I’m leaving, Steve Kerr terminated his contract with Golden State warriors today after he was suspended for…..
The Warriors’ season-ending loss to the Kings raises questions regarding which players can still contribute to winning going into 2024-25.
Kerr speaks on the future of the Warriors’ dynasty, whether they have a chance to continue competing.
Kerr candidly reflects on his coaching career and accepts loss to Sacramento in stride.
The Sacramento Kings got their revenge from last season’s first-round playoff matchup against the Golden State Warriors, where Stephen Curry scored an NBA-record-at-the-time 50 points in Game 7, eliminating Sacramento. The Kings got another opportunity late Tuesday night in the NBA’s Play-In Tournament to show the Warriors that the ‘big brother, little brother’ dynamic between the two franchises no longer existed.
Kings forward Keegan Murray scored a game-high 32 points on eight made three-pointers, and the Warriors struggled all night to keep up with Sacramento’s blistering shooting and constant ball-movement. The Kings also took it to the Warriors physically, dominating the boards and creating extra opportunities for themselves on offense.
Kings Forcing the Issue vs Warriors
On Golden State’s side of things, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr could only watch idly by as forced and unforced turnovers along with non-existent box outs sealed the game for Sacramento mid-way through the third quarter. Though the outcome wasn’t a favorable one for Golden State, their Big 3 fought until it got completely out of reach late in the fourth quarter.
Stephen Curry did all he could while facing constant traps, double, and triple-teams, Draymond Green tried his best to defend one of the league’s premier centers in Domantas Sabonis, and Klay Thompson couldn’t throw a rock in the ocean, scoring zero points on 0-10 shooting from the field.
Kerr ‘Absorbs the Loss’ to Kings
Kerr shared his thoughts on the future during post-game media availability
Steve Kerr is courtside for Golden State Warriors
Following the contest, Kerr would take the podium for his post-game media availability and answer questions about the disappointing loss. There are many questions about Golden State’s personnel that need to be answered going into the summer of 2024, including where 5x NBA All-Star Klay Thompson could end up after free agency concludes.
Danny Emerman asked Kerr if he was thinking about the future of the team after getting eliminated early into their hopeful playoff run, and Kerr was transparent in his response. Though visibly frustrated, Kerr congratulated Sacramento Kings head coach, and former Warriors assistant coach on Kerr’s staff, Mike Brown, and the Kings on being the better team.
“It’s too early for me to even think about that…it’s so emotional, the highs and lows of this business are incredible…you have to absorb the lows. This is life, this is how it works. You don’t get to stay on top forever.”
While the Warriors are certainly experiencing a rough patch, an NBA championship win just two years ago keeps spirits up for a potential competitive season or two moving forward.
Kerr Praises Kings, Reflects on a Fortunate Coaching Career
Steve Kerr sung Sacramento’s praises, reminded himself of prosperous tenure with Golden State
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr at a press conference during the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
Of course, it would be extremely difficult to think of the positives after such a defeat, but Kerr told the media that though the loss stung, remembering the triumphs of years past makes it a little easier to accept. A nine-time NBA champion, winning five as a player and four as Warriors head coach, Kerr accepted that even if this is the end of the line for his team’s hunt for championships, he has plenty of fond memories to look back on. Though visibly frustrated, Kerr congratulated Sacramento Kings head coach, and former Warriors assistant coach on Kerr’s staff, Mike Brown, and the Kings on being the better team. If anything, his core three players can finally take an extended off-season to rest after a decade of dominance.
“These guys have had, our core group, six Finals runs… Sacramento dominated, but our guys have been fighting for so long. They’re incredible competitors and warriors and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
Going into next season, the Warriors have a lot to consider. After seeing breakout performances from Jonathan Kuminga, a promising and effective year from Moses Moody, and two magnificent rookie seasons from rookies Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis, there are plenty of paths Golden State can choose to stroll down.
On one hand, there are circles that believe in Kuminga’s ability to eventually lead a team as the first option on a contending team, while others believe that Kuminga is, at best, a tertiary option to a more dominant scorer. One thing is for certain about Kuminga, though. As a second option at best during this regular season, Kuminga showed flashes of both rim-running explosiveness and effective pull-up mid-range shooting.
All of this is to say that even though the future of this Warriors team may look bleak, there also could be light at the end of the tunnel to keep this team competitive going into the future, post-Curry, Green and Thompson.
