Steve Kerr Signs 2-Year Contract to Return to Warriors

ESPN’s Shams Charania announced today that Steve Kerr will be returning to the Golden State Warriors on a 2-year deal. According to Charania, the new deal will keep the 4-time championship coach as the highest paid at his position in terms of annual value, retaining him in the Bay after weeks of extensive negotiations.

The news doesn’t come as a particular shock, with Kerr’s fate up in the air according to multiple sources throughout the course of the offseason. Though his and Draymond Green’s comments indicated that he may have coached his last season with the Warriors, the deal adds another pair of years for this era of the Warriors to continue. But even with Coach Kerr back, there are plenty of questions surrounding both the roster and goals of the team, and with plenty of offseason remaining, it's not entirely clear who he’ll have to operate his winning system with aside from Stephen Curry.

The return, however, would indicate that the front office is ready to try and cash in on the late stages of Curry’s illustrious career. Despite battling injuries for long stretches last year, the franchise cornerstone looked every bit of the capable first-option he’s always been when on the floor, bending defenses to his will and making everyone around him just that much better. Assuming Green stays on the roster, this move indicates that Joe Lacob and company might be looking to go hunting for a 5th ring for their superstar and dynastic head coach.

Though Golden State’s ceiling next season remains a mystery with free agency pending, Kerr’s return gives hope that they’ll be ready to compete. It’s hard to count out a team with cohesion that the Warriors have historically had, and giving Curry and Green another two seasons with the skipper who maximized their successes, with the right pieces around them, certainly doesn’t lower the floor.

(Photo Credit: Benjamin Fanjoy / AP Photo)