Kerr on return to Warriors: 'I have to be better'

SAN FRANCISCO -- In his first media availability since deciding to return to the Golden State Warriors for a 13th season, Steve Kerr was critical of the job he did in his 12th season as the head coach. "I know I have to be better," Kerr said. "I didn't have a great coaching year." Both Kerr and general manager Mike Dunleavy met with reporters for a combined hour in San Francisco on Friday afternoon, discussing all the factors that led Kerr back and the realistic goals ahead for an aging core that just went 37-45 and missed the playoffs. Dunleavy called the team's season "pretty underwhelming," repeatedly pointing to the egregious turnover numbers (15.7 per game, tied for third most in the NBA) as the glaring issue that needs to be cleaned up. Kerr said he has been rewatching every turnover from this past season. "We got a little too loose," Kerr said. "Literally loose with the ball. But because of our age, because of our injuries, we spent a lot of time resting. So I've got to tighten the ship up next year." Kerr mentioned the need for a refreshed roster around the 38-year-old Steph Curry to include "younger legs" and more players capable of playing both sides of back-to-backs. That begins with the 11th pick in the upcoming NBA draft, considered a loaded class through the lottery portion. Dunleavy said he would explore all options with the pick -- using it, trading up, trading back or attaching it in a trade for a more established player. If the Warriors are to reenter the mix for the expected-to-be-available Giannis Antetokounmpo or try to swing a trade for a star wing like Kawhi Leonard, that 11th pick would presumably be a required asset. But barring an unlikely blockbuster, the general sense around the organization, team sources said, is a desire to keep the pick and find a young prospect to help replenish the talent level on one of the oldest rosters in the NBA. "Totally," Kerr said when asked if he'd be committed to playing a rookie. "I've talked to Mike. I don't know the draft, but he feels really strongly we're going to get a good player. It could be a 19-year-old and it could be someone older. ... That guy has to play. He's got to earn it. But we're committed to the development of our young players." Kerr said he took about a week after the season to decide whether he still wanted to coach and revealed that a conversation with his wife, Margot, ultimately convinced him of his desire to return. In the second week of deliberation, Kerr had a two-hour meeting with Dunleavy and controlling owner Joe Lacob that solidified the desire on both sides to continue the partnership. "We had to come to a much more reality-based shared vision on what success looks like for us," Kerr said. "What are we trying to accomplish? Because for the first time since our injury-plagued year (2019-20), we aren't sitting here saying, 'Hey, we can win a championship.' I don't need to say that. We know that right this second. But we had to hash that out. We had to talk about those things." Despite that unlikely path back to realistic title contention, Kerr expressed a desire to rebuild a winning foundation in the fading days of his, Curry's and Draymond Green's careers that better sets up the organization well into the future. Kerr spoke to Curry and Green during this process, but said Curry did not use his influence to demand Kerr return, despite his desire to have him back. "One of the strong points of our organization is that our best player, who is one of the greatest players in the history of the game, is not telling Mike or Joe what to do," Kerr said. "He understands the repercussions of that if he wanted to go down that path. It's not healthy. It usually doesn't work out well when a player wants to dictate what an organization does. Steph has always recognized the sanctity of that wall." Kerr made sure to reiterate that he isn't "tired" or "burnt out" from the job and will be in more regular contact with his players and staff this summer in an effort to sharpen up his program and win more games on the margins. But the more pressing questions are about the roster. Green has a $27.6 million player option that he must decide whether to pick up before June 29. Veteran center Kristaps Porzingis is an unrestricted free agent. The team's two starting wings, Jimmy Butler III and Moses Moody, are early in their rehab process from serious knee injuries. Curry is extension-eligible in late August. But Dunleavy didn't sound like a general manager looking to overhaul anything in the next few months, unless a can't-miss trade lands at his doorstep. "This isn't about the roster frankly," Dunleavy said. "This year, I don't think we came up short because of the talent on the roster. It was injuries and things we can control. Do we need to get better roster wise? I think so. But we didn't get to a point where we played a team that the roster was better than ours."

Kerr on return to Warriors: 'I have to be better'

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