The days of Draymond Green leading a fast break with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson floating out to the three-point line ready to fire are on hold in 2019-20. Injuries have derailed the Warriors season with Thompson and Curry on the shelf for the majority of the season.
More than a quarter way through the NBA season, the Warriors are at the bottom of the standings with a lowly five wins and 24 losses. A massive change for a team that will likely be ending a streak of five consecutive trips to the NBA Finals.
While a large portion of the Warriors championship core is injured, they’re still under contract for a significant chunk of the future. This roster could return to make a run at competing once healthy, but it’s going to take time.
Steve Kerr opted not to play Kevon Looney against the Trail Blazers, another Warrior who’s dealt with injury in 2019. Along with Looney, Draymond Green has already missed a couple of games due to load management while Curry and Thompson aren’t close to returning from injury.
While Golden State’s All-Stars are on the mend, the team is turning its focus on a batch of new faces. After the Warriors’ loss in Portland, Steve Kerr spoke to reporters about the decision to not play Looney until he’s fully healthy, while wanting to develop some of Golden State’s talent he’s still getting to know.
“This year is more about developing the players we don’t know about,” said Kerr. “It’s about getting the mainstays healthy— and I consider Loon a mainstay.”
With the roadmap set for the Warriors “mainstays,” Kerr and the Warriors need to assess who from their current roster can be a contributor on a contending team in the near future.
Sounds like Looney will be a Warrior next year, per Kerr: “Loon is one of our foundational players…still doesn’t have the conditioning…I’m not worried about him this year…It’s about getting the mainstays healthy and I consider Loon a mainstay.”
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Players like Omari Spellman, Marquese Chriss, Willie Cauley-Stein, Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III have all shown glimpses of being solid role players alongside Green and D’Angelo Russell. Rookie Ky Bowman and Eric Paschall have steadily developed with increased opportunities.
Now it’s on Kerr, Bob Myers, and the rest of the Warriors front office to find out how they want to deploy their bevy of new faces around their championship core— whether that be further development or trading away pieces for future assets.