00:00 How big of a long term concern is that sprain sprain left ACL? 00:04 STEVE KERR: I think we'll know more - Yeah. And so, I mean, he's obviously a really important player for us. And the guy who we envisioned and has done a good job as a starting 2-guard. So it's a concern for sure. But we'll know more over the next few days. 00:28 Do you know when it happened in the last game? 00:30 I don't. Yeah. 00:31 I mean, you've always said, others have said, 20 games, give you 20 games, you kind of figure things out about the team. Does it surprise you that maybe you figured it out a little early, or are you still figuring out this team? 00:44 I think we're still figuring it out, but I think we have come to some conclusions that we feel good about starting Draymond and Trayce together, bringing Loon off the bench for more size and rebounding, JK as our scorer off the bench. He's gonna be one of our leading scorers this year. It's a powerful force to bring him off the bench. So those things have become clear. There's still things we have to sort through. Biggest thing for us is execution-wise. We're working hard every day on getting more efficient and more, I think, more smooth with our offensive decision-making and patterns and I'm really encouraged because our turnovers are down, our transition numbers are up, those were two areas we really wanted to improve upon, and we're only 11 games in, so I think we have a lot of growth ahead, but we're on a good track. 01:54 Trayce was talking, has been talking to other players about the blitzing on defense that you've been doing, obviously, a lot more this season. Stackhouse has certainly been pushing that. When you hired Jerry or when you were looking for a new defensive coordinator, were you looking for more of that kind of action? 02:11 No, not really. We really decided on doing that after the personnel moves this summer. Once we added Melt, once we knew Gary and Wiggs were healthy and looking good, once we decided to play bigger with Trayce and Draymond, it just made sense and Jerry really pushed for it and he's been great teaching it. But it's a combination really of personnel and what makes the most sense for for our team. Wouldn't have made sense last year. 02:49 This is the second straight year where you guys rank either first or second in a in rebounding and the second straight year that you've had the smallest roster. 02:59 What kind of factors lead to that overcoming the lack of size and being really good at rebounding? 03:06 Well, I think some of it is, is we play fast and so we're trying to generate a game that rewards speed and quickness. And I think we have a quick team at a lot of positions. We have some smart players. We've got - Draymond is always gonna be part of a good rebounding group, not necessarily as the guy who's getting the ball, but boxing out, being in the right spot, being in the right place defensively that leads to a tough shot that maybe doesn't end up with many angles for offensive boards, that kind of thing. So it's - I don't have an exact answer, but I think some of those things play in. 03:50 Have you seen a metric or a stat that kind of captures Draymond's impact? Like, what would you look for? 04:00 It's a great question. I think defensive rating when he's on the floor. Last year it was interesting. It was an anomaly. There was a stretch where we were actually better without him. But over the course of the 82 games, that's gonna play out. And I believe if my numbers are right a year ago, we were sixth in the league in defense when Draymond - in the games Draymond played and 24th or something when he didn't play. That's a pretty good measurement right there. 04:33 With Melt out, will you go to a more matchup situation in terms of the 2-guard or how will you play it? 04:41 Yeah, well, we still have to think about it. But we've got good options and I feel great about our depth and our ability to play through injuries. He missed three games earlier, four games. Four. I think we started Moses one game, Gary one game, Lindy. I can't remember if Brandin started one as well, but he's obviously started last year. So all of all of those guys would be options. 05:15 Did you get much of a chance to catch up with Klay after the game? 05:18 Just a little bit. Yeah, just had a chance to to give him a hug and it's such a big night for him on so many levels. And I didn't want to bug him and he had a million people to see. But it was the exact reception from our fans and our employees that he deserved. And so it was a great night and obviously we got the win, which we're thrilled with. And it was beautiful to see, though. It was one of the most special nights I've been a part of in my time with the Warriors. 05:57 You guys have had a couple quality clutch wins so far this season. Have you noticed anything about your late-game execution that's maybe different from last year? 06:06 Not really. I think our defense is better. And I would say, generally speaking, to win clutch games, it's more about defense than offense. Shots are gonna go. They may not go. The other night, obviously, Steph just went crazy down the stretch. But it was the fact that we got four or five straight stops that was the most important thing. And then the intensity of the NBA Cup. 06:30 Have you noticed anything different about those type of games in comparison to - ? 