KERR WILL CONTINUE HIS HALL OF FAME CAREER, AVOIDING GARVEY TREATMENT
The Warriors will make another playoff stand, he thinks, which gives him three postseasons with Curry and developing youngsters — meaning no talk-show caller will reach the air demanding his firing
The kid from Pacific Palisades was on hold, aching to prank the talk host again. This is what Steve Kerr did when he was a young teen, irking sports media, deciding one day with a pal to badger a Dodgers fan named Bud Furillo.
“Trade Steve Garvey,” Kerr said on a Los Angeles station.
“We can’t trade Garvey!” Furillo said.
In more serious ways, he has been a coach and a leader and an instigator through life, basically. So why wouldn’t Kerr sign for two more years with the Golden State Warriors, into his 60s, when coaching is what he does best in life and will put him in the Basketball Hall of Fame someday? For brief moments, there were thoughts he wouldn’t last when his owner is Joe Lacob, who never thinks he should lose in the postseason and might have wanted to respond the way Kerr treated Garvey. Hell, if Kerr could get into a practice fight with Michael Jordan, why not scuffle with Lacob?
“No, because I know Joe is going to do the right thing,” said Draymond Green, whose bullying pulpit was built by both men. “He’s done nothing but build that trust with us that he’ll take care of those who take care of this organization.”
His three decades in major NBA life becomes four. Since the gunner was brought to Chicago, he hit a Finals-winning shot and won three championships, then went to San Antonio and won twice more as a player, bonding each time with Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich, coaches who won a collective 16 rings. Kerr may end up with four as a coach, nine total, which isn’t as good as Jackson’s “Eleven Rings” but still worthy of a book.
Don’t tell him that. He sees an opportunity to mesh the old Warriors with the new Warriors, with Stephen Curry in the square as a top-10 legend, and senses another chance to make contending waves. His realization happened in only a few weeks, when Jonathan Kuminga has emerged as a budding superstar and the starters have been spurred by Brandin Podziemski, who goes down as the rookie who moved Klay Thompson to the bench. For the longest time, Kerr was not agreeing to an extension with Lacob, who insists on valuing critical past cornerstones and developing new talent, all in line with arrogance that his franchise remains “light years” ahead of all competitors. Recently, Lacob tried to land LeBron James from the Lakers. Next, he might try for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Does Kerr think Lacob is offbeat? Oh, you must watch him poke fun at the owner after glories. But how cool to work for a man as possessed to win as he is? He will try through the summer of 2026, an extension aligned for the expiration of Curry’s contract. Remember, it was Kerr who created Curry as the monster of three-point weavery, with Thompson doubling as an all-time shooter and Green manhandling opponents. Why wouldn’t he want to coach him until the end, with Steph recently acknowledging vague retirement thoughts? Kerr signed a $35 million deal, making him the highest-paid coach in league history, and he’ll keep dreaming of a dynasty the next three postseasons after coaching the U.S. Olympic team in Paris.
“You just don’t know when something is going to click, but something has clicked,” Kerr said. “When we see the growth of our young players and we’re watching them grow up literally before our eyes, it’s a very satisfying feeling. It’s a really wonderful group of players. I look forward to coming to the gym every day.”
“I think it’s incredible,” Green said. “Wouldn't want to finish my time here with any other coach. What he's meant to this franchise, what he’s done for us as players, the winning ways that he brought here, you can't replace that. He got what he deserved, the largest salary in coaching history, right? It’s great knowing that we’ll all be in this together.”
Until, of course, Green murders Anthony Edwards or Kevin Durant. Or Thompson and Andrew Wiggins are traded. But don’t put it past Kerr, even in the mean Western Conference, that he’ll make one more mighty run the next three years. Someday, he can return to TV as a commentator. Maybe he’ll replace Popovich and take over the manschooling of Victor Wembanyama. Perhaps he’ll return to Chicago and repair the Bulls as a general manager, a role he served in Phoenix. Adam Silver will need an eventual replacement as league commissioner.
For now, he finally likes his locker room, with Chris Paul returning soon. “So we have a really fun mix of vets who are Hall of Famers, champions, then these young guys who are learning and growing,” Kerr said. “It just feels like the chemistry, the connection within, is really, really strong. It makes for a fun team to coach.”
“He had a great speech about that yesterday,” Curry said. “The way I approach it, six seed is the goal. This is probably the ultimate test of ‘stay right where you are, win every game that’s in front of you.’ Build up a joy and an energy and momentum. It’s a lofty goal, but we know we can get there.”
The sixth seed would bring a series against one of the league’s best teams, such as the Thunder or Clippers. A loss? “I think we’re on a great trajectory,” Green said. “As we can see, Kuminga, Brandin, Moses (Moody), Trayce (Jackson-Davis) — those young guys, they’ve unlocked this team. I think the possibilities are endless, I think this team has an unlimited amount of potential, and we’re trending in the right direction at the right time.”
Fire Steve Kerr? Did that prank cross anyone’s mind?
The caller never reached the air.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.