NBA Teams: Projecting the Golden State Warriors' depth chart
Courtesy of numerous injuries to prominent players and a consistently upturning roster, the Golden State Warriors couldn't fulfill their much-awaited dream of a three-peat. After losing to Kawhi and his Raptors in the Finals, the Dubs knew very well, that the impending shift in Bay Area basketball is upon them.
Nevertheless, the GSW front office managed to retain the core and have done a decent job of surrounding their pivotal elements with a good mix of veteran and young talent. The task at hand calls for all the newly assembled pieces to fall in place before the regular season tips off next month.
"This year, it's totally different. Nobody really knows each other that well. We're really going to have to examine our team in camp, the exhibition season, early in the season. Figure out the best way to play on both ends. We have some ideas and we're going to really push them hard in camp. Camp will be critical," said Kerr about the unforeseen roster turnover for the upcoming season.
Here is the projected depth chart for the Golden State Warriors, including the potential starting five:
Center – Willie Cauley-Stein, Kevon Looney, Andrew Bogut
Power Forward – Draymond Green, Eric Paschall, Alfonzo McKinnie
Small Forward – Alfonzo McKinnie, Jacob Evans, Glenn Robinson III
Shooting Guard – D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson*
Point Guard – Stephen Curry, D'Angelo Russell, Alec Burks
Projected starting line-up – Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, D'Angelo Russell, Willie Cauley-Stein, Alfonzo McKinnie
On the bubble (for Training Camp)
Damian Lee
Kyle Bowman
Devyn Marble
* - out with an injury
Notes
According to latest reports, Klay Thompson says he's "still about a month away from jogging", which clearly means he won't be available till February at the very least. With Klay's shooting prowess pulled out of the picture for the most part of the season, it becomes that much more important for Coach Kerr to conduct an effective training camp.
Moreover, with no Durant and Iguodala either, the Golden State way of basketball will surely see a seismic shift on both ends of the floor, and Kerr is cognizant of the same:
"Yeah. For sure (we have to tweak the offense). For sure. We'll have to see what that means. I don't think it's going to look drastically different. But all you have to do is look at the roster and you see the continuity we've lost. When you lose continuity, it's more important to have sets and calls that you can rely on. Random stuff gets more difficult if you don't know each other well."
The Warriors are Grade A exhibits of the magnitude of change that can happen in just a span of a year. And when their 2019-20 campaign kicks off against the new-look Los Angeles Clippers on October 24, it just might expose all the flaws in their makeshift depth chart.