06:34 Well, the fact of that game fell on the Klay night was - made the picture a little cloudy. It was good. That was gonna be an intense game, anyway. I do think that having won the first one, I think our guys will feel some momentum. I'm not gonna lie. It would be an amazing thing for our young players, to get the financial reward that comes with winning that game. That NBA Cup, it's a lot of money. May not be to Draymond and Steph, but it's a lot of money for the guys on the back end and I would love nothing more than to see those guys get rewarded for a lot of work and when the ball goes up, our guys are competitors, they're gonna want to win every game. But if we advance and we get to that point where we get out of the pool, our guys are gonna be into it, trust me. 07:33 Obviously, Steph is Steph and you never go into a season going, "Oh, he might not be that great." But seeing this, what you've seen, at least the last few games, you're closing the Boston game, closing the Dallas game, does that kind of settle everything about the plan or whatever idea you had for this season going, "Okay. Yeah, Steph's still Steph. We can go on this, continue this journey." 07:57 Yeah and he showed it last year, too. I just I don't think we had the depth and the versatility, defensively, last year that we have now, so to me the model is '22. We won the championship in '22 with a similar mix to what we have right now, good on both sides of the ball, established defense. I think we finished second in efficiency that year, if I'm not mistaken. We've established this year where we're good defensively. We still have things to work on, but we won a title two years ago with a group built around Steph and defense, and that's the formula this year, too. 08:46 Don't the coaches get a bonus for the NBA Cup, too? 08:50 Coaches do, too. Yes, they do. They do. We got a lot of young coaches on this staff who would benefit greatly, as well. So yeah, not gonna lie, it's an incentive. 09:04 We had Trayce in earlier and asked him about what kind of feedback he's been getting. And last year he came in, like, mid-season sort of, and got bigger minutes and started playing regularly. But early this season, what are you seeing from him and what do you - what are the things you want him to fine tune as we go along? 09:21 Pace, pace, pace with Trayce. The way he played the other night, the force in transition, the buckets he got early in the third by running the floor, protecting the rim, rebounding. When he really sprints the floor, you feel it and we feel it. And he's settled into a role now where he's gonna play a little bit like the Zaza role, Javale McGee, first six, seven minutes of each half and then see where it goes. We may play Loon. We may go small with Draymond. Those might be the only 12, 14 minutes he gets. But regardless, he should be flying out on the floor. And when we see that, we feel good about his impact. [👇transcript continues in Reply Comment below👇]
10:08 And to follow up Tim (Kawakami)'s question about Steph, when you enter a season, do you just expect it or do you kind of wait and sort of gauge it as you go through the training camp process and into the season? 10:21 As far as like how we expect Steph to be? Yeah, no, I just expected - so I expect him to be doing this till he's 63 years old. I mean, probably won't happen, but I expect it to. (Inaudible question mentioning LeBron) 10:39 Three in a row? Yeah, I think I probably mentioned to you, but watching LeBron work this summer and having watched Steph, I mean, this is not by accident. There's - both of them are obviously, blessed by the gene pool that they received, but goes so far beyond that, just the work ethic. I'd go to the gym and on the road, overseas, early in the morning before our meetings and LeBron would be in there every morning, 7AM. LeBron's in there with his trainer doing all of his body work and you watch that, same thing with Steph, all the work he does. Like, this is not - it's not an accident. The ultimate professionals. It's pretty amazing to watch them. 11:26 We talked about young players who get something out of the Olympic experience. Steph, maybe even LeBron got something out of that? 11:35 I think they're both rejuvenated. I think both guys at their core are just such competitors and love winning and love being in the fight. So I think it meant so much for both of them to be back in the fight, because the last couple of years, last year, especially, we didn't make the playoffs. They got knocked out first round. So it's been a couple years since both both guys and both teams were really in the mix and I think that environment kind of lit the fire again. And they're both excited about trying to be back there on the NBA stage, too. Ron? 12:17 Sorry, I missed the early part. I understand the De'Anthony's dealing with an injury. I was gonna ask you about that starting lineup for the first two games of it, how it's looked and how this obviously complicates some things. 