Warriors Coach Sends Strong Message on Proposed Radical Lineup Change

Getty Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole drives to the basket during a game against the New Orleans Pelicans.

When literally every non-starter on the team has been a net negative on the court for the Golden State Warriors, it’s hard to point to any one of them as the poster child for the team’s struggles this season. If one were pressed to do so, however, Jordan Poole is probably the most obvious pick.

Mere weeks after the 23-year-old put his signature on a four-year contract extension that could be worth as much as $140 million when all is said and done, Poole’s status as the face of the Dubs’ future is already in doubt in some circles.

Eleven games into the 2022-23 campaign, Poole is averaging 15.2 PPG on just 40.6% shooting overall and 30.1% from deep. Meanwhile, Golden State has been outscored by 97 points when he has been on the floor, the worst total teamwide (Jonathan Kuminga and James Wiseman are the big offenders per minute/possession).

Regardless, Warriors coach Steve Kerr has exactly zero designs on switching up Poole’s role in an effort to get him going. And he’s even less inclined to do so at the expense of a certain struggling Splash Bro.

Kerr Sounds Off on the Change He Will Not Make

Kerr joined 95.7 The Game‘s Damon & Ratto on Friday to discuss the current state of his team. And during the course of the interview, he was pitched the idea of making Klay Thompson “the leader of the second unit” while “hiding” Poole — or his weaknesses, at least — in the starting lineup.

In the most diplomatic verbiage he could muster, the Warriors coach made it clear that such a change would not be happening.

“No, that’s not something I’ve given any thought to,” Kerr said.

As the old coach puts it, both players are in the spots they need to be in order for the team to function as constituted.

“Jordan and Klay are very different players. Jordan’s more on the ball, Klay’s off the ball. When Steph [Curry] is off the floor, we absolutely have to have Jordan on the floor. Doesn’t mean we can’t change combinations and rotations to get certain guys on the court together but Klay is a starter.”

Added Kerr: “That five-man unit is the very best unit in the league. Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me to break up that unit.”

Golden State’s starters were outscoring opponents by 26.2 points per 100 possessions entering Friday’s bout with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Rookie Has Best Pro Game to Date

First-year guard Ryan Rollins dealt with a stress fracture over the summer. And during his debut with the G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors on Wednesday, he suffered a slight tweaking of the knee. The baller doesn’t appear to be any worse for wear amid his injuries, though.

Rollins was right back on the court for the Sea Dubs on Thursday, shouldering a heavy workload and logging his best stat line since turning pro in doing so.

Over his 27 minutes on the court, the 20-year-old dropped a team-high 27 points on 12-of-20 shooting. He also snagged three boards in the contest, which Santa Cruz won by a 115-107 score.