Steve Kerr on Stephen Curry: 'It's on Us to Try to Begin to Manage His Minutes'

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr believes keeping veteran guard Stephen Curry fresh could be a key to the team's success moving forward.

Kerr told David Aldridge of The Athletic the following regarding the importance of not overworking Curry at this point in his career:

"Now, [Curry's] at the point where he's been at the peak of his powers for the last couple of years. If anything, it's on us to try to begin to manage his minutes. We've always been really blessed. We've been able to do that because of the talent on our team. We've never really run Steph into the ground. We don't have as much depth as we once did. It's on us as a coaching staff to make sure we get him his rest every night, and we're not wearing him out."

The 32-year-old Curry is a six-time NBA All-Star, three-time champion and two-time MVP. He played a ton of basketball with Golden State reaching the Finals in each of the past five seasons, but he essentially got this season off, as a broken hand limited him to just five games.

With both Curry and Klay Thompson injured and Kevin Durant having left for the Brooklyn Nets in free agency, the Dubs bottomed out in a big way this season, finishing with the NBA's worst record at 15-50.

Golden State won't be part of the resumption of the 2019-20 NBA season, as only 22 teams are set to compete at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Florida, which means Curry and Co. will have even more time to rest up.

In 11 NBA seasons, Curry has averaged 34.3 minutes per game, and he has also played 37.8 minutes per game in 112 career playoff contests. And though Curry has had his fair share of injuries, that is a lot of basketball during a relatively short period of time.

With a core of Curry, Thompson, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and potentially one of the top picks in the 2020 NBA draft, there is a great deal of excitement surrounding the Warriors for the 2020-21 season and an expectation that they will turn things around.

As the team proved this season, however, it will almost certainly require Curry and Thompson to remain healthy to become a championship contender again.

Young backcourt players Jordan Poole and Ky Bowman got some much-needed experience this season, which should help them be contributors next season and beyond, but there is a significant drop-off from Curry and Thompson—two of the best shooters in NBA history—to Poole and Bowman.

Kerr acknowledged it won't be as easy as it once was to keep Curry fresh since the Warriors don't have the depth they once did, but they may be able to sign some solid players in free agency.

The possibility exists that the NBA will have to play a condensed schedule next season because of the hiatus this season, which could mean more back-to-backs and sets of three games in four nights than usual.

That will make keeping players healthy and rested of paramount importance, and if Kerr can find the right balance, it may give the Warriors the advantage they need to return to the elite ranks.