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Warriors finalize Kerr deal
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
The Golden State Warriors finalized a contract agreement with new coach Steve Kerr, the team announced Monday.
Kerr, a 15-year NBA veteran and five-time NBA champion as a player, is the team’s 25th coach in franchise history and the 20th since the team moved to the Bay Area in 1962.
Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced but according to reports, the deal is for five years and $25 million.
The team will formally introduce Kerr in a press conference scheduled for Tuesday at noon in Oakland.
“We’re very pleased to introduce Steve Kerr as our new head coach,” general manager Bob Myers said in a statement. “We are confident that he will be an extremely good fit for our team and our organization as we venture into the future. The fact that he played for several of the greatest coaches in the history of the game — including Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich — will serve him well, as will the many nuances that he learned from performing on the brightest stage during his incredibly successful, championship-filled career.”
Kerr, 48, spent the last four seasons as an analyst for TNT. Prior to that, he served as general manager of the Phoenix Suns from 2007-10. He was rumored to be the next coach of the New York Knicks before accepting the Warriors’ offer last week.
“I’m really excited about the unique opportunity to coach a very talented team and work for this committed management group,” Kerr said in a statement. “In my estimation, the Warriors, from top to bottom, have become one of the marquee organizations in the NBA in recent years. I’m looking forward to becoming part of that environment and building upon the success of the last two seasons.”
The Warriors have been in the playoffs in each of the past two years, but fired coach Mark Jackson after winning 51 games this season.
Kerr played on 11 playoff teams in his career. He is one of only 25 players in NBA history to win five championships, earning three rings with the Chicago Bulls (1996-98) and two with the San Antonio Spurs (1999 and 2003).
In 128 playoff games, Kerr averaged 4.3 points and 1.2 assists while shooting 37 percent from 3-point range.
Kerr is the NBA’s all-time 3-point percentage leader at 45.4 percent on 1,599 attempts.
For his career, Kerr averaged 6.0 points, 1.8 assists and 1.2 rebounds in 910 regular-season games with the Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Bulls, Spurs, and Portland Trail Blazers.
Kerr was an all-Pac-10 guard with Arizona in 1986 and 1988, helping lead the Wildcats to their first NCAA Final Four appearance in ’88.
