Warriors wildest (but realistic) lineup prioritizes size not shooting

The Golden State Warriors enter the 2024-25 season with plenty of depth and reasonable versatility, offering head coach Steve Kerr a myriad of options when it comes to lineup combinations.

Little is guaranteed ahead of training camp and preseason next month, with only veterans Stephen Curry and Draymond Green completely assured of their place in the rotation. As a result, we could see some funky and indifferent lineups from Kerr as he and the coaching staff strive to find the best combinations as quickly as possible.

The Golden State Warriors wildest but realistic lineup should prioritize size and defensive versatility over shooting and offense

In a recent article looking at the wildest five-man lineups each team could actually try on the floor next season, Dan Favale of Bleacher Report proposes a Golden State combination featuring Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, De'Anthony Melton, Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga.

This lineup is certainly wild, but is there even a slight possibility of it? Probably not. The lack of functional size is astounding even by Warrior standards, albiet the offensive upside is certainly intriguing.

Sure you can point to the fact Kuminga is actually ever so slightly bigger than Draymond Green who may start at center for Golden State, yet the talented young forward is no where near the defender or rebounder that his veteran teammate is.

For all the talk about the Warriors needing to find a co-star and more offensive support for Curry, it's actually the defense that was more of a concern for the team last season. They ranked 15th in defense across the course of the 2023-24 season, while ranking ninth in the league in offense.

However, with the offseason additions they've made and the hope that Green won't get himself suspended again, there's a real possibility that Golden State can return to being an elite defensive team. Kerr should lean into that as much as possible, and hope that Curry's sheer offensive threat can leave certain lineups as at least league average on that end.

So what's the wildest but most realistic lineup Kerr could throw out there? How about Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Kuminga, Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis? That's not as wild as Favale's proposal, but it could be more effective and therefore more realistic.

The defense could be elite with Wiggins on the perimeter, Kuminga using his athleticism to fly around the floor, Jackson-Davis proving the interior presence, and one of the league's best ever defenders in Green quarterbacking the entire operation.

Offensively it could well be a struggle. However, it may also be functional enough if Wiggins can revert to shooting 37-40% from three on decent volume, Kuminga takes another step as another genuine scorer/shot-creator, and if Green can replicate his career-high 40% shooting from three-point range last season.

Without a second All-Star it will be difficult for Golden State to be a top five offense, meaning they should really dive into trying to be top five defensively. This lineup could be at the forefront of that, and give Kerr and the Warriors a point of difference that may cause headaches for opposing offenses on a regular basis.