The Warriors' 2023-24 season ended with a whimper in a blowout loss to the Kings in the Play-In Tournament.
Golden State's tumultuous 2023-24 campaign came up well short of its hopes to pursue another championship. Now, the franchise will face a tough decision on how it plans to maximize superstar guard Stephen Curry's title window.
The Warriors have plenty of young players who emerged this season, headlined by Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis. Head coach Steve Kerr will continue to face the challenge of balancing the old with the new, looking to put the right pieces around Curry to be successful.
Draymond Green is under contract through the 2025-26 season with a $27.7 million player option for 2026-27, so Golden State's defensive anchor will return. Klay Thompson, on the other hand, is set to hit unrestricted free agency and reportedly has other suitors hoping to land his sharpshooting talent.
Will Kerr be around to manage what's left of the Warriors' championship core?
When will Steve Kerr retire?
Kerr signed a two-year, $35 million contract extension with the Warriors in February, and he is expected to fulfill that commitment to Golden State.
"I was never worried about anything. I knew I wanted to come back. [Owner] Joe [Lacob] made it clear he wanted me back, and we worked it out, and I couldn't be more excited," Kerr said at the time of the extension.
The deal brings him in line with both Curry and Green's contracts, which expire in 2025-26. (Although, as mentioned above, Green has a player option for 2026-27.) That was intentional on Kerr's end of the negotiation.
"We're in a really unique situation where we have an era that's winding down and another era that's coming, and we're trying to make them merge," Kerr said.
"Let's keep it rolling for another couple years and then reassess at that point."
Steve Kerr contract details
Kerr's two-year, $35 million contract extension with the Warriors makes him the highest-paid coach in the NBA.
In fact, with that deal alone, he made more money than he did during his entire 15-year NBA career as a player ($15.8 million).
The deal will keep him in Golden State through the 2025-26 season.
Year | Age | Salary |
2024-25 | 59 | $17.5 million |
2025-26 | 60 | $17.5 million |