The Golden State Warriors are in flux. After Klay Thompson left for the Dallas Mavericks, the team has done its best to fill in the void. Their failed trade attempts for Lauri Markkanen and Paul George signaled their confidence in their young players like Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, and Jonathan Kuminga. However, it remains unclear whether these players can develop in time to help Steph Curry, who just signed a one-year extension, win his fifth championship. Still, Steve Kerr has challenged Andrew Wiggins and the other role players to step up without Thompson.
“I want Wigs shooting six, seven 3s. I want Brandin, I want Moses, I want De'Anthony–I want to be a high volume shooting team,” Kerr said, via a report from Kendra Andrews for ESPN. “The big shift is Klay is not here. So we were fourth in the league in 3-point attempts last year, but Klay probably shot eight to 10 of them, so we're going to have to fill that void. That will come from multiple people.”
The Warriors are moving on
Moreover, as the team moves on from the Splash Brothers era, Kerr has also expressed willingness to shuffle the starting lineups, especially after the team acquired new personnel.
In the offseason, the Warriors acquired Kyle Anderson in a sign-and-trade, while boosting their shooting even more by acquiring Buddy Hield in another sign-and-trade. Moreover, the Warriors also signed De'Anthony Melton with their midlevel exception, hoping to replace some of Thompson's two-way ability.
“The starting lineup is going to have to be dependent, not only on the first five fitting, but the second fitting as well,” Kerr added. “We've got a lot of work to do to figure out lineups. All the guys can do is compete, play their ass off.”
Despite Steve Kerr's challenge, Andrew Wiggins might not fully replace Klay Thompson's production, as the Canadian only has a respectable 35.4% shooting percentage from three for his career.
Still, if he raises his volume and percentage, he can become another offensive threat in the Warriors' jump-shooting schemes. Wiggins managing to hit around 38% from three-point range will help keep the offense moving, as teams would rather load up on Stephen Curry and let the others go off.
Without Klay Thompson, Steve Kerr and the Warriors will have to lean even harder on the small-ball strategy that won them the 2022 NBA championship, and it starts with elite two-way play from Andrew Wiggins and the other role players.
Outlook
Slowly, though, the NBA is returning to elite big man play, as many contenders now employ elite centers and power forwards, such as Denver and Oklahoma City. The Timberwolves traded Karl-Anthony Towns so Rudy Gobert now has full control of the paint. Likewise, the Lakers' Anthony Davis gave the Warriors headaches in the 2023 playoffs.
Can elite jump-shooting and perimeter defense still help the undersized Warriors return to the promised land?
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