SAN FRANCISCO — Klay Thompson’s gone, there are starting spots up for grabs, and three new veterans joined the mix.
Heading into training camp, uncertainty is swirling around the Warriors like it rarely has in the past decade. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the puzzle pieces are scattered.
“I’m excited,” Draymond Green said. “It’s a new opportunity, a new challenge. With Klay leaving here, things just look different, it feels different.”
The Warriors are healthy and ready for camp in Hawaii. The group they’re taking might not be the exact one that finishes the season, but they’re confident nonetheless. There are Steph Curry and Green as the pillars. Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga as the young guns. Kevon Looney and Trayce Jackson-Davis competing for center minutes. Buddy Hield, Kyle Anderson and De’Anthony Melton are the new guys, jockeying for playing time with Moses Moody and Gary Payton II.
Green likened the past 13 years to a band playing the hits; great rock bands often break up when they’re at the top for so long. Doing the same thing over and over again gets tedious. The Warriors staved that sensation off, chasing greatness while not getting bored, but now it’s time to create a different album.
“Now we turn the page,” Green said. “Turning the page doesn’t mean we’re still not competing for the same thing, that’s always the goal, but it’s just going to look a little different now. It’s not going to look the way it looked for the last 13 years or 12 years.”
Any offense with Curry will always have frenetic ball and player movement, but expect some of the Warriors’ long-held system to evolve. New assistant coaches Jerry Stackhouse and Terry Stotts have the chance to blend styles of veteran players, developing young ones and new additions.
The Warriors brought in three veteran free agents after pursuits for star players — Paul George and Lauri Markkanen — fell through. Green lauded general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr.’s patience and likened the additions to the veterans Golden State acquired before the 2022 championship season.
But those players have distinct skills. And after a 46-win season that culminated in a play-in loss to the Sacramento Kings, it seems clear that the Warriors will need to evolve their identity. The way they operate hasn’t changed, more or less, for a decade. This season is as good an opportunity as any to make tweaks.
“I think you get smacked in the face and don’t make the playoffs, that’s all the real message you need,” Curry said. “(It’s) the reminder you need that, again, we have a way of doing things in terms of how we approach practices, games, the level of competition you need to have, but when it comes down to your Xs and Os and the style and all that type of stuff, being open to evolving and pivoting.”
Even the mainstays have acknowledged that things will be different this year. Looney slimmed down and took 400 to 500 3-pointers a day in an effort …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
