Coming into this season, everyone knew that Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was entering the final year of his contract. There has been a lot of debate about whether this will be Kerr's last season coaching the franchise, but the team may have already decided for him.
With the disappointing turn this season took really ever since Jimmy Butler tore his ACL, followed by Stephen Curry missing over a month due to a knee issue, it's just hard to see Kerr walking away from everything on such a sour note.
Steve Kerr cannot end Warriors career after such a disappointing season
Kerr has been through it all with the Warriors since he took over as head coach back in 2014. He has led the team to four championships, but also had to guide the team through awful seasons like the 2019-20 campaign and in recent years has had to guide the team through mediocrity.
He himself has dubbed the Warriors a "fading dynasty" and it's hard to argue with him. Golden State have at least remained relevant in the years since they won their last title, but they are not a perennial contender and it's hard to see them being truly competitive with the best teams in the league going forward.
But Kerr has to hope for a better end to the story than this.
Maybe it won't be as perfect as the "Last Dance" that he was a part of with the Chicago Bulls back in the 1990s when they won one final title before everyone went their separate ways, but Kerr has to hope for at least one more legitimate playoff run which the Warriors could be capable of.
It may take a big move or two in the offseason, but Golden State still have Curry and that is all they need to have some kind of chance. He is still elite at the age of 38, yet one cannot help but wonder how his body is going to hold up over the next few seasons if he plays that long.
Next season may be the last realistic chance the Warriors have to make a run and Kerr should be a part of it given everything he means to the franchise. Curry has said he does not want to play for any other coach, and at the very least Kerr owes it to his star player to come back for one more season and try to end things the right way.