Less than an hour after his team's tumultuous title defense officially came to a close, Steve Kerr admitted what the previous eight months had made depressingly clear. The Golden State Warriors just were “not a championship team,” he said, appropriately “maxed out” with a six-game loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals.

Nothing would've vaulted Golden State ahead of the champion Denver Nuggets and other top-tier title contenders last season. As he's reflected on that failure this summer while turning the page toward 2023-24, though, Kerr has come to the realization his inability to “connect” the Warriors played a major role in their demise—a mistake he's already guarding against repeating going forward.

“I will say that I feel like I failed last year in connecting the group,” Kerr told Shayna Rubin of The Mercury News. “I have taken a lot of time this summer to think about last year, things I could have and should have done differently.I really believe that sometimes losing forces you to reassess and reevaluate and I'm excited about coming back next year with a renewed focus and energy and spirit from the entire group. And that starts with me and I can't wait.”

There were many factors that prevented Golden State from developing championship-worthy chemistry and togetherness in 2022-23: Draymond Green's preseason punch to Jordan Poole; the “disease of more” after winning a title; an initial roster overflowing with young players; multiple extended absences for Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins.

But Kerr prides himself on player-to-player connectedness as much as any coach in the league. While each of the factors above presented significant challenges, he clearly believes they weren't enough to prevent the Dubs from forging the cohesive, ingrained identity they never came close to mustering.

Expect helping the rebuilt, veteran-laden Warriors find it to be Kerr's utmost priority leading up to 2023-24.