5 major lineup questions Golden Warriors must address this offseason
2. Can Jonathan Kuminga develop into a small forward?
This is a question Steve Kerr alluded to in his postseason press conference, with the head coach himself unable to answer it. Kuminga shot just 32.1% from three-point range this season, and his inability to garner the respect of opposing defenses from beyond the arc has pigeonholed him to being a power forward throughout his career to date.
Can that change in the course of one offseason? If so, it wouldn't just unlock Kuminga's already potent offensive game, but it would bring enormously important clarity to what the Warriors do in their front court.
Right now Kerr can't play Kuminga, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis together, leaving one as the odd man out from the starting lineup. That was Kuminga at the end of the season, owing to a slight injury late in the piece and Jackson-Davis' impact in his absence.
Kuminga's too good and too talented to go into next season as a bench player, yet at the same time how do the Warriors organize a sustainable lineup with both he and Green in it? Kuminga improving his three-point shot is the answer Golden State are desperately hoping for.
3. What position does Draymond Green need to play?
As referenced above, Green's role is inexplicably linked with Kuminga as primary power-forward's who can hit from three-point range but who aren't respected by opposing defenses. Even despite shooting a career-high 39.5% from beyond the arc this season, Green was more often than not left free to fire from deep.
Kuminga's explosion into one of the league's most improved players brought about a significant shift mid-season when Green became the team's starting center. It worked too -- the Warriors' two most used lineups in their 27-12 run to end the regular season featured Green at the five.
However, using the 6'6" veteran as a starting center simply isn't sustainable, particularly given some of the star big men around the Western Conference. Kerr went to the pairing of Green and Jackson-Davis towards the end of the season, but while that duo were a major positive defensively, there remains a spacing concern on offense along with the Kuminga question above.
With the entire dilemma of Kuminga, Green and Jackson-Davis in the front court, could we be on the precipice of the 34-year-old franchise legend potentially moving to the bench as early as next season?