The Golden State Warriors and head coach Steve Kerr agreed to a contract extension on Friday, February 23.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Friday evening that Kerr accepted a two-year extension worth $35 million in total. The deal makes Kerr among the highest-paid coaches in the NBA in terms of annual average salary at $17.5 million per year, and it will keep him under contract through the 2025-26 campaign.
Kerr’s deal would have expired at the end of this season had he been unable to reach an agreement with Golden State.
“The agreement completes months of talks between Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Kerr’s representatives at Priority Sports, assuring the Warriors that they’ll hold onto the coach whose .655 winning percentage is fifth in league history,” Wojnarowski wrote.
Kerr recently won his 500th game as a head coach in the league. He has led the Warriors to six NBA Finals appearances and four titles since taking over the job from former head coach Mark Jackson in 2014.
Steve Kerr Joins Steph Curry, Draymond Green on Multiyear Deals With Warriors
GettySteph Curry (left) and Steve Kerr (right) of the Golden State Warriors.
The length of Kerr’s extension will keep him with the Warriors for the duration of Steph Curry’s contract, which ends in the summer of 2026 when Curry will be 37 years old.
Draymond Green also signed an extension with the Warriors ahead of this season, which will keep him with the team through the end of the 2025-26 campaign as well, though Green’s deal includes a player option for the following year.
Kerr’s contract doesn’t necessarily indicate that he is uninterested in remaining with the franchise beyond the time that Curry and Green are there. However, his choice to line up his commitment to Golden State for the same amount of years as both Curry and Green gives Kerr the flexibility to take his leave from the NBA’s only modern dynasty at the same time as the players with whom he built it.
Steve Kerr Moves Klay Thompson to Bench in Middle of Contract Year
Getty Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors.
The odd man out in Golden State is now Klay Thompson, who Kerr recently moved out of the starting lineup in favor of rookie Brandon Podziemski. The coach has also looked to other options down the stretches of games at times, which Thompson admitted he initially took personally.
“I didn’t respond to not playing at the end of the game well last night,” Thompson told reporters on February 15. “I kind of took it out on the assistant coaches, and I apologized to those guys before the game.”
How Thompson might take a significantly reduced salary from the Warriors this offseason, or if he’ll take it at all, remains to be seen. That said, Thompson’s attitude has changed recently — at least based on his public comments.
During the same interview, Thompson said he was drawing inspiration from Hall of Fame player Manu Ginobli, who played sixth-man for the champion San Antonio Spurs.
“I thought about Manu Ginobli,” Thompson said. “That guy has four rings and gold medal, and he came off the bench his whole career, and I don’t think anyone looks down on his Hall of Fame candidacy. He’s one of the greats.”
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Warriors Agree to Pricey Extension With Head Coach Steve Kerr