife and I decided let's keep doing this if the Warriors want me to keep doing this,” Kerr explained. “She said, ‘You might coach again someday, but you'll never coach the Warriors again. And that was really meaningful to me. Because I love this team, I love our players, and that struck me. I couldn't imagine walking away from the Warriors.”Steve Kerr and a renewed organizational alignmentBob Kupbens-Imagn ImagesOther members of the Kerr family chipped in to help the long-time head coach come to a decision. Kerr said his daughter Maddy told him that most people don't love everything about their jobs and to focus on the countless things he loves about coaching the Warriors.But on the organizational side of things, Kerr, Lacob, and Dunleavy's conversations, which spanned multiple weeks, were also important in his decision to return. It was a process Kerr described as collaborative and rare in the world of pro sports.“I don't think this actually happens in pro sports, honestly, where you have these kind of conversations and genuinely authentically try to figure out together what's the right thing,” Kerr remarked.“I think we had to come to a much more reality-based, shared vision of: What does success look like for us? What are we trying to accomplish? Because for the first time, really, since [2019-2020] we aren't sitting here saying, ‘Hey, we can win championship.' We all kind of know that, where we are, right at this second. And so, I think we had to hash that out. We had to talk about all those things.”As currently constructed, the Warriors are not close to the upper echelon of the NBA. Curry, for all his sustained brilliance, is in his twilight years as his knee issues sidelined him for 27 consecutive games. Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody will miss a majority of next season. And Green, with his future in the air, is on the downslope of his career.And still, none of that diminishes what Kerr believes is possible for the Warriors, even he and the organization knows a title isn't realistic. “The idea is– let's see how good we can be. And we think we can still be good,” Kerr said. “We've got to get some guys back from injuries, we've got to make some moves, I've got to do some things, but let's run it back. Let's see how good we can be, and I think we're all really excited about that.”Chasing that moment in the spotlight in Los AngelesFor Kerr, some of those things he has to do include, in his words, “tightening the ship” in aspects like load managing players too much, their frequent turnover issues, and overall team discipline.” I think I really, frankly, gave everyone too much leeway this year,” Kerr explained. “We lost some of our discipline. And we got a little loose and that's my job. And if we can go into this season with a really clear vision of what we're trying to do on the court, everybody is tight and committed, and we get the process going. That's what will lead to success.”Ultimately, what success will look like for Kerr and the Warriors resembles something like their triumphant win over the Los Angeles Clippers in the 9-10 Play-In game. A moment in which they wound back the clock and felt like the Warriors of old. A game that felt meaningful, a phrase that Kerr, Curry, and the Warriors have echoed in their end-of-a-dynasty swan-song.“We want more [meaningful games]. We want to be able to feel that way consistently,” Kerr said with a fire in his eyes. “I think our team showed what they're made of by playing an incredible game to pull that game out, literally meaningful basketball, so I know it's still in them.”With two years on his new contract, that'll be the task for Kerr. Squeezing out whatever's left in the lemon that was the Golden State Warriors dynasty. And if there's any doubt about Kerr's passion or his drive, he put that notion to bed in a press conference where you could feel his competitive spirit burning brightly in his answers.“We want to create a meaningful season where we are putting the best version of ourselves out there, winning games, putting ourselves in the hunt… We feel like we can make a run, and when you do that, that's all you can ask.”SAN FRANCISCO – Steve Kerr's return to the Golden State Warriors was never a sure thing. And at times it even seemed doubtful. But at the end of the day, the man who brought four titles to the Bay and a decade plus of basketball excellence could not step away from the franchise he's made his home.