LAIE, Hawaii — The Warriors spent their first morning of training camp doing yoga overlooking the Pacific Ocean’s kaleidoscopic blue. They’re staying at the property where the hit 2008 comedy “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” was filmed. Following their first practice, Gary Payton II shot videos on an old-school, handheld camcorder.
After a fairly subdued Media Day at the Chase Center, the vibes are high. On the island of O’ahu, finding peace and serenity isn’t difficult.
But the Warriors aren’t here for mai tais and luaus. They have too much on their plate.
Golden State wants to implement more structure into their offensive system, striking a middle-ground between organized chaos and more set plays to feature younger players. They want to shoot more 3s while figuring out life without Klay Thompson. They want to return to an elite defense and improve in transition on both sides of the ball. They want to fold in three new veterans and hold competitions for, potentially, three spots in the starting lineup — establishing what Steve Kerr calls a “feisty” identity in the process.
“Last year, we spent a lot of the year unable to find certain combinations that fit,” Kerr said after the team’s first practice at BYU Hawaii. “The starting lineup is going to have to be dependent on the first five, but also the second five. I think we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
With how rarely NBA teams, especially the Warriors, practice during the season, training camp and the preseason is a major point in the team’s development. Golden State has five days in Hawaii, so not only is their training camp to-do list long, it must be expedited.
Steph Curry has said repeatedly that he’s open to change to the offensive system. Part of that is due to Thompson’s departure, but also the harsh reality of finishing 10th in the Western Conference last year. The way Golden State has played for years may not maximize this roster’s strengths as much as it had in the past; the personnel’s different.
“This feels like a new beginning for us in a lot of ways,” Kerr said. “Last year felt like an extension of what we already knew. Part of that is the way that Steph and Klay had each been a part of our heart and soul…it’s a pretty dramatic change. So we have to turn that into a positive.”
In years past, the Warriors had the advantage of rare continuity. Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green were teammates for 12 years, and the rest of the team orbited around them. They didn’t have to reinvent themselves, only tweak things and make some additional installations on top of what they were already running.
This team, with Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski rising, and Kyle Anderson, De’Anthony Melton and Buddy Hield entering the mix, calls for more experimenting.
Kuminga in particular is expected to be a focal point. Outside of Curry, he’s the team’s most natural scorer as a downhill threat and terror in transition. Pushing the pace should help him, and running more set plays to put him in advantageous spots could juice the offense, too.
But Kuminga is one of the players mired in a competition for a starting spot. Unless the Warriors start Draymond Green at center, the spacing gets clunky with both Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins on the floor. Defense is a primary priority for Kerr, and Kuminga hasn’t always been the most consistent defender.
“It’s definitely more challenging because we’ve got new guys and everyone, of course, wants to start,” Kuminga said. “It’s great, it’s actually great going at each other every day. That’s just going to give us that mentality of going out there and playing hard.”
Kuminga could also be a player to increase his 3-point shooting volume. Podziemski has said he wants to get upwards of eight triples up per game — an admittedly ambitious goal. But Kerr hopes to empower him, as well as Wiggins, Moses Moody and Melton, to let it fly.
“I want to be a high-volume 3-point shooting team,” Kerr said. “I think that’s important for us. The big shift is Klay’s not here. So, we were fourth in the league in 3-point attempts last year, but Klay probably shot eight or 10 of them himself every game. So we’re going to have to fill that void, and that’s going to have to come from multiple people.”
Melton and Podziemski are in the mix to start in the back court next to Curry. When asked what his ideal backcourt partner would be, Curry said he likes the options the team has. Melton the defensive-minded ball hawk, Podziemski the connector who developed some chemistry starting with Curry last year, and Buddy Hield the new movement shooter.
Whatever the combinations, it’s clear the Warriors are committed to some shake-ups. Last year, Curry said you can’t do the same thing over and over again and expect the same results. So, Golden State is going to try out some new looks.
“I’ve said it plenty of times, we need to evolve,” Curry said. “How we’re featuring the talent that we have on this team, this is the roster that we have and I think we have enough, just by putting guys in the right places, to be successful. And leveraging what’s worked with our system over the years. So there’s a fine balance there.”
It’ll be tough to find that balance in a week in Hawaii. But building the foundation in paradise has to be the start.
– Buddy Hield spent much of the first practice period open to the media shooting with assistant coach Chris DeMarco, who helped recruit him to the Warriors while he coached Hield on the Bahamian National Team. Hield was the last player shooting on the court after practice wrapped up.
– Andrew Wiggins didn’t practice on Tuesday because he was under the weather. Everyone else participated.
– Kyle Anderson’s retooled jumper looks much better than it did last season, particularly off the dribble. He’s never going to have a fast release, but a more fluid motion could help him keep defenses honest from the outside; two seasons ago, he shot a career-best 41% from deep on low-volume.
– Steph Curry brought his Olympic gold medal to training camp. “I keep it on me,” he said.
