Ten years ago, the man at the center of this story introduced the most effective small-ball unit in NBA history, a switchable, lethal, pace-and-space lineup that revolutionized the league and spawned a dynasty. That dynasty produced four championships and six Finals appearances. Now, less than a week after a play-in exit to the Phoenix Suns ended the final season of his contract, a former Warrior who was there for it all says the chapter is closed, and it’s time to turn the page.

The widespread belief around the NBA is that Steve Kerr will not return as Warriors head coach, with sources telling NBC Sports Bay Area that he entered training camp in September mentally prepared for 2025-26 to be his final season, dismissing the idea of a contract extension before a single game was played. Into that conversation, DeMarcus Cousins stepped directly on Thursday, offering perhaps the most straightforward take yet from anyone connected to Golden State’s championship era.

“I do think it’s time,” Cousins said. “That’s no knock to Steve. He’s a legendary Hall of Fame coach. He’s had an incredible career, from being a player to coaching to the front office, but every road comes to an end eventually. As far as the future of the Warriors and developing young talent and just moving on with the franchise, I do believe it’s time.”

The context surrounding Cousins’ comments gives them weight. Kerr entered 2025-26 with genuine optimism, banking on the quartet of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler, and the team’s health infrastructure to make a real run, only to watch the season dissolve under a wave of injuries before ending in a play-in loss.

After the final buzzer sounded in Phoenix, Kerr said he wanted a few days to think before meeting with GM Mike Dunleavy and CEO Joe Lacob, the language of a man who had already made up his mind and was simply being deliberate about how he communicated it. A source close to Kerr told reporter Joe Cowley that the coach “has known for weeks he was done.”

Cousins, who was part of the 2017-18 championship roster and has remained close to figures within the organization, appears to share that read entirely.

The question of what comes next is where the conversation gets genuinely interesting. Warriors insider Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard floated Andre Iguodala as an “outside-the-envelope” candidate, noting that the front office would likely prefer a younger, development-minded hire with analytics fluency, and that Iguodala’s deep familiarity with the organization, the system, and its star players makes him a name worth watching.

Iguodala has no prior coaching experience, but his jersey was retired by the franchise in February 2025. He won Finals MVP in 2015, and he spent eight of his final 10 playing seasons in Golden State under the exact staff he would be inheriting. Whether that translates into a genuine candidacy or remains a conversation starter remains to be seen.

“Every Road Comes To An End”: What Comes After Kerr For Golden State

Cousins’ framing, “every road comes to an end,” captures the broader reality facing the Golden State beyond just the coaching decision. Curry and Green are both closer to 40 than 30. The roster was assembled for a single-season championship window that didn’t open. And the rest of the league, as Kerr himself acknowledged, has continued to get bigger, stronger, and younger.

A development-minded hire, as Kawakami described the likely target, signals that the Warriors’ brain trust may be preparing for a transitional period rather than a win-now successor to Kerr’s system.

Other names circulating in the coaching search include Warriors assistants Jerry Stackhouse and Terry Stotts, respected league assistants Micah Nori, Chris Quinn, Sean Sweeney, and Johnnie Bryant, as well as TV analyst Brent Barry and former Warriors associate head coach Mike Brown, though Brown is currently in his first season with the New York Knicks.

The candidate pool is wide because the job itself is complicated: whoever comes in next inherits Curry and Green in the final stages of legendary careers, a Jimmy Butler still under contract, and a fanbase accustomed to the standard Steve Kerr set across 12 seasons. Kawakami’s read is that Lacob and Dunleavy owe it to themselves and to the remaining spirit of the Curry era to take the time to get this decision right, and that they will.

DeMarcus Cousins has already rendered his verdict on the outgoing coach. The harder question, who replaces a Hall of Famer, is the one Golden State now has to answer.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​