OAKLAND — Initially, Warriors coach Steve Kerr made the move sound like a fore-gone conclusion.
The Warriors had signed DeMarcus Cousins to a surprisingly low $5.3 million with their taxpayer mid-level exception because of the league-wide concern about his surgically repaired left Achilles tendon. As far as re-signing him this summer, though? Kerr did not see how that would work.
“We made no bones about it when we signed him. “This is a one-year deal and we’re not going to have money to sign him next year,” Kerr said in November. “So we’d like to help him win a championship and sign a great contract somewhere else.