After the Warriors’ NBA title defense ended in Friday night’s 122–101 Game 6 Western Conference semifinals loss to the Lakers, coach Steve Kerr offered a blatant assessment on the season as a whole and the playoff elimination.
There’s no arguing that this was one of the more trying seasons that Golden State has had under Kerr over the better part of the last decade, as the team really had to play well down the stretch of the regular season to even make it into the playoffs.
Taking that into consideration, Kerr believes that this Warriors team maxed out its potential.
“I think I’m more focused on what went right, to be honest with you,” said Kerr when asked about what went wrong this season. “The way the season started, we were disjointed and had that 0–5 road trip and it felt like we were swimming upstream from the beginning. I think we found ourselves down the stretch and in the first round of the playoffs. To be fair, I think this team probably, ultimately, maxed out.”
Despite the belief that the team maxed out its potential, Kerr was happy at the late season push that the Warriors made despite falling short of the championship defense.
“I think we were barely in the playoff picture for most of the year,” Kerr said. “So to make that push, to get there, to win an epic first round series and then to give the Lakers a fight in this series and have our chances, that puts us among the top eight teams in the league. That’s probably where we should be. This is not a championship team. If we were, we’d be moving on.”
Steve Kerr bigger picture view of the season: “This is not a championship team. If it were, we’d be moving on.” pic.twitter.com/ex8pa3ut24
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 13, 2023
While some are working under the notion that the decade-long run of the Warriors that delivered four championships is over, perhaps Golden State can retool around their stars to make another run next year and into the future. Curry is still playing at an All-NBA level, and Klay Thompson and Draymond Green still have plenty of good basketball left in them.
Although Green can opt out of his current contract this offseason and become a free agent, he made it clear with reporters on Friday night that he wants to finish his career as a Warrior.
This offseason proposes plenty of questions, from Green’s future to the future of Warriors general manager Bob Myers, but another Golden State championship run with the current core can’t be counted out.