12:29 Yeah, it's disappointing that it was really, the perfect mix. De'Anthony does a little bit of everything, on-ball defense, rebounding, three-point shooting, playmaking. It was a great fit and that's why we targeted him. And so the fact that he's gonna be out the next game is a bummer. We were finding some momentum and we'll see how this unfolds. So we've got options. We've got a lot of depth and we're very capable of filling in. But it's very disappointing for him and for us. 13:03 One other thing I wanted to ask you about the new lineup. I guess this goes beyond the new lineup, but Jonathan coming off the bench. He started the first three, obviously, and has been very productive since then coming off the bench. How does that change sort of the geometry for him? It seems like there's, I don't know if freedom is the right word, but more chance to be a leading scorer coming off the bench without Wiggins. And how much do you see that figuring into the way he's playing? 13:31 Well, I think, first of all, we need his scoring off the bench. I think being able to bring JK and Buddy into the game is massive for us and it really offsets Steph's absence well. And then the spacing that he has out there now, compared to as a starter at the three with Draymond and Trayce, is night and day. So it's a great fit. I'm proud of JK for committing to it and playing so well. And I anticipate this will continue. And it's the best thing for our team. And that's what we preach to our guys, whatever is best for our team, we're gonna do. And then we are gonna help every guy thrive in his individual role. And that's what we're trying with to do with JK and he's been fantastic. 14:23 My last question. You've talked a lot about committing to the 12-man rotation. Obviously, Kyle was out last game and it seemed like the last couple of games. I mean, Oklahoma City, Holmgren's injury, I know, changed the equation, but you've kind of played basically 10. And then I think Trayce for a few minutes against OKC, GP for a few minutes against Dallas. Would you still prefer to play 10 or are you still thinking this 12 is gonna be long-term? 14:47 Every game is gonna be different and we just have to adapt. So it's never perfect. You draw it up and then you have to adjust. I wanted to play Lindy the last two games and didn't get him in. And he's been fantastic, but it was tough to go that deep, just the way both games were going. So we will - every game will be a little different.
00:00 How big of a long term concern is that sprain sprain left ACL?
00:04 STEVE KERR: I think we'll know more - Yeah. And so, I mean, he's obviously a really important player for us. And the guy who we envisioned and has done a good job as a starting 2-guard. So it's a concern for sure. But we'll know more over the next few days.
00:28 Do you know when it happened in the last game?
00:30 I don't. Yeah.
00:31 I mean, you've always said, others have said, 20 games, give you 20 games, you kind of figure things out about the team. Does it surprise you that maybe you figured it out a little early, or are you still figuring out this team?
00:44 I think we're still figuring it out, but I think we have come to some conclusions that we feel good about starting Draymond and Trayce together, bringing Loon off the bench for more size and rebounding, JK as our scorer off the bench. He's gonna be one of our leading scorers this year. It's a powerful force to bring him off the bench. So those things have become clear. There's still things we have to sort through. Biggest thing for us is execution-wise. We're working hard every day on getting more efficient and more, I think, more smooth with our offensive decision-making and patterns and I'm really encouraged because our turnovers are down, our transition numbers are up, those were two areas we really wanted to improve upon, and we're only 11 games in, so I think we have a lot of growth ahead, but we're on a good track.
01:54 Trayce was talking, has been talking to other players about the blitzing on defense that you've been doing, obviously, a lot more this season. Stackhouse has certainly been pushing that. When you hired Jerry or when you were looking for a new defensive coordinator, were you looking for more of that kind of action?
02:11 No, not really. We really decided on doing that after the personnel moves this summer. Once we added Melt, once we knew Gary and Wiggs were healthy and looking good, once we decided to play bigger with Trayce and Draymond, it just made sense and Jerry really pushed for it and he's been great teaching it. But it's a combination really of personnel and what makes the most sense for for our team. Wouldn't have made sense last year.
02:49 This is the second straight year where you guys rank either first or second in a in rebounding and the second straight year that you've had the smallest roster.
02:59 What kind of factors lead to that overcoming the lack of size and being really good at rebounding?
