The sunset on one of the NBA’s great dynasties is in full view, and yet the Golden State Warriors maintain the same championship ambition and continue to remake a roster in hopes of chasing another title.
The Dennis Schroeder trade showed that the Warriors still believe they can contend for the Larry O’Brien Trophy this season. Of course, Golden State’s hope revolves around the sustained excellence of the seemingly ageless Stephen Curry.
Can the Warriors realistically win a title with Curry, who will turn 37 in March? Head coach Steve Kerr certainly thinks so, and he explained why he remains confident about the future Hall of Famer leading Golden State to a fifth championship of the franchise’s golden era.
“I think the answer to that is yes, it’s realistic,” Kerr told Mark Willard on 95.7 The Game. “He is a once in a generation player and athlete. He’s superbly conditioned. We just watched him 2 1/2 years ago carry us to the title.”
“This is Steph Curry’s team, and he’s still an All-Star. You saw him in the Olympics this past year. It’s our job to put him in a position where we’re in the playoffs and we give him a chance with the best group around him, the best team, the best coaching, the best training staff, and that’s the focus.”
Steve Kerr on building a championship-level team around Steph Curry, who will be 37 in March đź‘€ pic.twitter.com/2o2ZyaLU3F
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Talk of the Warriors being legitimate title contenders returned when they surprisingly raced out to a 12-3 record while employing a rotation of 12 or 13 players.
Buddy Hield’s 3-point barrage spawned a new, cute backcourt nickname with Curry, but De’Anthony Melton’s season-ending knee injury broke up the early season chemistry, sending Golden State on a five-game losing streak and a prolonged slide of eight defeats in its last 10 contests.
Schroeder will help replace the two-way backcourt play of Melton. However, the Warriors still lack a true No. 2 scorer to support Curry. That’s why rumors continue to persist about Golden State looking to add a superstar like Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler.
“Warriors fans know really well that guys like Steph don’t come around very often. We went 40 years between titles from ’75 to ’15,” Kerr said. “So we have Steph.
“He’s still playing at an elite level. We have to give him every resource to try to take us home again because we’ve watched him do it four times. So that’s why we’re doing what we’re doing.”
