PORTLAND, Ore. – The modicum of mystery about who would replace Klay Thompson as Stephen Curry’s primary sidekick in the Warriors backcourt was solved Wednesday night, 90 minutes before tipoff against the Portland Trail Blazers.
It’s going to be replacement-by-committee, with Andrew Wiggins first in line.
Wiggins joins Curry, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis in the starting lineup at Moda Center. The last time Wiggins was in any lineup as a shooting guard was, by his recollection, at least seven years ago as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Kerr has said often in recent years that Wiggins and Thompson were in many ways interchangeable, and this is the first real test.
“I hope this group starts all year,” Kerr said. “That would be the hope. But we’ll start this way and go from there.”
Steve Kerr explains the thought process behind the Warriors' first starting lineup of the season, which features both Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga pic.twitter.com/tbX5IY7qNI
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Wiggins starting at shooting guard is the closest thing to a surprise, only because De’Anthony Melton received strong consideration early in training camp. One reason for that is that Wiggins missed the first week of camp with an illness. Another reason is that Wiggins has considerable experience playing with Curry.
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In playing the last two preseason games, Wiggins made a case for himself. And as Kerr and his staff thought about it, he became a logical option.
One reason is that at 6-foot-7, 215 pounds, he brings the kind of size required to harass such big guards as Dallas’ Luke Donćić, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards.
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Wiggins gets the on-ball defensive assignments that once went to Thompson. Indeed, Wiggins was the primary defender on Donćić when the Warriors defeated the Mavericks in the 2022 Western Conference Finals.
The only concern is spacing on offense, and Kerr hopes that can be somewhat mitigated by the Warriors playing at high speed while applying consistent defensive pressure.
“I’m looking to see if that group can set a tone defensively,” Kerr said of the new lineup. “Obviously, it’s a very athletic group, a lot of size. We’ve got rim protection with Draymond and Trayce. Those two were really good defensively together last year.
“It’s going to require us to execute offensively and play downhill. Play fast. They did a good job in the two preseason games when we played them together. Hopefully, it continues to look good. We’ll give it a shot.”
This lineup puts Kuminga at small forward. The position is ideal for his size 6-foot-7, 225 pounds, but at which he sometimes struggles. That’s the biggest experiment with this lineup, bigger even than installing a second-year center who started only 16 games as a rookie.
Behind Jackson-Davis though are Kevon Looney and Green, who on most nights will get spot duty at center. Newly acquired veteran Kyle Anderson also could see minutes at center.
This starting five gives the Warriors what should be a formidable bench. Behind Wiggins at shooting guard will be Buddy Hield and Moses Moody. Brandin Podziemski and Melton are considered combo guards. As for Gary Payton II, he’s a utility man without a defined position.
Will this lineup work? It’s the biggest and most balanced available.
But it can thrive only if Kuminga rounds out his game and Wiggins grants Kerr’s request to shoot six or seven 3-pointers per game, in the 38-40 percent range.
