The Golden State Warriors pulled off an epic victory on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers. With head coach Steve Kerr's future unclear as his contract is up after the season, he really now has no choice but to come back.
The Warriors will take on the Phoenix Suns on Friday night, but no matter what happens in that contest, the epic win over the Clippers should be enough to get Kerr to return to the franchise.
Kerr himself said that for one night, even if it was a Play-In game between the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds in the Western Conference, the Warriors were champions again.
Steve Kerr must return after epic Warriors victory
They proved that while the dynasty is fading, the flame has not been snuffed out completely. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green turned back the clock and did some magical things in the fourth quarter.
Plus, the team got huge contributions from Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Brandin Podziemski. Add Jimmy Butler back into the mix once he's healthy, and it's not hard to see this team at least making a mini-run in the playoffs next season.
What that Play-In victory gave the Warriors was hope and a blueprint for the future. They know they have something that can be replicable if they bring back Porzingis and their roster, which is still very old and injury prone, can stay relatively healthy.
Kerr has to be part of that equation as well. He has been through everything with Golden State for over a decade and he may be the only person who can lead the Warriors as they hope to remain relevant in today's NBA.
The only way that Kerr could walk away is if the joy of coaching had been completely sapped. For anyone who followed the Warriors this season, there were a lot of moments when there was simply no joy surrounding the team. Whether it was the injuries or the Jonathan Kuminga saga, there were some very tough moments for the group.
Had the Warriors limped into the Play-In and shut down Curry and then lost to the Clippers without putting up much of a fight, it's possible Kerr would have walked away with no hope of things betting better next season.
But that win against the Clippers proved that the joy can still be there with the Warriors. The team can still do things to make fans shake their heads and laugh, and as long as that is still the case, Kerr has to ride that wave of joy for as long as he possibly can.
Add us as a preferred source on Google