Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has taken a leave of absence to recover from two off-season back surgeries, the team has announced. Kerr’s return has yet to be determined.
“At this point, the most important thing is to make sure Steve is healthy, completely recovered and redy for not only the rigors of a long NBA season, but day-to-day life in general,” Warriors General Manager Bob Myers said. “We don’t anticipate the recovery progress will be long term, but as of today we don’t know the exact timeframe. We’ll evaluate his progress daily and provide updates necessary.” (via Warriors.com)
Kerr, 50, underwent his first back surgery in July and later had a follow-up surgery in September, to repair a ruptured disc.
In Kerr’s absence, lead assistant coach Luke Walton will become the interim coach. Walton was also Golden State’s coach during summer league, and the organization is fully confident that he can manage the team for the time being.
“After the first two days of training camp, I realized I need to take a step back and focus on my rehabilitation in order to be ready for the grind of another NBA season,” Kerr said. “As I noted last week, my summer was difficult and no fun due to the multiple back surgeries. At this point, I simply want to get healthy and back to my normal daily routine on and off the court.”
Kerr led the Warriors to the best record in the NBA and won the championship all in his rookie year as head coach. He immediately turned the Warriors from a good team to a Western Conference powerhouse, implementing excellent distribution of the ball and man movement without the ball.
The Warriors are ready to defend their throne when the season tips off on October 27, the day they will raise their championship banner and collect their championship rings. Currently, it is uncertain whether Kerr will be available for the team’s season opener, but as Myers stated, they don’t expect him to be out for an extended period of time.