Kerr, Warriors continue to weigh Draymond’s exact starting role originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
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 because his starting lineup outside of Steph Curry raised some eyebrows.
Along with Curry, Draymond Green will be part of Kerr’s starting five which has three other question marks.
“Oh, Draymond’s going to start,” Kerr said Wednesday. “I just don’t know if it will be at four or five. I probably should have explained that yesterday. Draymond … yes, he obviously starts – I just don’t know where, the four or the five. We have to figure that out in this camp.
“[Kevon Looney] came in lean and playing very well. Trayce [Jackson-Davis] got better.”
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 end as his role declined. Green started many 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 made him a 6-foot-6 unicorn the likes of which no one has seen before, and cannot be replicated by anyone 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.
“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 someone else. Last year we started him in the center.
“I think it’s more doable now because the league plays faster and there’s more 3-point shooting. But still, there’s a part of me that’s like, ’82 games with Draymond playing center?’ There are teams that play 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 entering his 13th year. He spent his entire illustrious career fighting those bigger than him.
His belief is also that this Warriors team needs a true power-play center next to him.
“I’m really good around center,” Green said. “I’m decent in the center, but I think I’m really good next to the center. I think having that option to go to that is huge. And then I also think, if I’m in the center, a guy like [Kyle Anderson]who can do some of the same things 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 in the center spot, then the four will require someone who can play the kind of role I can play, and he certainly can.”
Anderson at 6-9 can also create offensively, and is a strong defender. He’s easily 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 two-year jump,” Kerr says.
The starting shooting guard spot is what everyone wants to know. Who Kerr puts in at center can also have a trickle-down effect for many players, dictating the Warriors’ style of play at a time when tweaking is underway.
