With Steve Kerr facing an uncertain future with the franchise, the Golden State Warriors might be forced to start considering a successor for the four-time champion head coach.
Could Kerr’s potential replacement already be on the bench in Golden State?
Terry Stotts Named Potential Replacement for Steve Kerr with Golden State Warriors
Sports Illustrated’s Joey Akeley recently named Terry Stotts as a potential replacement for Kerr.
Stotts is currently the lead assistant coach under Kerr in Golden State, a role that he’s held since 2024. He also previously served as an assistant with the Warriors during the 2004-05 season. In addition to his time in Golden State, Stotts has also served as the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks and Portland Trail Blazers. He also won a title as an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.
“Stotts is the choice that would keep things as similar as possible. He’s been working under Kerr since 2024, so he knows the Warriors culture. He’s been a head coach for parts of 13 seasons, and that experience should help him level with the Warriors veterans,” Akeley wrote.
“The biggest issue with Stotts is he’s 68, which could make one wonder how he’ll hold up for a long season. He feels like a stopgap option until Curry and Green retire, which might be exactly what the Warriors need. Lacob might want to hire a young coach for the next chapter of the Warriors, but that coach wouldn’t fit with the current roster.”
Moving from Kerr to Stotts would be a move made in the name of continuity. Stotts is already extremely familiar with the organization, players and personnel, and thus and he could potentially offer a smooth transition for the organization.
Plus, he has ample sideline experience, which could be attractive assuming that Warriors are still aiming to contend in the Western Conference with Steph Curry and not undergo a full rebuild.
Steve Kerr Not Returning to Warriors Suddenly Feels Like a Real Possibility
It once felt like a formality that Kerr would continue on with the Warriors beyond the 2025-26 season, but it feels a little less certain at this point in time. Recent reporting suggests that Kerr is 50/50 on returning to Golden State next season, and he sounded uncertain regarding his future after the Warriors’ season came to an end.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Kerr said. “I still love coaching, but I get it. 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. … “It may still go on. It may not. I don’t know at this point. But we all need to step away a little bit and then reconvene.”
Kerr plans to take some time to think things over and then meet with Golden State’s brass to figure out the future. There’s still a great chance that he continues on as coach of the Warriors, but it’s not the certainty that it may have once seemed to be.
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