“Disrespectful:” that is the quote from Stephen Curry regarding the Toronto Raptors‘ decision to leave Andre Iguodala unguarded on the Warriors‘ final play of the contest during Game two of the NBA Finals on Sunday.

What was an eight-point game with 1:08 left in the fourth quarter suddenly became cut to just two points with 26 seconds left to play in regulation. The Warriors, already down 1-0 in the series, now had to win the game without both Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson. As the Raptors continued to try and force Curry into a trap, Curry passed the ball to Shaun Livingston, who in turn passed the ball the Andre Iguodala, who evened the series at 1-1 heading back to a Game three on Wednesday night in Oakland.

For most players, a moment like the one Iguodala found himself in on Sunday night might overwhelm them. As a 33.3% three-pointer shooter, long-distance shooting is not really Iguodala’s game. For a veteran and former All-Star like Iguodala, no moment looms too large for him. Entering the shot, Iguodala found himself just one for his last 13 from three-point range. What separates Iguodala from other players who might have passed up the three-point shot is that Iguodala has a champion’s mentality. Iguodala knows that when he got the pass from Livingston, he was zero-for-zero from three-point range.

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After the game, Iguodala said, “I’m doing whatever it takes to preserve his (Steph Curry’s) legacy.” This quote is a perfect example of why the Warriors are the odds-on favorites to win their fourth NBA Championship in the last five seasons. Greatness combined with utter unselfishness and a desire to play a truly team-oriented style of basketball. It should come as no surprise to anyone that the Warriors have become the poster child for success in basketball. Chemistry, selfishness, trust — all of these characteristics define the Golden State Warriors and especially the game-clinching shot in Game two by Andre Iguodala.

The Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr expanded on the team’s focus going into the 2018-2019 season in a post-practice interview.

Steve Kerr says Warriors aren’t looking at season as final dance

Kerr was interviewed following the team’s first practice on Tuesday at the Rakuten Performance Center in Downtown Oakland and was quick to knock down a comparison between his old 1997-98 Chicago squad and this seasons Warriors.

“Last dance?” Kerr said with a smile “I hope not. I hope we keep dancing.”

“I think the difference is with Phil [Jackson] in ’98 we all were free agents and we all knew we were all going to be gone, including Phil,” Kerr said. “But we’re not in that same position. We do have plenty of free agents, but we’re not looking at this as the final dance. Like I said, we want to have some fun and enjoy what we have this year and move on from there.”

The Warriors are enjoying the luxury of having four All-Stars in their prime. Kevin Durant is eligible for free agency again this summer, Klay Thompson’s contract expires in 2019, Draymond Green’s deal runs out in ’20, and Stephen Curry‘s ends in ’22.

“We want them here for the long haul. [Warriors GM] Bob [Myers] said it best in the offseason, in the summer, especially these days in the NBA: You just take it year by year. And that’s our focus is this year. This will probably be the last time that I say anything about free agency for next year. It’s a good question on the first day of practice because that’s going to be looming. But it will be looming for fans and media, it won’t be looming for us. We’re going to focus on this year. Have a great time, have some fun, go out and try to do it again and we’ll worry about all that other stuff later.”

The Warriors signed All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins during the offseason to a one-year, 5.3 million deal. Practice started at around 11 a.m. on Tuesday, while Cousins received treatment. Between 9 and 11 a.m., though, Cousins completed a two-hour workout that sounded pretty extensive.

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“I don’t think it will take too long before he takes part in practice,” Kerr said when asked about the status of Cousins. “But for right now, it’s important he gets his full workout with the training staff.”

“DeMarcus did a ton of movement stuff, court work, ball handling and shooting stuff on his own,” Kerr said.
“But he did not take part with the team. We’re just taking it slowly with him.”

The team also announced the signing of free-agent forwards Marcus Derrickson and Alfonzo McKinnie, along with free-agent guards Danuel House Jr. and Kendrick Nunn.

The Warriors elevated Bruce Fraser to assistant coach after he spent the past five seasons on the team’s coaching staff. The Warriors also named Chris DeMarco as assistant coach and director of player development after spending the past six seasons in different roles including video intern (2012-13), assistant video coordinator (2013-14), advance scout/video scout (2014-15) and assistant coach/player development (2015-2018).

“[I’m] really pleased with the first day but I’m not ready to celebrate just yet, we need a good week before we really get rolling.” Kerr said.

Following four days of training camp, the Warriors will open their preseason schedule at Oracle Arena on Saturday, Sept. 29 against the Minnesota Timberwolves before heading to Seattle to play the Sacramento Kings on Oct 5.