Steve Kerr raves about Warriors’ depth after season opener

Steve Kerr raves about Warriors’ depth after season opener

The Golden State Warriors had to make stark personnel changes this offseason after losing sharpshooter Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks.

They accomplished just that, bringing in De’Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson on team-friendly contracts. Those three players have diverse skillsets, adding depth and optionality to the collection of contributors spearheaded by superstar Stephen Curry.

In the Warriors’ season-opener Wednesday against the Portland Trail Blazers, head coach Steve Kerr did something he’s rarely done: Go 12-deep with Golden State’s normal rotation. After the game, he spoke fondly on the team’s newfound depth.

“This is as deep of a team as I’ve ever coached, and we’ve got to lean into that,” Kerr said, according to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews. “I’ve never played 12 before, but we’re going to do it.

“I was thinking, well, maybe I’ll just play 10 and we’ll have to tell two of these guys that they’re going to sit. But I just couldn’t justify that.”

Obviously, this isn’t the heyday with Curry, Kevin Durant, Thompson or Draymond Green, where they were flanked by the likes of Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and Quinn Cook. Outside of Curry, this isn’t a top-heavy squad. They do, however, have plenty of quality role players, such as Jonathan Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins, Brandin Podziemski, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Moses Moody, Gary Payton Jr. and Kevon Looney.

No player played more than 25 minutes in the Warriors’ 35-point win over the lowly Blazers, in part because it was a blowout. There were 12 players that played at least 14 minutes and seven who played at least 19.

From a fantasy basketball perspective, this could ding Curry, who’s in his age-36 season, plus the aforementioned names. There might be nights where Curry does play 35-plus minutes, but there will also be nights–like Wednesday–where he doesn’t.

2024-25 NBA Season Preview: Golden State Warriors

After all, Golden State’s prime goal is to get to mid-April healthy while being in playoff position, which it’s more than capable of doing regardless of how the rotation shakes out. It’s just one game of a long season, and Kerr will have tough night-to-night decisions that he’s going to make for the next six months.

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