Steve Kerr and the possible starting lineup of the Golden State Warriors 2024/25

The coach of the Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerr, has a very open question that he hopes to answer throughout the training camp: Who will be in his starting five? There is an obvious vacancy at the shooting guard position, previously occupied by Klay Thompson.

But that's not the only opportunity; according to Kerr, all positions except Stephen Curry are up for grabs. "There's competition in all areas," Kerr commented after the team's first session at the BYU campus in Hawaii. "It's not as simple as, 'Who will be the 2?' It has to be, 'Who will be the 5? Who's the 4?' We know Steph is the 1. But what will the combination be?"

Searching for combinations in the starting lineup was a constant challenge for Kerr and the Warriors in the 2023-24 season. Golden State used 27 different starting lineups, none lasting for more than a few consecutive games. Part of the issue was injuries and absences, but also the lack of cohesion within the group. This lack of cohesion also impacted the second unit. According to Kerr, all of this will be part of the conversations in the training camp. "The starting five will depend not only on how the first five fit together but also on how the second unit fits," Kerr explained. "We have a lot of work ahead to find the right combinations. All the players can do is compete and leave it all on the court."

In the center position, the competition will be between veteran Kevon Looney and Trayce Jackson-Davis. In the frontcourt, Draymond Green will likely retain his starting spot, although Kerr sees Kyle Anderson as an option to play as a small-ball center. Jonathan Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins, who struggled to share the court last season, will compete for another spot in the front.

In the guard positions, the battle will be between Brandin Podziemski, De'Anthony Melton, and Buddy Hield, who offer different skills and attributes. "We have a defensive player like Melton. We have a playmaker who can put the ball on the floor and create plays like BP, and obviously BP and I started some games together last year," Curry remarked. "And then you have Buddy, who can shoot and space the floor besides being a veteran. We have a lot of options."

Curry, like Kerr, pointed out that it's not only about finding who fits best alongside him in the guard positions, but also who complements the other starters and reinforces the second unit. The Warriors are prioritizing being a two-way team, as they were on their way to the 2022 championship, and also looking to improve their shooting capability. Podziemski mentioned wanting to attempt between eight and ten triples per game, while Kerr highlighted Wiggins as a potential second leading scorer on the team.

"I want Wigs to shoot six or seven threes," Kerr stated. "I want Brandin, Moses, and De'Anthony to do the same. I want us to be a team that shoots a lot. That’s important for us. The big shift is that Klay is no longer here. We were the fourth team in three-point attempts last year, but Klay probably took eight or ten of those shots, so we'll have to fill that void. It will come from several people."

Uncertainties in the starting lineup

Even Looney and Anderson have been working on their shooting. While Kerr and his coaching staff seek the right combinations and a new identity, they are doing so from a different perspective than last year. "This feels like a new beginning for us, whereas last year felt like an extension of what we already were," Kerr explained. "It gives us the chance to reinvent ourselves a bit."

Kerr continued: "It's easier when you know your five starters and who the first four players off the bench are. It's much easier for a coach to have that clarity. But we don't have that, so we're going to turn it into a positive and into competition. We're going to establish our identity from that competition."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Steve Kerr y el posible quinteto titular de Golden State Warriors 2024/25