TURTLE BAY, HAWAII — Steve Kerr’s starting lineup in the Golden State Warriors’ preseason opener Saturday against the LA Clippers won’t be confirmation of the way he’s lining it up once the regular season arrives. Andrew Wiggins, the projected starting small forward who has missed practice in Hawaii all week with illness, is out, and Kerr, who is generally coy about his lineup choices, is genuinely torn about at least two other spots.
“I’m not playing around and keeping anything from you guys,” Kerr told the media. “I’m legitimately trying to figure out what my starting five is.”
It appears to be a three-man competition at shooting guard, pitting De’Anthony Melton, Brandin Podziemski and Buddy Hield. The frontcourt is trickier, considering all the factors at play. Let’s sift through the various questions.
Kerr made that clear after the team’s second practice. Green either will be the starting center in a small-ball look that allows Jonathan Kuminga into the lineup, or Green will start at power forward next to either Trayce Jackson-Davis or Kevon Looney.
“We have to figure that out,” Kerr said. “Loon has come in lean and (is) playing well. Trayce is improved. JK had a really good day (Wednesday).”
Does Kerr prefer Green use up most of his minutes at center?
No.
“In the past, we really wanted to play Draymond at center for 10 or 12 minutes a game,” Kerr said. “That was the first half of this run. That was pretty consistent.”
But after returning from suspension last January, Green was slotted as the starting center out of necessity and almost exclusively played without a traditional big next to him for two months straight. The Warriors were searching for a successful lineup combination that allowed Kuminga and Wiggins on the floor together. Green at center unlocked it, and the Warriors stuck with it for an extended stretch.
“It’s more feasible now because the league is playing faster, more 3-point shooting,” Kerr said.
Kuminga missed a handful of games late in the season because of knee tendinitis. Kerr went to Jackson-Davis at center, downsizing Green back to power forward. The defense performed well. Green said he enjoyed the change. It freed him up to roam and disrupt on defense without solo rim protecting duties. Plus it’s easier on his body. That clearly has Kerr leaning a certain direction.
“There’s part of me that’s like, ‘Eighty-two games of playing Draymond at center?’” Kerr said. “There are teams trying to play bigger now. I don’t love the idea of Draymond being the starting five, playing heavy minutes there.”
What does Green think?
Green still views himself as a natural power forward. The glory days of this Warriors run planted him next to durable centers like Andrew Bogut, Zaza Pachulia and JaVale McGee for the majority of his minutes.
“I’m really good next to a center,” Green said. “I’m decent at center, but I think I’m really good next to a center.”
Steve Kerr goes into detail about the challenges he will face deciding on a frontcourt rotation. Draymond Green will start at either PF or C, but it’s clear he doesn’t want to overuse Draymond at center. pic.twitter.com/mBFr5XHYgp
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 2, 2024
Doesn’t that make the choice simple?
It’s a different time and a different roster. Kuminga’s presence is the most complicating factor. He is entering his fourth season and profiles as the likeliest candidate to emerge as a capable second high-volume scorer behind Stephen Curry. It would make sense to clear the runway for Kuminga to get 35 minutes every night.
But Kerr has said that he views Kuminga as a power forward and not yet a small forward in the traditional sense, so Green at the four next to a non-shooting five like Jackson-Davis or Looney clogs the floor too much and basically boxes Kuminga out of the starting equation — unless Kerr either puts Green primarily at center or goes with the more uncomfortable jumbo look of Kuminga, Green and a center on the floor. That could be clunkier and could bump Wiggins into a shooting guard.
Could Kuminga start in place of Wiggins?
That’s an option, though not one Kerr has given any indication he’s weighing. Maybe it’ll get a look in the preseason opener with Wiggins out, but Kerr has stated a plan to feature Wiggins offensively this season and said he still views Wiggins as the team’s primary on-ball defender against the opponent’s best scorer.
How does Kuminga feel about it?
That’s probably the most vital question of the moment. The Warriors and Kuminga are currently deciding whether to commit to each other long-term. His extension deadline is less than three weeks away (Oct. 21). The dollar amount (nearing $30 million per season or beyond) ultimately will decide whether it gets done, but it’s human nature for Kuminga to desire an NBA home where he is viewed as the exact type of major chess piece he believes himself to be.
