How Warriors and Steve Kerr will determine whether Chris Paul starts or not
"We basically have six starters the way I look at, and only five can go each night," Kerr said.
SAN FRANCISCO — It’s been three months since the Warriors traded for Chris Paul, and the 38-year-old former All-Star has shown quickly that he’s all in to immerse himself in the organization’s established culture.
He calls head coach Steve Kerr on the phone frequently and has been involved in setting up team workouts everywhere from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and San Francisco.
“Chris Paul took a 6 a.m. Southwest flight up here for a workout,” general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said at a team news conference on Monday.
To be determined is perhaps the most intriguing element to Paul’s integration into the Warriors’ roster. Will Paul cut into Golden State’s established starting five of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney? Or will he come off the bench for the first time in his 18-year career? The team’s answer: They won’t have an answer until all coaches and staff see how Paul looks playing with various lineups in training camp.
“We basically have six starters the way I look at, and only five can go each night,” Kerr said Monday. “So I haven’t decided yet what we’re going to do. I want to see training camp. We are going to try different combinations and take a look.
“Obviously all six guys are going to play a lot of minutes for us. If this is going to work then everybody has to embrace it regardless of who is starting and who is not. It only works if the whole team buys in. I know these guys well. I know five of them really well and I’m getting to know Chris. The one thing I know about all of them is they want to win more than anything. They are an incredibly competitive group and I’m very confident that we’ll figure it out and the guys will buy in and find a way.”
Buy-in and match-ups will likely be the determining factor. Historically, the Warriors haven’t been afraid to throw out a hyper-small lineup if it’s advantageous to speed up the pace and space the floor depending on the matchups. In this case, swapping Paul in for Looney would be the most likely move.
“We’ll look at that for sure in camp and exhibition games,” Kerr said. “See what that looks like. It’s hard to imagine that that wouldn’t click pretty well, given that you’ve got a lot of talent and versatility and scoring on the floor.
“But as you know, we’ve started Loon and Draymond together for years. They are a great combination. Probably one of the few 4-5 combinations with the league that is unique like that in terms of more screening than shooting. You know, most people are throwing four shooters out there. We are still throwing two bigs out there and it’s worked well but we’ve always had the change up of going small.”
If matchup dictates the Warriors go with their traditional lineup — which held a 128.5 offensive rating and 106.4 defensive rating last season — there will need to be buy-in from Paul to accept a role with the second unit. Paul’s methodical play style and status as a floor general is far different from fast-paced offense Curry, Green, and Thompson have dominated the league with, which is more to say that Paul can transform the second unit into a more productive entity than it was last season.
The Warriors have been down this road before. During the Warriors’ first championship season, Andre Iguodala was hesitant to accept a role off the bench in favor of Green starting. Iguodala accepting the role helped fuel the Warriors’ success for years to come.
Looney has consistently bought into a fluid role — off the bench or as a starter. Warriors camp opens up on Oct. 2, and Paul’s role could be crystalized then and during their exhibition games. Their first is against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 7.