Even amid Curry buzz, Kerr cautions that Warriors will never ‘be the team that we were the past five years’ – San Francisco Chronicle

It was more than just Stephen Curry’s return that had Warriors head coach Steve Kerr buzzing before Thursday night’s game against Toronto.

On top of getting one of the NBA’s best players back from a four-month hiatus with a broken left hand, the Warriors have won two of their past three games and are seemingly finding some roster continuity during a season that didn’t offer much in the first 60 games.

“Everybody’s excited. It just feels, in a lot of ways, not just Steph’s return, like we’ve kind of emerged from the woods a little bit in the past week or two,” Kerr said. “It’s knowing that Steph’s going to return, but also winning a couple games this week, getting some clarity on our roster with the trade for Andrew (Wiggins), signing a couple of 10-day guys who have really helped us, and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s been a nice little stretch here. I think Steph has a lot to do with that. I think as he’s been around us, and it’s become apparent that he was getting closer and closer, he impacts us by getting everybody excited.”

Even amid the excitement, which borders on feeling like the Warriors are starting a new season with 20 games left on the schedule, Kerr cautioned people with expectations that the Warriors will immediately return to the glories of their five-year dynastic run.

“There’s always been the idea that, when we get through this season, we’re going to healthy and get some guys back, but we’re never going to be the team that we were the past five years,” Kerr said. “I knew that last summer. How could we possibly be the same team after losing the guys we lost? We’ll be a new, different version of the Warriors, but it’s an exciting challenge. It’s one that our staff, management and players are embracing. All of the sudden, Steph, Klay and Draymond on the vets, and we’re raising all of these young guys. We’re trying to help them develop, so that they can be part of the next era of our team, the next vintage.

“It will be very different, but we still have a lot of talent and guys who are committed, enjoy playing the game and enjoy playing together. We feel like we can be pretty good again. But what you saw in the past, it will be different than that.”

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