3:29pm: Walton tempered Adams’ remarks a bit, saying that a return for Kerr within a few days would be the best-case scenario and that his absence could still stretch on for weeks, notes Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link).
FRIDAY, 10:28am: Warriors assistant coach Ron Adams expects Kerr to return in only a few days and that he will certainly be back in time for the team’s regular season opener on October 27th, which takes place at home against the Pelicans, Adams told SiriusXM NBA Radio this morning (Twitter links or hear the audio).
THURSDAY, 3:26pm: Warriors head coach Steve Kerr will take a leave of absence from the team in order to focus on his recovery and rehabilitation from back surgery, the team announced in a press release. The length of Kerr’s absence is unknown, and it will be determined by the speed of his progress. Luke Walton, the team’s lead assistant, will serve as the interim head coach.
Kerr underwent surgery on his back to repair a ruptured disc back in late July and then had follow-up surgery in early September. “After the first two days of training camp, I realized I need to take a step back and focus on my rehabilitation in order to be ready for the grind of another NBA season,” said Kerr. “As I noted last week, my summer was difficult and no fun due to the multiple back surgeries. At this point, I simply want to get healthy and back to my normal daily routine on and off the court.”
It’s unclear at this time if Kerr, who led the Warriors the NBA title last season, his first as a coach, will return in time for the start of the regular season. “At this point, the most important thing is to make sure Steve is healthy, completely recovered and ready for not only the rigors of a long NBA season, but day-to-day life in general,” said Warriors GM Bob Myers. “We don’t anticipate the recovery process will be long term, but as of today we don’t know the exact timeframe. We’ll evaluate his progress daily and provide updates as necessary.”