3 possible ways in which Golden State Warriors can line up without Klay Thompson in the 2021-22 NBA season
The Golden State Warriors had their media day today and stressed their "patience" when it comes to the return of star wing Klay Thompson. Although basketball fans want to see Thompson back in NBA action as soon as possible, the Warriors aren't taking any chances this year. If you don't remember, Thompson suffered an ACL injury in the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors. Following that injury, Thompson ended up suffering another season-ending injury during an offseason workout. So to say that the Golden State Warriors aren't going to rush Thompson back into action would be putting it lightly. GM Bob Myers reiterated that the Warriors will be as patient as possible with Klay Thompson returning to gameplay.
Bob Myers said Klay Thompson can do a lot in camp, "just not contact, no 5-on-5." Said there will be a point -- "maybe January" -- where Klay will know he's ready. But it'll be a patient ramp up and a whole lot of scrimmaging, even high-intensity G-League practices before.
So What Does That Mean for the Golden State Warriors rotations?
With Klay Thompson not "realistically" expected to return to the team until potentially January, it means that the Golden State Warriors are going to need to get creative with their rotations. One thing we know for sure is that any starting lineup for the Warriors will feature Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. If you look beyond those two, there could be a variety of players used in rotations. Head coach Steve Kerr is going to have some interesting options this year, and there's a chance he will experiment with a number of different lineups.
Having said that, let's take a look at three ways in which the Golden State Warriors could line up in the 2021-22 NBA season.
#3 The Youth Movement
Last year, the Golden State Warriors had a serious amount of youth on their roster alongside talents like Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. GM Bob Myers put an emphasis on adding some veterans to their core this year. Although Myers did a great job with that, he also added some even more talented youthful pieces to the puzzle as well.
The hope is that last year's rookie big man James Wiseman will be poised for a sizeable leap forward in his second season. Wiseman was the second overall selection in the 2020 NBA Draft, and Golden State is expecting him to make a bigger impact this year. The Warriors also added two extremely talented lottery selections this year in Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. While some might expect the Warriors to bring the two young players along slowly, don't be surprised if Steve Kerr is eager to insert the two into the rotation earlier than expected. Both players offer intriguing skillsets that can help the Warriors in a big way early on.