03:06 Well, I think some of it is, is we play fast and so we're trying to generate a game that rewards speed and quickness. And I think we have a quick team at a lot of positions. We have some smart players. We've got - Draymond is always gonna be part of a good rebounding group, not necessarily as the guy who's getting the ball, but boxing out, being in the right spot, being in the right place defensively that leads to a tough shot that maybe doesn't end up with many angles for offensive boards, that kind of thing. So it's - I don't have an exact answer, but I think some of those things play in.
03:50 Have you seen a metric or a stat that kind of captures Draymond's impact? Like, what would you look for?
04:00 It's a great question. I think defensive rating when he's on the floor. Last year it was interesting. It was an anomaly. There was a stretch where we were actually better without him. But over the course of the 82 games, that's gonna play out. And I believe if my numbers are right a year ago, we were sixth in the league in defense when Draymond - in the games Draymond played and 24th or something when he didn't play. That's a pretty good measurement right there.
04:33 With Melt out, will you go to a more matchup situation in terms of the 2-guard or how will you play it?
04:41 Yeah, well, we still have to think about it. But we've got good options and I feel great about our depth and our ability to play through injuries. He missed three games earlier, four games. Four. I think we started Moses one game, Gary one game, Lindy. I can't remember if Brandin started one as well, but he's obviously started last year. So all of all of those guys would be options.
05:15 Did you get much of a chance to catch up with Klay after the game?
05:18 Just a little bit. Yeah, just had a chance to to give him a hug and it's such a big night for him on so many levels. And I didn't want to bug him and he had a million people to see. But it was the exact reception from our fans and our employees that he deserved. And so it was a great night and obviously we got the win, which we're thrilled with. And it was beautiful to see, though. It was one of the most special nights I've been a part of in my time with the Warriors.
05:57 You guys have had a couple quality clutch wins so far this season. Have you noticed anything about your late-game execution that's maybe different from last year?
06:06 Not really. I think our defense is better. And I would say, generally speaking, to win clutch games, it's more about defense than offense. Shots are gonna go. They may not go. The other night, obviously, Steph just went crazy down the stretch. But it was the fact that we got four or five straight stops that was the most important thing. And then the intensity of the NBA Cup.
06:30 Have you noticed anything different about those type of games in comparison to - ?
06:34 Well, the fact of that game fell on the Klay night was - made the picture a little cloudy. It was good. That was gonna be an intense game, anyway. I do think that having won the first one, I think our guys will feel some momentum. I'm not gonna lie. It would be an amazing thing for our young players, to get the financial reward that comes with winning that game. That NBA Cup, it's a lot of money. May not be to Draymond and Steph, but it's a lot of money for the guys on the back end and I would love nothing more than to see those guys get rewarded for a lot of work and when the ball goes up, our guys are competitors, they're gonna want to win every game. But if we advance and we get to that point where we get out of the pool, our guys are gonna be into it, trust me.
07:33 Obviously, Steph is Steph and you never go into a season going, "Oh, he might not be that great." But seeing this, what you've seen, at least the last few games, you're closing the Boston game, closing the Dallas game, does that kind of settle everything about the plan or whatever idea you had for this season going, "Okay. Yeah, Steph's still Steph. We can go on this, continue this journey."
07:57 Yeah and he showed it last year, too. I just I don't think we had the depth and the versatility, defensively, last year that we have now, so to me the model is '22. We won the championship in '22 with a similar mix to what we have right now, good on both sides of the ball, established defense. I think we finished second in efficiency that year, if I'm not mistaken. We've established this year where we're good defensively. We still have things to work on, but we won a title two years ago with a group built around Steph and defense, and that's the formula this year, too.
08:46 Don't the coaches get a bonus for the NBA Cup, too?
08:50 Coaches do, too. Yes, they do. They do. We got a lot of young coaches on this staff who would benefit greatly, as well. So yeah, not gonna lie, it's an incentive.
09:04 We had Trayce in earlier and asked him about what kind of feedback he's been getting. And last year he came in, like, mid-season sort of, and got bigger minutes and started playing regularly. But early this season, what are you seeing from him and what do you - what are the things you want him to fine tune as we go along?
