Steve Kerr On Balancing Act of Developing Young Players

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said the team has ‘a lot of moving parts’ as it’s new look roster develops. 

The Golden State Warriors are no longer the dynastic force that won 5 NBA championships in a row. Over the summer, the noises coming out of the franchise were that it can still compete.

Steve Kerr plans to rebuild the team with a core of young talent supported by Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

He was bound to encounter some teething problems. One such issue is the management of rookie center James Wiseman, who was taken out of Monday’s game.

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Steve Kerr replaced him with veteran Kevon Looney in the 130 – 108 win over the Jazz in order to arrest the prevalent defensive issues in the team.

Wiseman, a No.2 overall pick is rated highly within the organization. However, it’s not as simple as just playing him all the time.

“I would say that development doesn’t equal playing time or vice versa,” Kerr said.

“Development is really something that is — it’s tougher to define. It’s really about understanding the game, learning the game. Sometimes you can learn observing from the bench a little bit. We’re figuring out creative ways to try to teach him in practice sessions between games. His development is happening all the time. He’s working every day with [assistant coaches] Theo Robertson, Chris DeMarco, watching tape, individual workouts, 3-on-3, so it’s really the whole process.”

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“He understands this is not a demotion by any means. It’s simply a part of his development,” Kerr said. “And as I’ve said to you guys many times, we’ve got a lot of moving parts. We’re trying to develop young players and be a playoff team, be a contender, and we’re trying to do all that at once.

“And so part of that process is going to include occasional changes to lineups, combinations, whatever that means; and I’m very confident that this ultimately will be a good part of James’ development. He’s still going to play, but it gives him a slightly different role and a different way to look at the game, and it all goes forward.”