Few teams in basketball return as many top players this season as the Golden State Warriors. The six-man core that led them to another title remains fully intact, with Kevon Looney re-signing in July and contract questions facing incumbent free agents Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole—not to mention Draymond Green, who has a player option for 2023-24—to be dealt with at a later date.
Continuity will indeed be a strength of the Warriors, just like it's been each of the last three times they've defended championships during the Steve Kerr era. Beyond Golden State's “foundational six,” though, uncertainty abounds.
Gary Payton II and Otto Porter are gone, as are deeper reserves like Nemanja Bjelica and Juan Toscano-Anderson. The Warriors, obviously, have plenty of seemingly qualified candidates to earn regular minutes off the bench. But as training camp dawns, Kerr still has no idea how his full rotation will ultimately take shape.
“I don't really even have a rotation,” he told Tim Kawakami of The Athletic on The TK Show. “I just look at it as six guys who played integral roles in us winning a title and we know who they are and know what they do, and then everybody else, it's go time. It's right there for you, you just gotta go earn it.”
Don't associate the unknown with doubt or trepidation, though. Kerr and his staff are excited by the prospect of reserves battling tooth and nail for rotation roles during training camp and exhibition play, a departure from other seasons they've chased back-to-back titles.
“The beauty of it is everything has to be earned. I talked about how unique each season is. That's what makes this season unique,” Kerr said. “The first three times we came back from winning championships, the rotations were really set. We had deep rosters, we had veteran players. We kinda knew exactly who was going to play, what combinations would form. This is very different. It's rare I think for a championship team to come back with a lot of young talent that has a chance to compete for playing time. So I like that dynamic, I think competition is good, it brings the best out of everybody.”
Moses Moody and Donte DiVincenzo are essentially earmarked rotation roles, the significance of which is to be determined. A mini leap from Jonathan Kuminga could make him Golden State's most impactful bench player, a regular part of Kerr's crunch-time five. James Wiseman will get his chances during the regular season, and don't be surprised if JaMychal Green plays more than Dub Nation anticipates—or perhaps wants—should his young teammates struggle.
Either way, the back half of the Warriors' rotation is in a state of major flux. What a testament to the resiliency of Golden State's foundational stars and its long-term roster building that this team is a clear championship favorite anyway.
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