When the Golden State Warriors saw Jimmy Butler go down with a torn ACL earlier this week, many things became clear. For one, whatever dim hopes they had for winning a championship this season were likely dashed.
One thing that has gone overlooked in all of this is that head coach Steve Kerr may be as good as gone after this season following the Butler injury.
Warriors may lose Steve Kerr after Jimmy Butler injury
Preceding this season and so far during it, Kerr’s expiring contract has been a talking point. His contract is up following this season and he's never seemed in any rush to get an extension done.
Kerr has always said he's open to returning as head coach next season, but he has been very open and transparent about the fact that he is still evaluating his future.
Part of that evaluation has to be whether it's worth coming back next season. With Butler likely to be out roughly half of next season as well, what realistic hopes do the Warriors have of being competitive in the 2026-27 season?
This two-year window the Warriors put together hinged very much on Butler and Stephen Curry being the stars of the show. Both have done their part this season and Golden State seemed to be playing their best basketball leading up to the Butler injury.
Now, it's almost impossible to see this team making a run barring some unlikely trade ahead of the deadline on February 5th.
Why would Kerr want to stick around another season and coach a mediocre basketball team? That is likely what the Warriors will be next season, so he could be forgiven for not wanting to travel and obsess over lineups every night to try and juice the most out of a mediocre roster, only to be criticized when things go wrong.
Perhaps the main reason Kerr would want to come back is to finish things up in unison with Curry and Draymond Green. The three have helped deliver so much greatness to the Warriors franchise that perhaps he would come back for one final swan song.
But, if he is not crazy about that idea, maybe he decides he wants a fresh start with a new team, or wants to get back into broadcasting, or perhaps politics or simply something else with his time.
It would be the end of an era if Kerr and the Warriors split, but that seems like it could be much more of a reality after the Butler injury.