
LOS ANGELES – The Warriors, perhaps nobody more than interim coach Luke Walton, are eager to begin the countdown to a recovered and ready Steve Kerr.
But on Wednesday, in the minutes after practicing on the UCLA campus with Kerr not in attendance, there was no reason whatsoever to initiate such a process.
“He was with us last night and I’m sure he’ll be with us again,” Walton said. “I just don’t know when.”
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With opening night six days away, the Warriors have no means by which they can project Kerr’s return. There are, quite simply, too many variables and too much possibility for a false start.
Kerr doesn’t know, either. He has undergone two surgeries on his back, which puts severe strain on the system. He can’t begin to guess when he’ll be ready for the rigors of coaching because the various stages of discomfort – which are not limited to his back – have shown no clear sign of abating.
Asked if there was any update whatsoever, Walton responded with one word: No.
“Just that he’s not ready to coach yet,” he added. “Which is kind of going to be the answer until one day he is ready. I don’t think it’s going to be a gradual thing. I think it’s ‘I’m not ready,’ and ‘Now, I’m ready.’ That’s when the answers will change.”
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So the Warriors, rather than counting the days until Kerr returns, are preparing to march on with Walton instead of the man who last season led them to 67 wins and a championship.
“He knows the drill, knows the game plan,” Curry said of Walton. “We’d love to have the full staff around, but we’re a mature enough team to hold the fort down . . .
“We’ll be all right,” Curry added, “but obviously we don’t want to go too far into the regular season without him.”
Walton and assistants Ron Adams, Jarron Collins and Bruce Fraser are planning as if they’ll be making the decisions on opening night next Tuesday at Oracle Arena.
“Absolutely,” Walton said. “Hopefully, Steve is back before that.
But you can’t wait until game time to start preparing. So we as a staff, especially this next week, will start prepping as if this is the staff we have going into Game 1. That way, at least if that is the case, then we’ll be ready for it.”