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Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr believes “billionaires” are to blame for the recent flurry of coach firings in the NBA. Kerr’s comments, while perhaps controversial, do come in the wake of a couple of head-scratching coaching moves by NBA owners.
Kerr, currently the third most-tenured coach in the league, trailing only Gregg Popovich and Erik Spoelstra, told reporters this week, “I think one thing that’s happened is most teams are now owned by billionaires, big corporations. So, we’re all more expendable. There’s so much money in the business now.
“There’s pluses and minuses to that. We’re all making bigger salaries than we were five years ago, but we’re much more vulnerable because I think a lot of owners aren’t that concerned with firing a guy and paying him to go away.
“So, again, this is the business we chose. We all love it. But it’s not the most stable profession, that’s for sure.”
There definitely is a win now or else you’re gone mentality with today’s NBA owners, regardless of how much it costs. Michael Malone led the Nuggets to the 2023 NBA Championship and he was recently dismissed. Taylor Jenkins had led the Grizzlies to a 44-29 record when he was fired. Mike Brown, the 2023 Coach of the Year, was let go by the Sacramento Kings. 2019 NBA champion Nick Nurse was canned by the Raptors. Mike Budenholzer was fired by the Milwaukee Bucks after winning 58 games and was on pace to win 57 when he got his pink slip. And on and on it goes.
Steve Kerr has a .649 winning percentage, Gregg Popovich is at .621, while Erik Spoelstra sits at .580. How long until those three guys are fired? In Popovich’s case, the answer is probably never. He’ll retire before that happens due to his uncertain health. But Spoelstra is coming off a 36-43 season. Is his job still safe?
As for Steve Kerr, he said while talking about when he will stop coaching, “I love what I do. I’m in an amazing position with great support from my ownership, my management, and obviously have talented players. The idea of continuing on with this group is very appealing. I love it every single day. But who knows how long that lasts?”