The 2023-24 NBA season has not been kind to the Golden State Warriors. After starting the campaign 5-1, the Warriors have gone 5-7 since and find currently themselves on the outside looking in of a Play-in Tournament spot. The ongoing struggles of Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson have been in the spotlight over the past month, as the two perimeter players have not been playing up to par to help ease the offensive load off Stephen Curry.

Dub Nation fans are calling for some kind of change. Some are even advocating for the team to finally blow up the iconic Big Three of Curry, Thompson, and Draymond Green. While that may seem unfathomable, it may be possible for Golden State to make drastic changes and be a major player at the trade deadline.

Nonetheless, while the players are struggling, head coach Steve Kerr has also received some flak for some of his head-scratching decisions. Some Warriors fans are advocating for more minutes for the younger guys like Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and even rookie Brandin Podziemski. However, Kerr is reluctant to put his youngsters above his veterans in the pecking order, as he tends to roll with the older heads more often than not.

With the way the Warriors' season is going so far, perhaps Kerr might need to re-evaluate his rotations. With that said, here is the Warriors player who should be playing less minutes.

Warriors player who should play less minutes: Chris Paul

The Chris Paul experiment has been better than expected for the Warriors. Though he initially started off the season as a starter, Paul, who has never come off the bench in his career before this season, has settled into his role as the head of the second unit.

Prior to the season, many questioned CP3's fit in Golden State due to their contrasting styles. The Warriors tend to run a movement-heavy and fast-paced offense, while Paul is accustomed to playing a more methodical and slow pick-and-roll heavy game. However, Paul has provided the Warriors bench, which mostly features the above-mentioned youngsters, a stabilizing presence.

CP3 has been a positive on the court for Steve Kerr. Per Cleaning The Glass, the Warriors have an efficiency differential of +5.0 with the veteran on the floor. That's 8.2 points per 100 possessions better than when Paul is off of it.

While Paul has been great and all, it just seems like the 38-year-old is seeing a bit too much floor time from Coach Kerr. Paul has appeared in 19 games so far and is averaging 26.5 minutes per game. That is currently the fourth-highest on the team.

It may be hard for Kerr to pull Paul off the court, considering he has been one of his most reliable players. While he is putting up career-lows in points, he remains a terrific playmaker who rarely makes mistakes and does not the ball over. He represents a refreshing presence on a team that averages the fourth-highest turnovers in the NBA. On the season, Paul has recorded 137 assists with just 22 turnovers for a mind-boggling 6.2 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is second in the league.

Still, those minute totals are still a bit too high for an aging point guard with quite the injury history. Paul has been through his fair share of injuries and his unavailability has even cost his team in the playoffs.

Granted the Warriors keep Paul past the trade deadline, they should keep him fresh and ready down the stretch of the season if they are able to make the playoffs. Steve Kerr should ideally cap his minutes in the low 20s.

Give more minutes to the young guys

At the same time, Kerr should give the likes of Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and Brandin Podziemski more playing time. Those three youngsters have proven that they can contribute, but are playing just around 19 to 20 minutes per game. Their minutes have also been rather erratic. They could see substantial high-20 minute nights one game, then drop below 20 on the next. The lack of consistency has hampered their development, especially of Kuminga and Moody, who are now both in their third NBA season.

Many especially expected Kuminga to take a leap this year, but the 6-foot-7 forward just hasn't taken off. While some of it has to do with some erratic play, Kerr's lack of trust and consistency has also stunted his growth.

For example, on November 16th, without Draymond Green and Stephen Curry in the lineup, Kuminga played arguably his best game of the season at the time in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He started the game and tallied 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting to go along with six rebounds.

When Curry returned the next contest, Coach Kerr chose to bench Kuminga instead of Chris Paul, when he should've started the athletic forward, who should've been ideally filling in for a fellow forward, the then-suspended Draymond Green. Kuminga ended up playing 20 minutes that game, while Paul saw 37.

This is one of many instances of Kerr choosing to go with his vets like Paul and refusing to give chances to his youngsters like Kuminga.