Thompson: Stephen Curry only wants to play for Steve Kerr — now it all aligns

SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry hadn’t yet talked to his coach about his reported contract extension. He was just peeling off the uniform after the Golden State Warriors and visiting Charlotte Hornets tumbled down a flight of stairs together Friday night, the Warriors landing on top, 97-84. When solicited for his thoughts on Steve Kerr’s new two-year, $35 million deal, Curry had the same thought everyone else did.

“That’s the same (years) as my contract,” Curry said, smiling as he stepped into his shower slides. “I just realized it.”

The $17.5 million wasn’t the number that popped in Kerr’s new deal, even though it almost doubles his presumed current salary and makes him the highest-paid coach in the league based on average salary. The significant number was the “2.” As in two years. Because it points to No. 30.

NBA coaches, who are hired to be fired, don’t take short deals. For one, they usually need time to build the program. But also, the one perk of their inevitable ouster is they still get paid. But Kerr’s extension expires the same year Curry’s current four-year, $215.3 million contract expires — after the 2025-26 season.

“If I was him, I would do the same thing,” Kevon Looney said. “He probably got that from (Gregg) Popovich.”

This was good news for Curry, the Warriors’ face-of-the-franchise, who won’t have to worry about getting another coach foisted on him. Because he certainly doesn’t want another.

“Hell no,” Curry said.

So much of the talk about a coach focuses on rotations and strategy. Those are the visible components of the job. But the invisible parts tend to matter at least as much, often far more. None of what happens between the lines is relevant if the foundation of the team is shoddy. Coaching players of this caliber, especially in the social-media age, comes with the added difficulty of managing basketball players who are also moguls and brands, celebrities with complicated lives. Over the last decade, the Warriors have seen the invisible impact the visible. In both good and bad ways.

No one expected the Warriors would let go of Kerr, who entered this season on the final year of his contract. But the possibility loomed, especially considering the team’s earlier struggles this season. But the Warriors have leaned into the Curry era by trading future core pieces in James Wiseman and Jordan Poole, by re-signing Draymond Green, by acquiring Chris Paul and by drafting ready-to-play rookies. Klay Thompson could get a new deal this offseason to stay with Golden State.

The Warriors are committed to pursuing a championship while Curry is still dominant. And they want to do it together. Led by Kerr.

This is what they want. This is why they’re still here. They want to be with the Warriors until it’s time to tie their laces together and throw their hoop shoes on the telephone wire. And until that day, they want Kerr to be their coach.

The Warriors front office hasn’t always felt so certain about Kerr. His handling of young players has frustrated a few people above him. Perhaps that’s why the Warriors are fine linking him to Curry’s contract. Because if Curry hangs it up, the Warriors might prefer starting a new era with a new coach.

Or maybe Kerr’s deal is only two years because he wants his future tied to the legend who helped make him here.

“There’s a handful of player-coach and trio-coach stories in league history that are comparable to ours,” Curry said. “And that’s not by accident. … He’s been such a consistent presence. Not just the X’s and O’s, but of managing the lows and the highs, mainly the highs, that we’ve been at. People think it’s easy. But with success comes expectation. The nuance of keeping things together and managing not just in here, but managing up as well, it’s hard. It just reminds you of the special personality and character you have to have to do this job.”

Stephen Curry was skeptical when the Warriors fired Mark Jackson and hired Steve Kerr. Ten years later, would he want anyone else coaching him? “Hell no,” he said Friday. (Ross Cameron / USA Today)

The irony in all this is the journey between Kerr and the Warriors’ superstar trio began with reservations. When Kerr was hired, in 2014, Curry was still smarting about the firing of Mark Jackson, whose job he lobbied to keep. Right when the Warriors finally became good, when Curry felt like he’d survived the turmoil of his first few years, the Warriors pressed the reset button. On top of that, they hired another former player turned broadcaster who’d never coached before.

Curry said at the time he would keep an open mind about the new hire. What happened next vaulted him from NBA All-Star to Hall of Famer. Kerr’s offensive approach magnified Curry’s skill set even more. And one of the reasons it worked, Curry said, was how Kerr handled the delicate transition.

He didn’t come in looking to establish his kingdom. He did little things to honor what they’d already built. He kept their team slogan (“Just Us”) up on the walls. He praised Jackson publicly and regularly, and he agreed unwaveringly with the notion that he inherited greatness.

“Obviously,” Curry said, “people talk about him having a blessed roster coming in, which he did. That doesn’t necessarily guarantee that the fit was going to work. Also, he’s never been the one, even from Day 1, who said he was the reason or the key. … He’s never had the aura that it’s him and only him. That was key.”

This is their 10th year together now. Their chemistry together has become increasingly important as their talent and health slowly sift through their clenched fists like sand. Contractually, they’ve now got this year plus two more to scale the mountain again.

For Curry and his championship peers, these final years of their prime are more about trust and collaboration than most understand. In a league getting increasingly younger, set up to push them out, it makes sense the bonds built would matter more. It makes sense that they’d trust Kerr to steward what remains of the best they have.

That’s Kerr’s true expertise — genuinely believing he’s in a partnership with his stars. Their relationship is built on reciprocity. That matters even more at the back end of storied careers.

As it stands now, barring unforeseen circumstances, 2026 becomes the next potential expiration date of the era. That’s three postseasons to build toward a fifth ring. Their proverbial Last Dance has three songs. This team may not look the same when that checkpoint comes. The hierarchy will most likely be altered. But at least they’re set up to ride this out together.