The Golden State Warriors have had a lot of continuity at head coach over the last eleven years, but that could change next year amid recent speculation on Steve Kerr's future given he's not contracted beyond this season.
In a recent conversation with Bay Area sports reporter Tim Kawakami on his podcast the TK Show, Warriors owner Joe Lacob addressed Kerr's future and took a pointed swipe at some other teams for the coaching carousel that goes on around the league.
“It's not like I'm out there firing coaches every year and paying three different coaches at one time. We don't do that. We're believers in continuity, and we're a believer in Steve Kerr," Lacob said.
Warriors head coach continuity stands in stark contrast to rest of NBA
This is clearly a shot at some of the more trigger-happy teams out there who are all too quick to fire their head coaches. The Milwaukee Bucks come to mind, firing their head coach Mike Budenholzer just two years after he helped deliver the team's first championship in over 50 years.
The Denver Nuggets are another team that comes to mind as they fired Michael Malone after he led the team to a title and was with Denver for 10 years. Taylor Jenkins was another surprise firing after leading Memphis to several playoff appearances. And let's not even get started on the Phoenix Suns who have already had four different head coaches this decade.
Clearly, Lacob could be referring to any of these examples but the Warriors have carved out their own path by sticking with Kerr through thick and thin. Of course, six NBA Finals appearances and four titles certainly helps one's case to remain as the head coach of a team, but there were opportunities where Lacob could have pulled the plug.
Golden State had that awful season in 2019-20 where they had a record of 15-50 and did not even make it into "the bubble." The Warriors followed it up with another disappointing season where they had a record of 39-33 and failed to make the playoffs.
A less patient owner may have decided to pull the plug after one of those seasons but Lacob deserves credit for sticking with Kerr because the Warriors went on to win another title the very next year.
Lacob was asked about Kerr's future and was fairly diplomatic about it, saying as long as Kerr still had the fire he would want him back. Clearly, Kerr wants to go out on his own terms which could come at the detriment of the rest of the NBA, but he has earned that right with the incredible career he has had.