LAIE, Hawaii – Steve Kerr made a quick clarification after the Warriors’ second practice of training camp on the BYU-Hawaii campus, one day after his remarks about the open competition for his starting lineup outside of Steph Curry raised a few eyebrows.
Along with Curry, Draymond Green will be part of Kerr’s starting five which features three other question marks.
“Oh, Draymond’s going to start,” Kerr said Wednesday. “I just don’t know if it’s going to be at the four or the five. I probably should have clarified that yesterday. Draymond … yeah, he’s obviously starting – I just don’t know where, the four or the five. We have to figure that out in this camp.
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“[Kevon Looney] has come in lean and playing really well. Trayce [Jackson-Davis] has improved.”
Last season saw big changes at the center position for the Warriors. Looney after growing into a rebounding legend and an incredible source of consistency saw his consecutive games played streak come to an end as his role dwindled. Green started plenty of games as a small-ball center, and Jackson-Davis took over at the five for the final month of the season as a rookie and second-round draft pick.
Green’s ability to play the five defensively and lead the charge offensively as an offensive initiator has made him into a 6-foot-6 unicorn the likes that nobody has seen before, and can’t be replicated by anybody else. But how often can he do it? Or better yet, how often should he do it?
From the sound of it, Kerr wants Green to be an option for him at center instead of an everyday solution.
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“In the past, we really wanted to play Draymond for 10 or 12 minutes a game,” Kerr said. “But that was more during our first half of this run, 2015 to 2019. That was pretty consistent. I generally started somebody else. Last year we started him at center.
“I think it’s more feasible now, given that the league is playing faster and there’s more 3-point shooting. But still, there’s part of me that’s like, ‘82 games with Draymond playing center?’ There are teams that are playing bigger now. I don’t love the idea of Draymond being the starting five and playing heavy minutes there game after game.”
Green is 34 years old and is entering Year 13. He has spent his entire illustrious career battling those bigger than him.
His belief also is that this Warriors team needs a true center next to him playing power forward.
“I’m really good next to a center,” Green said. “I’m decent at the center, but I think I’m really good next to a center. I think having that option to go to that is huge. And then also I think if I am at the center, a guy like [Kyle Anderson], who can do some of the same stuff that I can do if not more … if he’s at the four, then I can play the center role because I know how to play the center spot.
“If I’m at the center spot, then the four will require someone that can kind of play that type of role that I can play, and he can for sure.”
Anderson at 6-9 also can create offensively, and is a stout defender. He easily is the closest thing to Green that Golden State has on its roster.
When Kerr inserted Jackson-Davis into the starting lineup at center, the Warriors went 9-2 in their final 11 regular-season games. They ranked fifth in defensive rating (108.6), ninth in defensive rebounding percentage (74 percent), seventh in blocks per game (6.2) and seventh in defensive points in the paint (45.8) during that time. He and Green played 226 minutes together on the season and produced a 99.2 defensive rating.
“Trayce, I think he’s feeling that second-year jump,” Kerr says.
The starting shooting guard spot is what everyone wants to know. Who Kerr inserts at center also can have a trickle-down effect for many players, dictating the Warriors’ style of play in a time when tweaks are on their way.
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