Steve Kerr isn’t pretending the Warriors got everything right while Stephen Curry has entered the back end of his career.
Before Golden State opens its 2026-27 season Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers, the coach admitted the franchise has missed on some of the choices it has made while trying to keep Curry surrounded with enough talent.
“I think over the last five years we’ve made mistakes, myself included. I’ve made my share of mistakes as a coach. We’ve made our share of mistakes organizationally, but there’s never been a lack of commitment to Steph,” he said, per Logan Murdock of The Ringer.
That honesty came with a message for the fans who have spent years wanting the Warriors to trade away every possible future pick and asset in a full-bore effort to land another star. Kerr said the team chased those moves, just didn’t land them.
“…I can tell you, we went after a lot of those big fish and we didn’t get them. And what I would also say to our fan base is, OK, I get it. You would’ve liked to have seen one of those big fish here, but now we’re heading into the next era where we’ve got all this cap room and all our picks,” he said.
Golden State is carrying essentially the same roster that won 37 games last season, only older now, which is part of why expectations are thin heading into the new year. The franchise does have more flexibility waiting down the road because it held onto some of its future draft capital, but that future may not line up neatly with Curry, who is nearing 40.
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Kerr also made clear that Butler remains a different kind of presence when he is around the group, which matters for a Warriors team trying to keep its ceiling intact while waiting on his return. The bigger question now is not just when Butler gets back on the floor, but how much his mentality and two-way edge can eventually raise the standard for a team that will be measured from the start by how it handles these early games without him. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Injury Crunch Puts Steve Kerr In A Tough Lakers Decision
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Will Richard, meanwhile, is suddenly in the conversation again after being out of the mix recently. With so many pieces in flux, the Warriors may need to lean on depth they have not had to trust much lately, and that makes the pregame decisions even more important against a Lakers team that can punish any shortage of available defenders or ball handlers. [Read more 🡒]