There was promising news out of Oakland Tuesday when a couple of Warriors beat reporters Tweeted that ailing head coach Steve Kerr is back to running practices and is planning to resume traveling with the team next week. There were still, however, no specifics about an official return date.
Steve Kerr ran today's practice, but he won't coach Wednesday or Friday. "I hope to be back soon."
— Rusty Simmons (@JRustySimmons) December 22, 2015
Kerr said he's planning to travel with the team to Dallas and Houston after the holidays.
— Rusty Simmons (@JRustySimmons) December 22, 2015
Kerr says he won't coach a game at least until the new year but obviously progressing well.
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) December 22, 2015
Kerr has the "I'm back in charge here" vibe for the first time this season.
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) December 22, 2015
Kerr has been sidelined the entire season due to complications stemming from two separate back surgeries he underwent during the offseason. He apparently suffered some sort of spinal fluid leak that’s resulted in chronic headaches, fatigue, and other symptoms that have made the NBA coaching grind untenable for him.
As recently as last week, Kerr was ambiguous about saying that he simply hoped to return at some point this season, so Tuesday’s comments were a sign of considerable progress on that front. In his absence, interim coach Luke Walton has helped lead the Warriors to their historic 26-1 start, although according to league rules, he won’t get credit for any of the wins or losses; those will still belong to Kerr.
Up next, Golden State will host the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night ahead of their Christmas Day Finals rematch against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.
