Steve Kerr Meets With Warriors Ownership About Future as Head Coach

Long-time Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr met with controlling owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy for two hours on Monday, league sources told ESPN, as the sides continue to figure out whether it is the best path forward for Kerr to continue as the coach.

Both sides described the meeting as productive, but there remains no resolution nearly two weeks after the Warriors' season ended in Phoenix. Kerr, Lacob and Dunleavy plan to reconvene next week to continue discussions, league sources said. Kerr will take a previously planned golf trip to close out this week as those around him continue to describe Kerr as torn about his own side of the choice.

"It's April," one source said. "We don't need to rush."

The calendar flips to May in the coming days. The draft lottery, which is the first notable offseason checkpoint, arrives on May 10. The Warriors enter it in the 11th slot, carrying a 9.4 percent chance of jumping up into the top four and a 77.6 percent chance of sticking 11th.

That lottery pick is an important tool within the Warriors' plan to rearrange the roster this upcoming summer, which is part of the equation in Kerr's decision whether to return.

At this stage of his life and career - 60 years old, having just wrapped his 12th season in the same role - there's an agreed belief that Kerr still makes sense as the head coach leading a firm playoff contender built around Steph Curry and Draymond Green, but not necessarily the fresh face of a reconstruction.

"I still love coaching, but I get it," Kerr said the night the Warriors were eliminated. "These jobs all have an expiration date. There is a run that happens, and when the run ends, sometimes it's time for new blood and new ideas."

Team sources remain adamant that this is purely a "basketball decision", based around Kerr's desire to keep coaching, management's desire for some offensive philosophy and staffing tweaks and whether there's a collective belief that the Warriors will be able to utilize transaction season to better beef up its roster to compete in a crowded conference.

Warriors management has not started any type of coaching search, league sources said. That would only commence in the event that Kerr opts to depart.