The 2024-25 Golden State Warriors are not a serious championship contender. That is the message, and acknowledgment coming from Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr after a 104-101 loss to the 9-31 Toronto Raptors.
They spoke to the reality that they have to leave the organization in good shape, and not make a splashy move that negatively affects the future. And making a move like, say, acquiring Jimmy Butler? That wouldn't be prudent.
Kerr joined Willard and Dibs Tuesday afternoon to discuss those comments and exactly where the Warriors are at.
He said the reality of the situation is that it's "a young man's game," and the Warriors' current, difficult spot isn't anyone's fault.
"We're on the decline," Kerr said. "We know that. Steph and Draymond and I have talked about it together. It would be so irresponsible for this franchise to trade everything away for one final swing at a title. I think you have to know where you are organizationally. You have to know the position of the rest of the league, the landscape. And this does not feel like a time, in my estimation, and I think in Mike's and Steph's and Draymond's, where you just push all the chips in the middle and take a wild swing. That would be so irresponsible. So we're aware of that.
"But what does that mean? It means we are where we are. We're in the middle of the pack with a bunch of teams that are either good enough or not good enough, and we have to find out if we are. And by good enough, that means, can you climb your way into the playoffs and give yourself a chance? And that's what we're trying to do."
Kerr said that he, Curry and Green have had open conversations about where the organization is at, and that he's proud of their maturity and desire to do what's best for the organization.
"A lot of players in their situations would be saying, 'Screw that. Let's trade everything and see what we can do.' But that's not who they are," Kerr said. "And I think part of that is they're Warriors for life. That's part of the meaning of having a player who's only on one team for his entire existence."
Listen to Kerr's full interview with Willard and Dibs above.