Kerr to double down on playstyle that will make-or-break Warriors

Having lost veteran sharpshooter and franchise legend Klay Thompson in free agency, you could be mistaken for thinking that the Golden State Warriors may play a little differently this season.

While Thompson will undoubtedly leave a void when it comes to three-point shooting, head coach Steve Kerr is eager to replace 34-year-old's volume and then some once the season gets underway against the Portland Trail Blazers on October 23.

Steve Kerr and the Warriors are set to double down on their high volume three-point shooting

The Warriors ranked fourth last season in three-point attempts, and ranked in the top five in each of the previous three season as well which included leading the league 2022-23. Buddy Hield is seen as the natural replacement for Thompson in terms of volume and three-point percentage, but Golden State are expected to take more of a team approach when it comes to replacing the shooting output.

Speaking after the first day of training camp in Hawaii on Tuesday, Kerr outlined his goal to get Andrew Wiggins nearly double his three-point attempts from last season, while a host of others will also have the freedom to let it fly from beyond the arc.

"I want Wiggs shooting 6-7 threes a game", Kerr said. "I want Brandin, I want Moses, I want De'Anthony. I want to be a high volume three-point shooting team. I think that's important for us."

Given the volume of three-point shooting around the league, it's an aspect that can often be a make-or-break element in each individual game. Yet from a Warriors standpoint specifically, they're trying to replace a top 3-5 shooter in the history of the game with a number of average to good three-point shooters (outside Hield who's an elite shooter but won't see the same amount of minutes).

That in itself is going to lead to some variance on a night-to-night basis, and over an entire season Golden State's fortunes could depend on where the likes of Podziemski, Wiggins and Melton sit in regard to their three-point percentage.

It's a somewhat risky tactic, particularly when Kerr has options he didn't previously have at his disposal. The athleticism of Jonathan Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis gives the Warriors a downhill force around the rim, suggesting they could lean more into that rather than be solely focused on once again being within the top handful in three-point attempts.

But Kerr was a shooter himself as a player, and his coaching success has stemmed from a system that that's prioritized the three-ball. It's evident he's not going to drastically change that despite the alterations to the Warriors roster during the summer.