Steve Kerr agrees to 2-year deal to remain with Warriors - ESPN

After exactly three weeks of deliberation, Steve Kerr agreed to a two-year contract to return as coach of the Golden State Warriors, reaching terms to continue the partnership into what will be his 13th season and beyond in the position, Dan Eveloff and Rick Smith of Priority Sports told ESPN on Saturday.

The deal will keep Kerr as the highest-paid coach in the NBA annually, league sources said. He made $17.5 million last season.

Kerr had multiple meetings with controlling owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy in the past two weeks, discussing everything from offensive philosophy to the long-term outlook of the roster to the bigger-picture direction of the franchise and, eventually, the contract terms it would require to bring Kerr back.

«It was never going to be about money,» one team source said. «We had to make the best basketball decision.»

Since the beginning of this week, it has been generally known within the franchise that Kerr intended to return, but the loose ends were tied up Friday night and Saturday morning, team sources told ESPN, keeping Kerr in charge of the fading days and potentially final chapter of the Steph Curry era in Golden State.

This was not a foregone conclusion. Kerr hinted at possibly departing in October, announcing in training camp that he wouldn't be seeking a contract extension, preferring to let the final season of his deal play out before deciding on his future. The injury-ravaged 37-45 Warriors finished as the 10th seed in the Western Conference and were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in the play-in bracket, ending a stretch of disappointment that had Kerr and the franchise theorizing whether a split could be best.

«I still love coaching, but I get it,» Kerr said the night