The Golden State Warriors are still unsure if Steve Kerr will be on the sidelines to start the season.

Kerr's suffering in the wake of two offseason back surgeries has improved to the point that he is with the team on its weeklong preseason swing through Southern California.

‎"He still doesn't know," Luke Walton said after practice Monday in San Diego. "He's not going to force a return. There's no timetable still. He's been around more lately, which is great. As long as it's not affecting his recovery, I think it's healthy for the guys to see him.

"Steve's brilliant at giving quick, clean messages to the players when they need it. He's been able to do that the last couple days. He just told me I'm doing a great job, just keep doing what you're doing; the guys are going to take care of some stuff you're probably stressing about; we have really good players and so we'll be fine."

Kerr underwent surgery in late July to repair a ruptured disk in his back, but the procedure caused a leakage of spinal fluid. A second surgery was required in early September to address the leak.

Walton has become more comfortable in the head coaching role over the past few weeks.

"It's night and day. Obviously this team's preference is to have Steve coach Tuesday night, but the last couple weeks I feel like I'm comfortable now," said Walton. "If you told me two weeks ago that Steve's out no matter what for the first regular-season game, I probably would not have slept much. But I feel fine and confident doing that if it's required next week."