Two respected veterans like Stephen Curry and Draymond Green are aiming for the stars ahead of this 2019-20 season, still with the lofty expectations of reaching the NBA Finals for a sixth straight season. Head coach Steve Kerr and newcomer D'Angelo Russell took a much more measured approach to the Golden State Warriors' upcoming season, one that will have a series of challenges and adjustments after a roster overhaul this summer.
Kerr is looking at the long road of it all, almost a start from scratch similar to what he was forced to do with a 2014-15 team upon taking the job:
“I think the expectation for our group should be to develop a young crop of players,” said Kerr during Monday's Media Day, according to ESPN's Nick Friedell. “[What] we have to do this year is put so much of our time and energy into those young guys so that they can become key contributors to the next era of Warriors basketball. If we can do that, if we can get a couple of them [to] become rotational players, we're going to still be good going forward.”
While the Warriors still boast Curry, Green, Kevon Looney, and await the return of Klay Thompson around the All-Star break, the new pieces still have to find a fit within the system, including Russell:
“If it starts out slow, if it's start out fast, it's just the process that we're going to have to enjoy,” said Russell of the team's lofty expectations. “Instead of putting an expectation on it ASAP like that, I think we can just come in and come to work every day and live with the results when we're on that platform to showcase it.”
Russell is coming off his first stint in the playoffs and has yet to begin to feel the pressure-cooker of being part of a team that has been a staple in the NBA Finals for half a decade. Yet it's smart for him to play it safe and come in with a blue-collar attitude after the bevy of changes and the uncertainty around this team.
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