Golden State Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr knows a thing or two about the end of a dynastic run. As part of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in the late nineties, he experienced that closure albeit with a third-straight championship in hand.
On Wednesday, before the Warriors fell to a 6-9 record on the season, ESPN published an in-depth article on Klay Thompson and the state of the franchise. Within Ramona Shelburne’s investigation, comments from Kerr that signal the nearing end of this Warriors core.
While Steve Kerr’s comments may very well be true, they do little to aid the Golden State Warriors’ chances of success this season and moving forward.
There’s constant speculation on the future of Draymond Green who can become a free agent at season’s end, along with Thompson whose contract finishes at the end of next season. Kerr’s remark does little to solidify the medium to long-term future of the Warriors’ all-time legends.
"“It can only last so long. We know this isn’t going forever. This could be the last year, maybe next year is the last year. We’re in the final stages. We know that. We want to make the most of it”, Kerr said."

Kerr’s an incredibly smart and astute individual, but it’s difficult to see why he made the comments. Does he think the older core will play better knowing their time is running out? If so, that’s unfair given their self-driven desire for championships over the past decade.
It’s not like their nearing the complete end of their careers either — Curry’s in career-best form and could easily play into his forties, Green’s 32 and looks good physically even if his defensive intensity has slightly reduced so far this season, and surely Kerr holds optimism that Thompson will find his shooting touch and maintain as an elite three-point shooter for another four to five seasons.
No one’s expecting the trio to be leading the Warriors to championships in five years, but isn’t that the point of Golden State’s two-timeline plan? It’s a strategy that’s under increased pressure, and if the coach can’t believe in it, what chance do fans have?
What about Kerr himself? In his ninth season as coach, his comments don’t lend you to thinking that he’ll be around for the next version of the Warriors — one potentially led by Jordan Poole and recent lottery picks James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody.
All his comments are doing is creating further divide in an already fractured group. Poole and Andrew Wiggins have just signed four-year contract extensions — what do they think now that Kerr has said there could be only two seasons left in this group?
Maybe it’s simply a flippant comment — perhaps Kerr hasn’t thought about the future much because of his growing list of issues in the present. Still, it’s the kind of statement Warriors fans don’t particularly want to hear.