The season starts for Steve Kerr next week.
The Warriors coach and his staff will go on a retreat in the coming days to start hammering out their plans for training camp, which starts in just 16 days on Sept. 24. The defending champs only had a couple months to vacation, but Kerr isn’t complaining. Kerr joined 95.7 The Game’s “Damon & Ratto” Thursday to break down the Warriors heading into camp.
"If a short summer is the result of being in the Finals, I’ll take a short summer every year,” Kerr told hosts Damon Bruce and Ray Ratto. “We’re happy about that. It’s been a great summer celebrating the championship."
Kerr celebrated the wedding of his daughter this summer while he also traveled to Cairo, Egypt, for the first time in nearly four decades, while taking part in the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program.
A couple weeks ago, Kerr started getting restless and thinking about the upcoming season. The goal is clear: to repeat and win their fifth title in nine years, furthering the franchise’s dynastic legacy. It might sound like a pressure-filled assignment, but Kerr sees it otherwise.
"My experience is that trying to repeat is actually really fun,” Kerr said. “If you’re lucky enough to win two in a row, that third one is a grind."
Kerr knows about repeating as a champ, as he took part in the Chicago Bulls’ three-peat from 1996-99. Golden State, of course, won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018 with Kerr as coach before falling short in 2019.
The Warriors are stacked with veterans again in 2022-23, but everyone is a year older. Despite the abbreviated summer, Kerr isn’t worried about conditioning.
"I don’t think we’re gonna be burned out by any means,” Kerr said. “In fact I think we'll be really excited. I think all of our guys will be ready to roll, ramp it back up and try to repeat. … We have the big picture in mind for our season. We’ll see where everybody is in terms of conditioning."
Specifically with his championship core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green (and perhaps Andre Iguodala), Kerr thinks his veterans should be playing free and easy this season.
"They don't have a ton to prove, if anything,” Kerr said. “That’s a good place to be. You’re playing with a little house money. … Those guys have four rings. They’ve got nothing to prove. They can let it rip and just play for the joy of the game, and their natural competitiveness will take over."
Though the Warriors could have some tough roster decisions next offseason when deciding to keep Andrew Wiggins and/or extend Jordan Poole, things are looking rosy for 2022-23. Kerr said he talks with Warriors president of basketball operations/general manager Bob Myers almost daily.
"Bob and I are always aligned,” Kerr said. “We have the highest payroll in the history of the NBA. (Governor) Joe (Lacob) has gone above and beyond for many years now. We’re lucky. We’ve got a really, really great roster. It gets harder and harder every year to keep this group together, but Bob and Joe have been able to do so. We’ll keep rolling and I’ll do my part.”
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