Kerr is confident in the Warriors’ committee to handle non-Steph protocols originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
LAIE, Hawaii – The strange odyssey that was the one-year Chris Paul Experiment came and went for the Warriors and their former rival without a single playoff game and few, if any, memories that will be remembered when his storied career ends. . Paul is now a San Antonio Spur, finding as many ways as possible to get Victor Wembanyama the ball for easy buckets.
His new reality is far from being Steph Curry’s backup point guard. In return, the Warriors no longer have a future Hall of Famer to fill the non-Curry minutes.
Steve Kerr coming into his 11th year coaching Curry and the Warriors is tasked with the same question that seems to need answering before, during and after every season: How can he find success with Curry off the court?
That question is never easy to answer. There’s no equaling the impact Curry still brings to the Warriors in so many different ways at 36 years old. Him simply stepping on the floor changes the complexity of the game, making it hard to downplay Kerr’s first-round pick as a 21-year-old entering his second season as a pro.
“Well, I think BP, [Brandin Podziemski] will fill that role,” Kerr told NBC Sports Bay Area in an exclusive interview.
Podziemski is one of three players, along with offseason additions De’Anthony Melton and Buddy Hield, competing for the open shooting guard spot to start next to Curry in Kerr’s backyard. The Warriors, in games that Curry and Podziemski started together last season, went 17-8.
“He might start, and if he starts he’ll come out early and then come in for Steph,” Kerr explained. “If he doesn’t start, he’ll come off the bench and handle a lot of balls.”
During the rookie standout’s time playing for the USA Basketball Men’s Select Team, Kerr told NBC Sports Bay Area that Podziemski “is a point guard at heart,” and that’s the role he filled for that makeshift team. Podziemski during scrimmages against Curry and the rest of Team USA’s star-studded squad was always seen initiating and creating offense by directing others where to be on the court.
Then in the few summer league games that Podziemski played for the Warriors, coach Anthony Vereen empowered him to be more of a leader, something the young guard took care of in his sophomore season to gain more trust from his teammates.
But Kerr sees upholding the non-Curry protocol as more of a committee picking up the pieces through their own different abilities, as opposed to the burden being placed on one single player.
“We have other guys who are capable of starting an offense,” Kerr says. “I love Kyle Anderson. He can play kind of a point-forward spot. De’Anthony Melton is really a combo guard. He can also initiate offense. Draymond [Green] has always been a point forward in many ways.
“We’re going to have to figure that out, but I think the biggest key I think is going to be, can we find the right group? There might be multiple guys handling the ball, but these are all things you have to figure out and figure out as you go through camp.”
The pieces are there, and each player brings a different positive to the table for Kerr to build off of.
He wants to play faster, and although Paul kept his end of the bargain in continuing to be one of the smartest and most protective players of the ball in the league, his age and size disadvantage began to be seen more often. Podziemski and Melton naturally want to push the pace and move the ball forward, and like Paul, Anderson isn’t prone to turnovers.
How the Warriors perform in the non-Curry minutes can make or break a season. The options presented to him give Kerr every reason to be confident, and now it’s up to his players to prove him right.
