Steve Kerr thinks his Warriors squad is the highest IQ team in the NBA this season.
Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors cannot enter NBA seasons with the expectation that they’re easy favorites to win the title. The Warriors don’t factor into the top of the title race right now after a summer of changes, but Steve Kerr thinks they have assembled a very high IQ roster for this season.
“I think the job the front office did by adding Dario really connects the game for us. Adding a big who can shoot, space, and punish people inside with his strength and size. Cory Joseph hasn’t played yet but he’s a very smart player and one of the top guys in the league when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio. Chris, goes without saying, his intelligence. This feels like a real high IQ team and they’re showing that early on.”
Even though the decision to swap Jordan Poole for Chris Paul has been controversial, it is definitely a big upgrade from an IQ perspective. Poole’s shot selection was poor at times and his court vision was lacking.
Adding cerebral veterans all over the roster like CP, Joseph, Saric, and even Rudy Gay could be highly beneficial for a Warriors’ roster looking for stability after a very tough year last season.
Steve Kerr Praises New Warriors’ Rookie
The Warriors drafted Brandin Podziemski out of Santa Clara with their 19th overall pick in the NBA Draft. While the pick divided the fanbase at the time, Steve Kerr is looking forward to seeing how the 6’5″ swingman impacts the court for the Warriors this season.
“Brandin has a great feel for the game. He leads the team in deflections in the first week or 10 days. He’s constantly one step ahead of the play on both ends. Rotating defensively, cross-screening the ball, catching the defense off-guard with a cross-court pass, attacking closeouts. He just has a great feel.”
Podizemski averaged 19.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.8 steals while shooting 43.8% on nearly six three-pointers per game in college last season. His floor stretching ability will allow him to get minutes as a rookie as a pure spacing option at times, but his high defensive motor makes him a very useful on-ball defender as well.
Will The Warriors Bold Offseason Pay Off?
The Golden State Warriors have realized it’s tough to build a championship contender where the roster is primarily full of young talent and have changed that this season. With Poole being traded away, the Warriors elected to sign only players past the age of 30 to add more veteran leadership for the young players on the roster like Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody.
I genuinely wonder how much on-court value is left to be generated from the likes of Cory Joseph and Rudy Gay. Both players were barely holding onto their spot in the league last season, with Gay especially being very close to retiring. Saric is a phenomenal fit for the Warriors, so that move doesn’t need to be criticized, but the others have been iffy.
Having so many veterans could be really good for the Warriors, as it’ll be a focused group that knows what needs to be done to win a title. If Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green can continue producing at the levels we come to expect from them, this team would be one of the hardest outs in the playoffs.
