New Warriors Rumors on Steph Curry's Influence on Steve Kerr's Future Ahead of 2026 NBA Free Agency

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is hopeful that coach Steve Kerr will return to the team for next season.

Kerr is in the last year of his contract and has yet to sign an extension. In the newest episode of the Warriors Plus Minus podcast, the San Francisco Standard's Tim Kawakami posited at the 35:20 mark the 60-year-old could walk away with the Warriors on track to post a losing record.

The Athletic's Nick Friedell chimes in to say Curry "wants Steve."

"I've been asked repeatedly — Tim, I know you have, too. Do you think Steve's coming back? I absolutely do because I think this team, especially because of what we've been talking about now tonight on this episode," he said. "They want to go for it. There's not another person you're going to plug in that's going to take them to some other spot more than Steve Kerr. Plus, the fact that Steph wants him and they have a partnership for all these years."

Curry told The Athletic's Marcus Thompson II in 2024 he'd never play for another coach in Golden State if he had his choice. Kerr, for his part, said on The Athletic Show in December he "will never leave Steph Curry."

When the rubber ultimately meets the road, Kerr may feel his time in the Bay Area has run its course, however.

Since winning the 2022 NBA Finals, the Warriors haven't advanced further than the second round of the playoffs. They missed the postseason altogether in 2023-24. Attempts by general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. to pry open a championship window have failed, and Jimmy Butler's torn ACL only further complicated the organization's short-term future.

The Ringer's Logan Murdock reported in January that "multiple assistant coaches have been operating under the premise that [Kerr] will not return next season."

Kerr hasn't been afforded much time to just relax in his current role. The Warriors were NBA champions in his first year, and winning a title was basically the aim for the next 11 years. The outlier was 2019-20, when Curry only appeared in five games.

All of that stress adds up and exacts a toll after a while.

Whether he wants to hang up the whistle for good or just recharge his batteries, it wouldn't be a shock if Kerr left the Warriors bench this summer, even if the front office tries to sell him on being able to contend in 2026-27.