Steve Kerr to Be Given Time Off from Warriors to Pursue Medical Options on Back

The Golden State Warriors will be giving head coach Steve Kerr time off during the offseason so he can pursue treatment options for the health issues that forced him to miss part of the team's 2016-17 playoff run.

According to the Associated Press (h/t Pro Basketball Talk), Warriors general manager Bob Myers said Monday the organization will allow Kerr to explore ways to alleviate pain created by a spinal-fluid leak from back surgery about two years ago:

"I think at the point we're at now, it's what makes you 5-10-15 percent better? And that's what he's going to pursue and explore with our blessing. The hope is he got back to the place he was prior to leaving in Portland, which is not where he wants to be but he can coach. There's a little bit of a misconception that stepping away would help him heal. And I tried to dispel that and you should ask him, because I think even he gets a little offended at the notion of, 'Just step away and go get better.' I said this before, this is where he feels the best, which may be counterintuitive to what people think. It's not that the job diminishes him in any way. Actually, the job, I would say, propels him."

After coaching the first two games of Golden State's first-round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers, Kerr took a leave of absence before returning for Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Mike Brown served as the interim coach while Kerr was out and led Golden State to an 11-0 record during that time.

The 51-year-old Kerr coached the final four games of the Finals and was on the sidelines when Golden State closed out its second championship in three years with a Game 5 triumph.

After heading to the beach in San Diego last week, Kerr said he feels as though his condition has improved:

"The good news is I did feel a lot better from where I was six weeks ago. I feel like I'm making some strides. I definitely want to gain some momentum here early in the summer and really kind of build on that momentum and be feeling a lot better hopefully soon."

Kerr's health has dogged him for much of the past two campaigns, as he missed 43 games during the 2015-16 regular season because of complications from his back surgery.

Now-Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton filled in for him then, and the Dubs went on to win an NBA-record 73 regular-season games.

Despite Kerr's continued health issues, he recently told ESPN's Zach Lowe on the Lowe Podcast that he is planning to coach "for a long time."