The start of the 2022–23 season hasn’t been what the Warriors imagined, just a few months removed from winning their fourth NBA championship in eight years. A 4–7 record through the first 11 games has some fans thinking that Golden State should make a dramatic change to the lineup by benching Klay Thompson.
However, that’s a notion that Steve Kerr made clear he’s not entertaining.
Speaking on the Damon & Ratto show on 95.7 The Game, Kerr said that he will not bench the five-time All-Star amid his struggles to start the year for rising star Jordan Poole. The Warriors coach explained that the team needs Poole to run the offense when Stephen Curry is on the sidelines, which makes the decision to bring him off the bench an obvious one.
“No, that’s not something I’ve given any thought to,” Kerr said of bring Thompson off the bench. “Jordan and Klay are very different players. Jordan’s more on the ball, Klay’s off the ball. When Steph 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. That five-man unit is the best in the league. Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me to break up that unit.”
Kerr is right to point out that the Warriors starting lineup of Curry, Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney has been lethal offensively to start the year. The group boasts the best offensive rating (129.9) of five-man lineups that have played significant minutes together this year.
That being said, Thompson himself has gotten off to a slow start. In nine games played, he’s averaging 15.1 points on 36% shooting from the floor and 32.6% from three-point range, both of which are career-lows.
Nevertheless, Kerr seems determined to stay the course as the Warriors look to climb their way up the Western Conference standings. Golden State currently finds itself tied for 12th in the conference, but with ample time to turn things around.
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