Steph Curry Compelled to Ride It Out with Steve Kerr

The last dynasty to run the NBA began in 2015 when the Golden State Warriors won the title. It was the inaugural season for Steph Curry and Steve Kerr, with Klay Thompson and Draymond Green rounding out the group. That championship win kick-started a Warriors run that went on to capture three more titles; their latest being in 2022. But it was from 2015 to 2018 when Curry and Kerr led their greatest stretch of three titles in three years. Since then, there hasn’t been a better superstar-coach duo to outmatch them. Today, both Curry and Kerr remain in lockstep in Golden State, but that could change in the coming years. That said, in the present and for the years to come, Curry has no desire to play for anyone else but Kerr, and Kerr reflects a similar perspective going the other way.

Steph Curry Compelled to Ride It Out with Steve Kerr

Steph Curry backs head coach with latest comments on future of Steve Kerr in Golden State

The Warriors are currently in the midst of a new era. An era without Thompson, and featuring a much older Curry and Green. It also includes Jimmy Butler, who, while not close to the player Kevin Durant was during his three-year run with the Warriors, still resembles the stardom brought in to help in the chase for another title. While the tides in The Bay shifted last year when the Warriors traded for Butler, they wouldn’t reach the finals, as Green had predicted earlier in the year.

With a new season upon them, the Warriors enter as contenders, but how strong a contender is a huge question mark. The conversation recently hasn’t been about that more than it has been about Kerr and his future in Golden State. Kerr is on record stating he isn’t looking to sign an extension at the moment. He’s also stated that he does not want to coach anywhere else but Golden State. Curry recently rebounded that loyalty with his recent remarks on playing for Kerr, saying that he doesn’t want to play for anyone else.

“I don’t want to,” Curry said. “We deserve that, I feel. Things change in this league. We can only control so much. But I think we’re in a very unique situation that we deserve the opportunity [to ride it out].”

Curry did mention that while he has played for other coaches in the past — Mark Jackson, for one — he isn’t worried about how he would play for someone other than Kerr. He simply doesn’t want to. Like Kerr is to the Warriors, Curry is clearly loyal to his head coach.

Can the Warriors squeeze out one more ring before significant changes occur?

If Kerr has no intention of looking for work elsewhere, and Curry’s current deal expires in two years, what happens from there is up in the air. It’s hard to see Curry falling off the cliff between now and then, and Kerr will unquestionably still be just as great then as he has been and is now. In the meantime, the focus shifts to the present and the upcoming season.

After an uneventful summer consisting of no major moves or roster changes, the one thing going for the Warriors is that they conducted a full offseason and preseason with Butler, Curry, Green, and the rest of the squad. The West, being the gauntlet that it is, will show no mercy to anyone, so the Warriors will have to do better than they did a season ago.

Bringing in Butler was meant to increase the chances of winning another ring in the Curry-Kerr era before it’s all said and done. There are a handful of teams that many would rank ahead of the Warriors this year, but that doesn’t mean they’re out of contention. Can they squeeze out one more title run this year or next? If Golden State is competitive this season, and on the way to the playoffs, it shouldn’t be a surprise if they do more dealings at the deadline. Regardless, we know that Curry will lead from the floor, and Kerr from the sideline. That reality still makes them the top player-coach duo in the league.

 

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