Todd Golden to NBA? Florida basketball coach rebuts Warriors rumors

"If Steve Kerr leaves, the Warriors will pursue Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden, according to my league sources," said O’Connor on his podcast on Monday. "Golden is the coach that they’re targeting, that’s in part because the Lacob family has a relationship with him.

"Golden was the head coach of the San Francisco Dons for three years before he went to Florida and won a national title there. They’ve been together, they’ve had lunches together, those guys know each other and Golden is a very, very talented young head coach. And so I think for the Warriors, Golden would be near the top of their list, if not at the top of the list."

Should Golden change his stance and consider a job in the NBA this cycle, his buyout for an NBA job would be $2 million, according to his contract with Florida, which was obtained by the USA TODAY Sports network.

Golden, 40, has quickly risen to being one of the top college basketball coaches in the country after just four seasons at Florida. He's returned the program to its national prominence, highlighted by its national championship run in 2025 that featured the No. 2 adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 6 adjusted defensive efficiency on KenPom.

Florida is 103-41 combined under Golden, who spent the first three years of his head coaching career in the West Coast Conference at San Francisco.

The Gators, who saw a first-weekend exit from the Men's NCAA Tournament this year after earning a No. 1 seed, are expected to have one of the top rosters in the country next season. Thomas Haugh announced his return to the Gators on Tuesday and picked up Denzel Aberdeen in the transfer portal to go along with returnees Alex Condon and Boogie Fland.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast**.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.**

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florida basketball coach Todd Golden shuts down NBA, Warriors rumors