Golden guy Kerr gets his reward

The Golden State Warriors have signed head coach Steve Kerr to a contract extension, the NBA champions announced on Tuesday.

An ESPN report at the end of June said the sides were finalizing an extension to make Kerr one of the league's highest-paid coaches.

"We're excited to have Steve under contract and poised to lead our team for the next several years," said president of basketball operations/general manager Bob Myers.

"Under his guidance, we've been fortunate enough to win three NBA titles in four years and his ability to thrive in all facets of his job is certainly a primary reason for our success. He's a terrific coach but, more importantly, an incredible human being."

Kerr, 52, just finished the fourth year of a five-year, $25 million contract he signed when he joined the Warriors in 2014.

The team has gone 265-63 in his four seasons at the helm, making four trips to the NBA Finals and winning three titles.

Golden State captured the franchise's first title in 40 years during 2014-15, with Kerr as a rookie head coach.

Now the Warriors are gearing up for one more season in Oracle Arena before opening their state-of-the-art Chase Center in San Francisco's Mission Bay neighborhood in August 2019.

LeBron James offered a shoutout to Kerr during the NBA Finals.

"I could sit here and say today - 'Listen, Golden State is a great team ...' - I didn't even mention their head coach," James said.

"Their head coach is the one who kind of puts it all together, makes it all flow.

"To be able to put egos in the right position and spot on the floor where everybody feels good about the outcome - when it comes to team sports, that's something that you would hope that you could be a part of."

Kerr owns a 265-63 record (.808), guiding the Warriors to a record 73-win season in 2015-16 before a runner-up finish to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

His Warriors then went a record 16-1 during the 2017 postseason on the way to another title.