On Friday, the Golden State Warriors will board their charter plane for Southern California, where they will take on the Lakers twice (once in San Diego, once in Anaheim) and the Clippers once (at Staples Center).
Steve Kerr will be joining them, reports Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com. That does not mean he’ll return to the bench after time off to recover from back surgeries, but he’s getting close.“I think it’s great,” (interim coach Luke) Walton said prior to the Warriors-Rockets game at Oracle Arena. “Obviously, Steve is one of those guys that just having him around makes everything better. He wouldn’t be coming down with us at all if he was still as bad as he was. So I think it shows signs of improvement....
““I don’t think it means he’ll be back in the next two days,” Walton said, “but all we can ask for is that he keeps getting better.”
Kerr has shown up at a few practices at the Warriors’ practice facility before, he’s not exactly been exiled to Elba.
Remember that Kerr has a home in San Diego, so making this trip with the team isn’t going to be that taxing on him. Still, this is a sign he will be back sooner rather than later, and that’s going to matter because (with all due respect to Walton) Kerr understands this team and knows when to push what button.
Also, Poole notes that Southern California-based Steve Kerr will likely spend some time working with the team while they are on this road trip.