Steve Kerr makes Warriors trade plans crystal clear with Draymond Green comments

The Golden State Warriors need an upgrade at the center position.

That much is crystal clear just three games into the regular season, and from Steve Kerr's comments prior to Friday's 139-119 blowout loss to the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center.

The Warriors were without Al Horford who won't be playing both nights of back-to-backs this season, leaving the center position to youngsters Quinten Post and Trayce Jackson-Davis who struggled to have major impact in their nearly 33 combined minutes on the floor.

Warriors already need to make plans to trade for another center

Kerr had initially chosen to remain small with Draymond Green at the five for Friday's game, but cautioned that having the veteran forward open their consistently "can't be an 82-game thing."

Between the time of those comments and the opening tip, Kerr and the Warriors changed their starting lineup to include Post instead of third-year guard Brandin Podziemski. It failed to reap any major benefits, not that much would have worked against a red-hot Trail Blazers outfit who shot 53.7% from the floor and 47.1% from 3-point range.

The bigger question is how the Warriors manage the workloads of Horford and Green during the regular season, while also remaining competitive in every game and not stinging themselves with cheap losses in a tough Western Conference.

Kerr's faith in Post and Jackson-Davis is clearly waning. After an impressive rookie year where he shot a team-high 40.8% from 3-point range, Post played less than 13 minutes over the first two games of the season. Jackson-Davis was a DNP in each of those, before earning nearly 17 on Friday with Horford absent.

The lack of trust in the young center duo was epitomized when Kerr went to a wild group to close the first quarter, with two-way contracted guard Pat Spencer joining Brandin Podziemski, Will Richard, Moses Moody and Jimmy Butler in a lineup where Butler was essentially the center.

Between that, Kerr's pre-game comments and the form of Post and Jackson-Davis, there's little doubt that the Warriors already need to be exploring center upgrades on the trade market. Not only could they do with a more proven upgrade at that position, but the management of Green and Horford is vital to the team's chances come playoff time.

Who that center is remains to be seen, particularly with limited flexibility until Kuminga becomes trade eligible on January 15. Even then the young forward is doing his absolute best not to be a trade candidate given his impressive form, making the Warriors trade plans all the more fascinating in the coming months.