Anyone who closely followed the Golden State Warriors last season should be confident knowing how Steve Kerr will answer questions about his team's starting lineup across the 82-game grind. As the offseason's August dead zone fast approaches, though, he's adamant no decision will be made on who's starting and coming off the bench for the Warriors in 2023-24 until training camp.
Addressing the hot-button issue of Chris Paul potentially being a reserve for the first in his Hall-of-Fame career, Kerr expressed optimism Golden State's ultimate goal of winning another title will supersede any friction gleaned from who's on the floor for tipoff or begins games on the bench.
“All of that will happen in training camp. Until we get everyone on the floor, we won't be able to assess what's best for our team and how everything is going to look,” he told Shayna Rubin of The Mercury News. “But I'm very confident that it's going to work out. We got great guys and we got great champions, great competitors. There's one goal next year, and that's to win at the highest possible level. Everything else will unfold as the season does.”
Paul made waves earlier this month at Las Vegas Summer League, pithily responding to a question about being a bench player for the Warriors with “You coaching?” While he expressed no other reservations regarding that possibility, it's obvious the 38-year-old would prefer to start for his new team.
One problem: Paul plays the same position as Curry, and pushing the two-time MVP down a slot in the starting five would only exacerbate existing concerns about Golden State's collective size, defense and athleticism. Bringing Paul off the bench would also make it easier for Kerr to stagger minutes between he and Curry, ensuring one of the Dubs' iconic floor generals is on the court at all times.
Odds are that Paul plays a similar role to the one Jordan Poole occupied in 2022-23 when it comes to starting, filling in when Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green or Kevon Looney is unavailable. Kerr didn't hesitate to go small last season when the Warriors needed a jolt offensively, either, replacing Looney with Poole as a starter. Expect Paul to occupy that same status as Golden State's “sixth starter.”
Regardless, Paull will play plenty in 2023-24, perhaps even emerging as a fixture of the Warriors' closing five.