If it’s not over entirely, the Golden State Warriors’ contending heyday is at the very least entering its golden years.
Since their last championship, the Golden State Warriors have Kerr-ed on the side of caution. Drastic changes, however, may well be on the horizon after their most recent postseason defeat.
(Photo by Christian Petersen, Getty Images)
Another edition of the NBA playoffs tipped off without the Bay Area, as the Warriors dropped a 111-96 decision in the Western Conference Play-In Tournament’s Friday finale against the Phoenix Suns.
With the victor’s prize being a first-round date with the Oklahoma City Thunder—Golden State’s apparent successor in Association supremacy—focus turned to Kerr’s postgame reaction, which saw him embrace lasting Warriors’ Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. In-game sound caught Steve Kerr admitting that he didn’t “know what’s going to happen next” while declaring his love for the pair, the only two players to partake in each of the four Golden State title runs in the new century.
“I don’t know what’s gonna happen next, but I love you guys.” https://t.co/GyFAlQRjIx pic.twitter.com/KlInPGTZs1
— NBA (@NBA) April 18, 2026
The Warrior Way Has Become Mediocre
Known for its seismic happenings, the Bay Area has been rocked by a hardwood earthquake that forced it into a 37-win season, its worst in a full 82-game output since Curry’s second tour in 2010-11.
Some of that was unavoidable: injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody certainly didn’t help and Curry himself missed a good bit of the year’s later stages with knee issues. Longtime assistant Chris DeMarco, who had been stationed on Kerr’s staff since 2012, became the head coach of the WNBA’s New York Liberty to work with another sharpshooter from the Bay.
But it’s clear that, even in relatively ideal circumstances, the Warriors are no longer residents in the Association penthouse. Their ledgers in the ongoing decade have been primarily sustained by a 2022 championship but further attempts to prolong their elite status have been hit-or-miss, leading to a patchy stretch featuring three playoff misses since 2020.
June 16, 2015: The Warriors win the NBA Title in six games over the Cavs. #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/IBQIAo2Kht
— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) June 16, 2024
End of an Era for Steve Kerr?
Acquiring Butler at last year’s trade deadline was enough to earn a first-round upset over the homegrown talents of Houston but a Curry injury led to a five-game defeat at the hands of Minnesota. Golden State hoped that lightning would strike twice when it picked up Kristaps Porzingis this time around, but he wound up playing just 15 games due to further medical woes.
Moody was at least starting to show signs of being a lasting contributor before a knee injury ended his year prematurely. His progress has been heavenly compared to other recent selections: Golden State finally pulled the plug on the Jonathan Kuminga experiment and little more needs to be said about James Wiseman, a second overall pick and the reward for their 2020 gap year that produced but 15 wins.
Golden State is currently set to carry its own first-round pick for the first time since 2024 but the biggest question remains at the top: Friday’s loss closed Kerr’s current contract, as he opted to coach in a relatively lame duck tour this time around. While Kerr could well be convinced to oversee any and all time Curry has left, several statements from this season hint that he’s at least aware of his mortal status.
“I still love coaching, but I get it,” Kerr said on Friday, per Anthony Slater of ESPN. “These jobs all have an expiration date. There is a run that happens, and when the run ends, sometimes it’s time for new blood and new ideas.”
Would the Warriors Rebuild?
The relatively good news is that if Golden State is going to engage in a rebuild, this is probably the best time to do it, especially if Kerr moves on. The bad news is that the Warriors have essentially backed themselves into a corner that begs the question of “if not now, when?”
Curry’s vintage Play-In breakout, a 35-point effort in an elimination game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, shows that he still has game-changing abilities … albeit ones that are on display in the playoff prelude rather than the Finals. If Curry at the relative height of his powers can only grant Golden State the privilege of playing for the mere chance of a first-round shellacking against Oklahoma City, maybe that’s a sign from the basketball gods that the current course is a bit wayward.
Forces both within and beyond the Warriors’ control give them a potential out with Curry: if there was ever a time for him to fulfill his familial destiny with the Charlotte Hornets, the Warriors’ partners in Play-In heartbreak, this is it.
Will Steph Curry Follow in Father’s Footsteps?
Hardwood fanfiction has often proposed placing Curry in his relatively hometown, especially after the Hornets raised the digits of his father Dell into their rafters this season. With Charlotte having assembled some strong homegrown talents (Curry teaming up with Kon Knueppel would probably put the league on a fast-track toward its first 200-point game) and eager to take the next step of its postseason journey, Curry could well create a Tampa Tom Brady situation for the NBA.
90s Burger King commercials with Dell Curry and Sons!
pic.twitter.com/eqRCjeqp1v https://t.co/2veFWq3ogX
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) March 19, 2026
Harder to manage is the situation of Green: he probably won’t get the extension he’s eligible for, but is due over $27.6 million next season and can only be traded if he takes on next year’s player option. Still, there’s an out for Curry where he can acquire some sizable assets for the Bay and make for the draft misfires (which can also be masked if Moody and fellow homegrown project Brandin Podziemski continue progressing as planned).
The bittersweet cloud hanging over everything is the idea that the Warriors likely won’t engage in any drastic teardown as long as Curry is on the roster. That will likely keep the Warriors in the hunt for offseason trade candidates like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Domantas Sabonis, who would no doubt serve as welcome additions for a potential Curry farewell tour.
It’s fair to see that line of thinking, especially if Curry continues to show he’s capable of the impactful efforts that made him famous and perhaps changed the sport forever. But there’s no denying that the Warrior way has gone wayward and the idea of it ending in the NBA Finals becomes more remote with each passing moment.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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