Shall we have drama? I hope not.
When the Golden State Warriors made a surprising trade for Chris Paul, one of the first questions was, Who will start?
It’s hard to imagine the team moving away from its standard starting quintet of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, and Kevon Looney — a starting five that not only won a championship together in 2022, but it’s a perfect fit. in terms of complementary and different skills.
But it’s also hard to imagine that they traded an ultra-talented young player in Jordan Poole just to bench Paul, who has started 1,363 games in his career and has been off the bench exactly zero times. And that became doubly true when Paul made comments in Summer League that were very harsh when he was asked about the possibility of becoming a reserve.
I think the Warriors will get through this “dilemma.” As an older team that likes to load up on management, I think the Dubs could use a baseball approach and have a six player starting lineup where one player (almost) always rests. That way everyone gets a chance to start, the stress can be relieved, the players stay healthy, and by the time the playoffs roll around Steve Kerr will have a good idea of ​​what his best lineups are.
But now? That is not an option.
New rules to limit load handling are expected to be implemented in the coming season. The league will struggle to rest players designated as “stars,” which include Curry, Paul, Green, and Wiggins, though not Thompson. And because of this, the Warriors, unless they are really injured, must play with all their players. And that means they need to have a strong starting lineup.
You could make a case that bringing Paul off the bench to lead the second unit was the right move. I think you can also make a case for sliding Wiggins or Thompson into a sixth man role, although we can all agree that they won’t do that with Klay.
But the most likely move, in my eyes, is that Looney is the odd man out. Even last year, the Warriors have a golden history of success with small lineups, and Paul is an excellent addition to that construction: he is a quality defender and shooter, and his play will allow of the team to run complex movements off the ball. Curry and Thompson will be together. Even with his reduced athleticism, Paul is still a transition wizard who can get the team out and running.
The Dubs have avoided starting small lineups except in the playoffs, out of a desire not to weaken Green. But they’re sure to bake 8-16 minutes of Green at five for each game, so why aren’t those minutes coming at the start of each half? This will allow the Warriors to come out of the gates with their best foot forward, and hopefully get a lead, before trading a guard or wing for Looney after 4-6 minutes.
Either way, if Kerr thought he could avoid the hassle of picking an honest-to-goodness starting lineup, the new rules might take that luxury away from him.
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