“At the end of the day, I know I’m a small forward,” Kuminga said. “I can do it. I can play it at the highest level. But going forward, it’s all about what the team wants me to do. It don’t matter, small forward or whatever.”
“I think (Kuminga’s) a (small forward),” Green said. “That’s always been my opinion.”
Kuminga spent the summer working on his jumper. If he can become more feared as a 3-point shooter, some of the pressure alleviates, and various lineup combinations could make more sense.
“I’m trying to get my catch-and-shoot percentage way higher,” Kuminga said. “That’s gonna help everyone, open up the floor a bit more.”
But Kerr’s general point is that Kuminga at his best is a downhill attacker, pressuring the rim. He set a franchise record in dunks last season. Kuminga is not at his best as the floor-spacing shooter; he’s at his best when the floor is spread wide by others and he is slashing into those gaps. Kerr said he’d feel more comfortable playing Kuminga at small forward if a stretch center who regularly shot the 3 was on the floor.
So why don’t they have a stretch big?
They discussed a trade at the previous deadline for Kelly Olynyk, but Utah instead moved him to Toronto. The past three seasons, they’ve added veteran power forwards as spacing options, shifting from Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica to JaMychal Green to Dario Šarić.
The last two didn’t work out. Jackson-Davis has elevated into a core piece. They spent their frontcourt budget on Kyle Anderson this summer, prioritizing feel and versatility in that slot over shooting.
They drafted Quinten Post and put him on a two-way contract. He is a 7-footer who will shoot at a high volume, and both Kerr and Green have raved about him in his first training camp. Long term, Post could develop into exactly what the Warriors currently lack, but there’s no expectation of that in the immediate future.
“He’s got a ways to go,” Kerr said. “I’m not anticipating it this year. I think he’ll be in Santa Cruz a lot.”
Isn’t Kevon Looney shooting 3s?
During a Wednesday scrimmage in Hawaii, Jackson-Davis was guarding Looney. Podziemski beat his man off the dribble. Jackson-Davis sunk into the paint to help. Podziemski kicked it to Looney in the corner, who buried a 3 to win the scrimmage and close out practice.
That was enough of a highlight to have the gym buzzing a little afterward. Looney put up hundreds of 3s per day in his workouts this summer. He slimmed down. He’s trying to up his versatility and skill set as his career advances. Kerr has given him the green light to take the 3. But that doesn’t mean he can suddenly be considered a stretch big that bends the defense.
“He’s not pick-and-pop,” Kerr said. “He’s a broken play; he’s on the perimeter, shot clock going down, he’s open, let that thing fly. That’s different from being Kevin Love., but he feels it. Loon has to be who he is, which is a guy who gets a lot of stuff done in the paint, offensive boards, setting screens. But if he’s open, standstill shooting, I want him taking it.”
Kevon Looney closed the Warriors scrimmage today with a game-winning corner 3. Steve Kerr wants Looney to take the occasional shot from deep.
“That’s different from being Kevin Love.” pic.twitter.com/tudyW7KXJy
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 2, 2024
Did Trayce Jackson-Davis get taller?
Jackson-Davis said he’s grown about a quarter-inch, getting him closer to 6-foot-10 with shoes.
Does he feel that extra bump on the court? Not really, he said. Maybe once the games start. But he showed in his rookie season that, even slightly undersized as an NBA center, he can protect the rim and be a legitimate lob threat because of his length, timing and athleticism.
“You’re feeling that second-year jump,” Kerr said. “Everything makes more sense. He’s making decisions quicker.”
What’s Kyle Anderson’s role?
The Warriors gave Anderson three years and $27.6 million this summer, the first two seasons guaranteed. That’s a hefty commitment for a backup big that they view as an option in a ton of different lineup combinations and a safety net if Green misses time.
“He’s an incredible option if Draymond is out to do the things Draymond does,” Kerr said. “Play him as a point forward, so good defensively, guards multiple positions. Then, it’s also intriguing to think about the two of them together.”
Green also likes that idea.
“If I am at the center, a guy like Slow Mo (at power forward) can do some of the stuff I can do,” he said. “If he’s at the four, then I can play the center well. I know how to play the center spot, but if I’m at the center spot, then the four will require someone who can play that type of role. He can.”
(Photo of Jonathan Kuminga: David Berding / Getty Images)