09:21 Pace, pace, pace with Trayce. The way he played the other night, the force in transition, the buckets he got early in the third by running the floor, protecting the rim, rebounding. When he really sprints the floor, you feel it and we feel it. And he's settled into a role now where he's gonna play a little bit like the Zaza role, Javale McGee, first six, seven minutes of each half and then see where it goes. We may play Loon. We may go small with Draymond. Those might be the only 12, 14 minutes he gets. But regardless, he should be flying out on the floor. And when we see that, we feel good about his impact.
[👇transcript continues in Reply Comment below👇]
10:08 And to follow up Tim (Kawakami)'s question about Steph, when you enter a season, do you just expect it or do you kind of wait and sort of gauge it as you go through the training camp process and into the season?
10:21 As far as like how we expect Steph to be? Yeah, no, I just expected - so I expect him to be doing this till he's 63 years old. I mean, probably won't happen, but I expect it to. (Inaudible question mentioning LeBron)
10:39 Three in a row? Yeah, I think I probably mentioned to you, but watching LeBron work this summer and having watched Steph, I mean, this is not by accident. There's - both of them are obviously, blessed by the gene pool that they received, but goes so far beyond that, just the work ethic. I'd go to the gym and on the road, overseas, early in the morning before our meetings and LeBron would be in there every morning, 7AM. LeBron's in there with his trainer doing all of his body work and you watch that, same thing with Steph, all the work he does. Like, this is not - it's not an accident. The ultimate professionals. It's pretty amazing to watch them.
11:26 We talked about young players who get something out of the Olympic experience. Steph, maybe even LeBron got something out of that?
11:35 I think they're both rejuvenated. I think both guys at their core are just such competitors and love winning and love being in the fight. So I think it meant so much for both of them to be back in the fight, because the last couple of years, last year, especially, we didn't make the playoffs. They got knocked out first round. So it's been a couple years since both both guys and both teams were really in the mix and I think that environment kind of lit the fire again. And they're both excited about trying to be back there on the NBA stage, too. Ron?
12:17 Sorry, I missed the early part. I understand the De'Anthony's dealing with an injury. I was gonna ask you about that starting lineup for the first two games of it, how it's looked and how this obviously complicates some things.
12:29 Yeah, it's disappointing that it was really, the perfect mix. De'Anthony does a little bit of everything, on-ball defense, rebounding, three-point shooting, playmaking. It was a great fit and that's why we targeted him. And so the fact that he's gonna be out the next game is a bummer. We were finding some momentum and we'll see how this unfolds. So we've got options. We've got a lot of depth and we're very capable of filling in. But it's very disappointing for him and for us.
13:03 One other thing I wanted to ask you about the new lineup. I guess this goes beyond the new lineup, but Jonathan coming off the bench. He started the first three, obviously, and has been very productive since then coming off the bench. How does that change sort of the geometry for him? It seems like there's, I don't know if freedom is the right word, but more chance to be a leading scorer coming off the bench without Wiggins. And how much do you see that figuring into the way he's playing?
13:31 Well, I think, first of all, we need his scoring off the bench. I think being able to bring JK and Buddy into the game is massive for us and it really offsets Steph's absence well. And then the spacing that he has out there now, compared to as a starter at the three with Draymond and Trayce, is night and day. So it's a great fit. I'm proud of JK for committing to it and playing so well. And I anticipate this will continue. And it's the best thing for our team. And that's what we preach to our guys, whatever is best for our team, we're gonna do. And then we are gonna help every guy thrive in his individual role. And that's what we're trying with to do with JK and he's been fantastic.
14:23 My last question. You've talked a lot about committing to the 12-man rotation. Obviously, Kyle was out last game and it seemed like the last couple of games. I mean, Oklahoma City, Holmgren's injury, I know, changed the equation, but you've kind of played basically 10. And then I think Trayce for a few minutes against OKC, GP for a few minutes against Dallas. Would you still prefer to play 10 or are you still thinking this 12 is gonna be long-term?
14:47 Every game is gonna be different and we just have to adapt. So it's never perfect. You draw it up and then you have to adjust. I wanted to play Lindy the last two games and didn't get him in. And he's been fantastic, but it was tough to go that deep, just the way both games were going. So we will - every game will be a little different.
That background took a while to materialize. 😅😂
I thought I was watching re-stream of the conference lol