The Golden State Warriors are looking for answers right now and there don't seem to be any in sight. That's why it's starting to feel like this could potentially be head coach Steve Kerr's last dance if this season continues to go in the wrong direction.
The Warriors have been cycling through lineups and have not found been able to find any consistency. Kerr has been trying all sorts of different combinations but to no avail as it seems like right when the team has found something, they lose it the very next game.
This could be the last dance for Warriors head coach Steve Kerr
On the latest episode of the Dubs Talk podcast, host Bonta Hill and Warriors insider Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area openly mused about whether this could be Kerr's last season as head coach of the Warriors.
"He looks like he's running out of answers with this roster. Some of the rhetoric and some of his language at the podium in terms of how he's speaking, it feels like we're watching the last season where he's going to be on the sidelines for the Golden State Warriors," Hill said.
"You're not the first person to get that vibe. I have people tell me before the season that they wouldn't be surprised if this is Steve's last year. And then Steve comes out and says he's not worried about an extension," Poole responded.
Kerr did sign a two-year extension prior to the 2024-25 season, but he demurred when asked about anything beyond this season since his contract will be up. It really did seem like Kerr wanted to feel things out this season and see just how much he could get out of this roster as currently constructed.
The Warriors seemed to be setting themselves up for a final two-year run with Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green as the three stars of the team. After last season's late-season run that got the Warriors into the playoffs, it was an obvious move to have all three leaders back in the fold to see if they could run it back.
But if this season ends up being what it seems like right now -- a middling campaign in which the Warriors struggle to get any momentum and aren't able to go on a 23-8 run at any point like they did last season -- Kerr may decide it is time to depart.
Right now it feels like the team is going to be fighting for a Play-In spot, somewhere they simply did not want to be at the start of the season. The hope was this team could get a decent seed in the Western Conference and remain healthy enough to make a run in the playoffs.
But if the Warriors are just an average team, Kerr may decide he does not want to come back and watch his hair get even grayer as he tries to configure a successful lineup night after night.
At the same time, part of him surely wants to stay with Curry and Green for one more season so they can see this remarkable run through until at least the end of next season. But perhaps he's simply getting worn out and will decide that it's just not worth it anymore.
The two sides could have an amicable split after this season with Kerr not under contract. Rather than owner Joe Lacob having to fire Kerr, they could just announce a mutual parting of ways.
A lot can happen the rest of this season, but we have to start thinking about the possibility that this could be Kerr's last dance with the Warriors.