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SAN FRANCISCO – Ideally, Warriors coach Steve Kerr would prefer to have a starting lineup he can lean on throughout the 2024-25 NBA season. With a roster that is as deep as any he’s coached before, however, Kerr likely will have to do some mixing-and-matching early on.
Kerr declined to say who Golden State’s starters will be for Wednesday’s season-opener in Portland against the Trail Blazers and acknowledged the situation could be fluid for the first few weeks.
“My gut is we’re going to look at a lot of different combinations but when we find one we’ll stay with it,” Kerr said Tuesday after the Warriors held their final practice before flying to the Pacific Northwest. “We just have to start a certain way and then see how it plays out. Just like I’m telling the players, everybody’s just gotta stay ready.”
There already was going to be a different look for the Warriors after long-time guard Klay Thompson joined the Dallas Mavericks on a sign-and-trade contract over the summer. The free-agent additions of Kyle Anderson, De’Anthony Melton and Buddy Hield added to the change and opened up more options for Kerr and his staff to explore.
Kerr no doubt has a good idea of what his plans in Portland will be, although he will have to be flexible until a solid starting five emerges. Even then, it might be a permanent call. With the exception of Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, nothing is certain and in cement.
No matter who starts or who comes off the bench, however, the bottom line is pretty simple.
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“I’d like to have one starting lineup for the whole year, and hopefully the group that I start tomorrow becomes our consistent starting five-man group,” Kerr said. “But it has to lead to wins.”
Juggling starting lineups is nothing new for Kerr and the Warriors, last season alone they used 27 different starting lineups due to injuries and ineffectiveness.
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