Biggest (non-Kuminga) questions facing Warriors heading into training camp
SAN FRANCISCO With nine players on the roster the Warriors are set to begin their pursuit of a fifth title of the Steph Curry era this week As contract negotiations between Golden State and restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga drag on the band remains the only franchise in the NBA to not make an official roster addition since the start of free agency However on Sunday morning the club reportedly agreed to terms with veteran center Al Horford While they have been linked to De Anthony Melton and a slew of other free agents by multiple outlets they remain unsigned However it is not as if the group is entirely unsettled The star trio of Curry Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green remain as do supporting pieces Moses Moody Brandin Podziemski Buddy Hield Gui Santos and Quinten Post But with familiar faces come new questions as the - season begins Here are four of the majority of pressing non-Kuminga-related questions Can the stars stay healthy The Hall of Fame trio can be a dominant force as proven by a torrid - regular season record after the agreement for Butler If the three can stay healthy there is no reason not to believe the Warriors can contend for a Top seed Curry averaged points per contest and made an All-NBA organization last season Green is coming off a third-place finish in Defensive Member of the Year voting and Jimmy Butler played at an All-Star level after arriving from Miami However regardless of how great those players have been over the module of illustrious careers can they really be relied on to all play the majority of the season when their legs collectively have mileage that dates back to the Jurassic period Asking a -year-old Curry and two -year-olds to survive the physical grind of a full -game campaign would be asking a whole lot especially considering Butler has not played more than games in a season since - and Curry has long dealt with lower-body injuries Athletes even the best to ever play their sport do not tend to become more durable as they approach Who will play center OK maybe not every question is a novel one For approximately the th time of the Steve Kerr era the big man in the middle is just a huge question mark Both Kerr and general manager Mike Dunleavy have expressed a desire to limit Green s minutes at the five But even as Horford joins the club that hardly makes the interior a point of strength Horford was load-managed in Boston last season while averaging minutes per event in appearances and should not be expected to be an iron man at this stage of his career Longtime stalwart and rebounding savant Kevon Looney departed for New Orleans in free agency after workmanlike seasons in the Bay Area Second-year big Quinten Post shot from -point distance as a rookie and has been working diligently this offseason but asking him to become the fulltime starting five could be a tough ask Green is the originator of the smallball five archetype and is capable of playing the position even now but he may need to man the center spot a tad bit more than the coaches want Brandin Podziemski breakout If there s any player on the squad who has the prospective to break out into a more featured role it is the third-year guard from Santa Clara Podziemski averaged points per battle last season but that jumped to ppg and a mark from -point land after Butler joined The combo guard thrived as an off-ball option able to make plays when Curry and Butler drew attention But his weakness as a creative scorer albeit exacerbated by a left wrist injury that required offseason surgery was made obvious in the playoffs He shot just from the field and averaged points per night while playing much of the second round without Curry Becoming a more reliable ballhandler would go a long way to shoring up certain of Golden State s offensive issues Will there be enough depth How can a club accommodate gifted but aging stars Well the majority common method was popularized by Kerr s coaching mentor Gregg Popovich who often rested Tim Duncan Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili in the latter part of their San Antonio careers For that tactic to work depth is critical If the Warriors attempt that method they will need role players such as Podziemski Moody and Santos to have big games Even if Golden State adds Steph s younger brother Seth Curry and brings back Gary Payton II is that a strong enough roster to consistently survive games without one or two of the Big We will find out starting next Sunday when the band plays its first preseason contest at Chase Center against the Lakers
