Kerr downplays contract extension talks with Warriors
Whether Bob Myers will be resigned to navigate the waning years of a dynasty is the most pressing offseason matter following the Warriors' early playoff exit. Head coach Steve Kerr's future is also up for discussion as he comes into the final year of his contract for the 2023-24 season.
That final contract year is when two sides typically start discussing extensions. But Kerr said on Tuesday that those talks are on the backburner while the organization sorts through team president Myers' potential exit and Draymond Green's future with the team.
Kerr signed an extension at the end of the 2018 championship season and is going into his ninth season as Warriors head coach.
“Our organization has a lot to sort through this summer,” he said at an end-ofseason press conference on Tuesday. “My contract situation is not, nor should it be, at the top of the list. Right now Bob's contract situation is number one because that influences a lot of the player decisions that have to be made, contracts, draft, free agency.
“We will get to my stuff whenever that happens, and I'm in no rush for that.”
Myers will take time to decide if he wants to return to his post and take the contract extension majority owner Joe Lacob has offered, according to ESPN. Myers is with team officials at the NBA combine in Chicago and is expected to speak with reporters next week. Kerr and Myers are close, Kerr reiterating that he hopes Myers returns to the team even if he supports whatever decision he comes to “100 percent.”
“Bob is such an important part of our organization, not only as one of the faces of the organization, out there in the NBA world meeting with other executives and agents and representing us in that regard, but also with his relationships with other players. He's got such credibility with our guys,” Kerr said.
“I want what's best for Bob, and if he decides that he's going to leave, of course I'm going to support him 100 percent, and we will remain friends for a long time,” he said. “I would miss him, but I support him regardless of what he does.”
Kerr came to the Warriors in 2014 and implemented a movement offense that unlocked Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and emboldened Green in a way that transformed a playoff contender into a bonafide championship team and perennial force in the NBA.
SPURS WIN TOP PICK IN LOTTERY » Victor Wembanyama is now set to begin his NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs, after they won the NBA draft lottery and the No. 1 overall pick.
The Spurs were one of three teams with the best odds — 14% — to land the No. 1 pick, which they'll almost certainly use on Wembanyama. The 7-foot-3 French 19-year-old is one of the most highly touted prospects in NBA history.
It's the third time the Spurs have won the lottery, and on both previous occasions they made picks that paid off for decades. They chose David Robinson in 1987, Tim Duncan in 1997, and those selections were a major part of how the Spurs became a team that won five NBA titles under coach Gregg Popovich.
Charlotte will pick second, Portland moved up to third, and Houston fell to fourth.