After making the NBA Finals for the fifth consecutive season, the Golden State Warriors saw seismic changes occur to their roster after falling in six games to the Toronto Raptors during the postseason. Easily the biggest loss was Kevin Durant, who bolted to New York, where he signed with the Brooklyn Nets along with his good friend Kyrie Irving.
Now, the small forward spot is wide-open for the Warriors, especially considering Klay Thompson’s injury, and Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr wants one of his players to “secure the starting spot” in Durant’s absence, according to a story by Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle:
“It’s a different league these days. The small forward is arguably the most important spot on the floor,” head coach Steve Kerr said after Wednesday’s practice. “It’s hard to just buy a few minutes here and there. You really need guys to step forward and secure a starting spot.”
Currently, the Warriors have a fair few options at the three. Glenn Robinson III, Alfonso McKinnie, Damion Lee and Alec Burks could all reasonably be expected to take the mantle of starting small forward. Conversely, recent 2019 draft picks Jordan Poole and Eric Paschall could potentially slide up or down to play out of position.
Maybe 2018 first-round draft pick Jacob Evans will play far better than he did in the 2018-19 season and cement his place as a starter-level player in the NBA.
There is no question that filling the shoes of KD would be an almost impossible task for any team, but at least the Warriors have three terrific players (that are healthy) to help pick up the slack in 2019-20: Stephen Curry, D’Angelo Russell and Draymond Green.
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