Has Steve Kerr forgotten that Stephen Curry is still a superstar? Kerr went on The Tom Tolbert Show last week and essentially said that since the Warriors are no longer a top-tier team, they’re not going to sacrifice long-term assets to increase their short-term chances. Here’s his quote:

“To be in the final eight and give ourselves an opportunity, that's what we want this year and there's no reason why we can't give ourselves that opportunity. I just don't want anybody to think that we're all disillusioned and we're thinking we should be competing for titles year in and year out with San Antonio and Oklahoma City the next few. That's not realistic.”

You’d think Kerr would know better than anyone, as both a coach and a player, how fragile repeat bids are. OKC has to prove it can do it again, and San Antonio has not proven anything yet. Golden State’s record is only 19-17, and for the third-consecutive year it looks headed for the play-in. But at age 37, Curry is having one of his most efficient high-volume scoring seasons, averaging 28.8 points per game (fourth-best of his career) on 64.2% true shooting (the fifth-best of his career). Curry’s production is not nostalgia, and any time you’ve got a player of that caliber you at least have a chance. This is why treating more magnificent Curry runs as “not realistic” is such a strange position. But it got weirder:

“So what does that mean for us? ... If there's something that makes us better, for sure. But all you have to do is look at some of these teams out there that have given up the world for a star player and now they’re looking around like: the Clippers, no picks. Phoenix, no picks. Milwaukee, no picks. So you can really paint yourselves into a corner if you’re risky and irresponsible.”

Kerr isn’t wrong about these cautionary tales. The league is littered with teams that cashed out every pick and woke up old, expensive, and trapped. But there is a difference between being reckless and having conviction. The Warriors are choosing caution anyway.

Acquiring Jimmy Butler last season wasn’t enough. Butler is a very good player who provides the variety the Warriors need with slashing to the rim and a ton of drawn fouls. He keeps Golden State’s offense afloat when Steph isn’t on the floor. But the Warriors didn’t have to give up a lot to get him: Andrew Wiggins, a 2025 first, and contract filler. The Warriors got him at a discount because his off-court volatility depressed his market. He’s no longer in his prime. At age 36, Butler takes only 11.8 shots per game. He doesn’t live in Playoff Jimmy mode the way he once did. He was a true buy-low acquisition who stabilizes the Warriors, but doesn’t make them frightening.

Kerr’s "irresponsible" label is a smokescreen because even after acquiring Butler, the Warriors still have the full rights to their own firsts in every year except for 2030. That year, they can trade the rights to their pick only if it lands in the top 20. This means Golden State can trade up to three unprotected firsts (2026, 2028, and 2032), three swaps (2027, 2029, and 2031), and one protected first (2030). That’s a lot of ammo to use for moves and still have some left over.

The Warriors actually have the infrastructure to support a winner. Quinten Post is looking like a steal, one of the rare 7-footers who can protect the rim, move the ball, and space the floor. Their defense is sturdier with his size next to an aging Draymond Green. Trayce Jackson-Davis, Will Richard, Pat Spencer, and Gui Santos look like legitimate good-team rotation players with their blend of hustle, smarts, and skill. Even Brandin Podziemski, often the whipping boy for frustrated fans, is settling in with more off-ball responsibility. The bones of a contender are there. This is not a roster that needs patience. Which is why clinging to every future pick is backwards.

One year ago around this time, the Warriors were singing a similar tune. Green said he, Curry, and Kerr “all disagree with mortgaging off the future.” At the time, I argued that if the Warriors weren’t willing to go all-in, then either Steph should look for a new team or the Warriors should blow it up. Those perspectives, and the one you’re reading now, are all a rejection of the two timelines purgatory that Joe Lacob and the front office have been trying to sell.

The Warriors seem paralyzed by a sunk-cost obsession with the Jonathan Kuminga era. They are terrified of him becoming a star elsewhere, even though he clearly doesn't fit the Kerr system. While it seems highly probable that Kuminga will get moved by the Feb. 5 trade deadline, that fear-of-missing-out logic is exactly why they’re unwilling to trade future assets for a legitimate co-star. This is coming from a franchise that, with its recent picks, took Kuminga one spot ahead of Franz Wagner, James Wiseman over LaMelo Ball, and Moses Moody with Alperen Şengün and Trey Murphy III both on the board.

What the Warriors need is what they wish Kuminga could’ve been: a two-way wing with size who can offer shooting and secondary scoring.