On Monday, the Golden State Warriors wrapped up voluntary offseason minicamp inside their San Francisco “Dubble.” After an extended layoff from practice, the Warriors spent the last two weeks working out as a team at Chase Center.
Although Stephen Curry and Draymond Green were absent from minicamp due to family reasons, Klay Thompson made his first official appearance on the court at practice after missing the entire season due to the knee injury he suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals.
While Thompson has been rehabbing his ACL injury, a lot has changed in Golden State. Along with the arrivals of Eric Paschall, Marquese Chriss and Andrew Wiggins, players like Kevin Durant, Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala and DeMarcus Cousins are no longer in Steve Kerr’s rotation. On top of the roster changes, Thompson’s fellow Splash Brother missed 60 games with a hand injury in 2019-20.
However, the movement in the Bay Area isn’t going to force Steve Kerr to make dramatic changes to his offense around Curry, Thompson and Green. In an interview on The Athletic’s “TK Show” with Tim Kawakami. Kerr said the Warriors wouldn’t be “reinventing the wheel” with their new personnel in town.
When talking with Kawakami about Golden State’s offense, Kerr took a dig at the Houston Rockets’ playing style.
Via The Athletic’s “TK Show“
We’ve stayed in touch, and I’ve spoken with both those guys on the phone, and I think they have a pretty good feel for what we’re trying to do. We’re not reinventing the wheel, but we have very different personnel around those guys. We’re still going to be the Warriors. We’re not going to all of a sudden, turn into the Rockets and change our offense and have one guy go high pick-and-roll, 70 times a game.
…But, We got to be ourselves. And what makes Steph [Curry] and Klay [Thompson] the players they are is the combination of what they can do on and off-ball— that’s what moves defenses. And what makes Draymond [Green] special is his ability to distribute from either the four or the five spots — to have playmaking at that level really.
Listen to Kerr’s full interview with Kawakami here.
Also: Updates on Klay Thompson, Eric Paschall, Alen Smailagic and the Warriors’ desire to mimic the Rockets’ offensive scheme. Wait. Might’ve got that last part wrong. https://t.co/W5RQeuXLgh
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) October 7, 2020
Along with the currents changes to the lineup, the Warriors still have the NBA Draft and the free agency period to add to their roster. In November, Kerr and Bob Myers will be on the clock with the No. 2 overall selection in the NBA Draft. Following draft night, the Warriors will have the option to use a $17.2 million traded player exception and their $6 million mid-level exception.
Despite a new look in 2020-21, Kerr isn’t going to mirror the Rockets’ isolation heavy attack. However, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and the Rockets could be in for some changes of their own next season. After moving on from Mike D’Antoni, the Rockets are in the market for a play-caller on the sidelines.
Although there will be changes on both sides next season, the core of Golden State’s rivalry with Houston is still in place. While it could look different, whenever Curry and Thompson lace up against Harden and Westbrook, it’s must-watch theater.
