It seems like neither Stephen Curry nor coach Steve Kerr are ready to give up on each other or the Golden State Warriors just yet.
Earlier this week, there was renewed excitement about the Warriors after Curry was in great form during a 126-121 NBA play-in tournament win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Boy, can things change fast in a matter of days.
On Friday night, they head into their second play-in game, this time against the Phoenix Suns, trying to hold off the eighth seed in the West. They finished the first quarter trailing 33–15, had trouble leading the rest of the night and fell behind by a score of 111–97. It capped off a very disappointing 37-45 season that started with no real NBA Finals aspirations.
The loss created immediate speculation about the future of Curry, Kerr and fellow key member of their dynasty, Draymond Green. Curry turned 38 last month and has struggled to compete in half the games this season due to injuries. Kerr is looking battle weary over the past few years and looks like he needs a break. Green is as volatile as ever, but he's not as effective on the court as he was during his prime.
Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr look set to return in 2026-27
Still, despite the notion that one or two of them might be gone after this season, it seems like they're not ready to give up on each other just yet. After their loss to the Suns, Curry was optimistic that he would fully heal his troublesome knee and thought he had "many" years left in his career. Furthermore, he claimed that he is ready to sign an extension with the team. One might assume it's for slightly less money, but with additional guarantee years.
Many felt that Kerr could enjoy his success by taking a break from coaching. But it looks like he's not going anywhere.
"I don't want to move away from Steph. I'm definitely not going to go and coach anywhere else in the NBA next year," he said Friday night. "...I'll never walk away from Steph."
The 12-time All-Star has one season and more than $62 million left on his current contract. Kerr is officially a coaching free agent after this season.
Draymond Green hopes he's done enough to return to the Warriors in 2026-27
So what does this mean for the Greens? He was ejected from the bench in the final minutes of the game for arguing with Suns superstar Devin Booker, and his erratic behavior still has not diminished with age. Well, he hopes he is still with the same team he played for in 2026-27 as well.
"I hope I've done enough to still be here," he said after the loss. "At the end of the day, if I haven't done enough work, I don't want to be here. I don't want this to be a [situation] Where 'we keep him only for what he has done before'."
There has been much speculation that the Warriors could try to trade Green this offseason. However, he recently admitted that he is also willing to take a team waiver for an extension in order to stay with the Warriors for a few more seasons.
