Appearing on the Tom Tolbert Show (YouTube link), Warriors head coach Steve Kerr confirmed to his former college teammate that he made up his mind near the end of 2025/26 that he wouldn’t return for a 13th season in ’26/27, citing the demanding travel schedule as one factor in his thinking.
However, Kerr said three meetings with governor Joe Lacob, executive vice president Kirk Lacob, and general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. played a key role in his change of heart — he eventually signed a two-year contract to stay with Golden State.
“I had decided I was leaving with a week or two left in the regular season,” Kerr told Tolbert. “I just thought, ‘It’s just time.’ I could feel it. I didn’t say anything to anybody, but I just thought, ‘Yeah, this is it.’ Just felt like it.
“And then when the season ended, we all felt like we owed it to ourselves to give it a couple weeks and let the emotions die down and then hash it out and see where we were and where the team was. And I’m glad we did that … and I just think we (the front office and Kerr) came to a really good conclusion, and agreement, that we should keep it going.
“And I’m so glad that that happened, because I’m really fired up for this season. I couldn’t be more excited. I’m reenergized, rejuvenated. (I’m) excited about the potential this team has. Everybody’s counting us out and that’s fine. … Let everybody say what they want to say.
“But I’m pretty confident that we can have a really good season. Our coaching staff has been preparing all summer, young guys (have been) in the gym every day working. So it’s exciting to be back.”
Asked later whether he envisioned coaching for another team in the future, Kerr said no. But he did suggest he plans to be involved in the NBA in some capacity whenever that time comes.
Here’s more from Kerr’s lengthy interview with Tolbert:
Kerr said the Lacobs and Dunleavy were with pleased with his approach to those meetings about his and the team’s future, as he shared ideas about changes he could make for the better in 2026/27. He also said management essentially told him he needed to lower his expectations after the injuries the Warriors endured in 2025/26. Kerr called the current state of the team “in transition” as Stephen Curry and Draymond Green near the end of their careers and young players try to turn into future cornerstones.
Kerr reiterated that he never got the sense LeBron James seriously considered signing with the Warriors in free agency. “I don’t think it’s exactly earth-shattering news, or I don’t think I’ll get fined for saying, like, it never really felt like he was coming here,” Kerr said (hat tip to Will Simonds of NBC Sports Bay Area). “To me, it was more speculation than anything. I think we would have had a much better sense that, you know, something was going to happen. It’s been really interesting, though, hearing fans around the Bay — like, you know, people will randomly come up to me and say, ‘I’m glad we didn’t get LeBron.’ And I’m like, ‘Really?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, it’s like he’s not supposed to be on our team. He’s a rival.’ And I get that as a sports fan. It’d be like, you know, should Magic (Johnson) and (Larry) Bird have played on the same team? So, I mean, just as a coach and having coached him in the Olympics — sign me up. … But it’s been interesting hearing our fans. I think fans, you know, because of the emotional connection you have to your team and rivalries and all that stuff, I think it was just a weird thought. That’s the reaction I’m getting from a lot of people.”
Kerr said in May that he hoped the Warriors would be able to add some “younger legs” to the roster this offseason. That didn’t really happen, with the Warriors re-signing many of their veteran players in part due to a lack of financial flexibility in free agency. However, he wasn’t disappointed with that outcome, saying it was largely out of the team’s control, per Angela Martin of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Having been a GM, I know how hard it is to just magically say, ‘All right, we’re going to get younger,’ ” Kerr told Tolbert. “We obviously tried to get younger, but stuff has to materialize. You have to have the assets or the cap room to be able to do certain things. The stuff that came our way, I mean, it’s (Dunleavy’s) job and (Joe Lacob’s) job, but they obviously run everything by me. I mean, there was nothing that made sense to me to make this huge move. So, look, we did the best we could to put together the roster.”
Asked how the team could compensate for the injury absences of Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, Kerr said the Warriors would have to rely on their depth. “*I think Yaxel (Lendeborg)’s going to help quite a bit*,” Kerr continued. “*He’s a really good player. He’s older, he’s mature. Watching him work out with our guys, he’s going to help us. Gui Santos, Brandin Podziemski, these guys are going to help us. Georges Niang, Brandon Williams, new signees. Nothing earth-shattering, but really good players who can play a lot of minutes. And so I think our depth is the answer to the question you asked. We’re going to have to rely on our whole roster, including our two-way players at times. And fortunately, I do feel really good about the guys we have who have kind of filled out the back end of the roster. And I think they can help us hold down the fort until Jimmy and Moses get back the second half of the year*.”
Kerr also talked in general terms about how he plans to use Green this season. He said he wanted the veteran forward/center to cut back on his turnovers and to keep shooting three-pointers, but suggested his offensive role might be reduced in some capacity. “It’s going to be an interesting year,” Kerr said, per Vince Lontz of NBC Sports Bay Area. “A transition year of sorts. We’re going to do some things differently. He and Steph obviously have this great rapport. We’re not going to take away from that, but he’s going to have to adapt a little bit, and it’s probably going to be a little frustrating times. So, I’m going to need his patience, too.”