The Golden State Warriors are undertaking training camp in Hawaii without Kristaps Porzingis, but they're already preparing his replacements to still be able to stretch the floor in a new five-out shift from head coach Steve Kerr and the coaching staff.
Charles Bassey has taken a total of 13 3-point attempts during his 126-game NBA career, while Graham Ike took 135 over a 146-game collegiate career. Those numbers may not reflect what we see this season though, with the pair working on their perimeter shooting together during a workout on Tuesday.
Warriors already preparing Kristaps Porzingis alternatives
One of the biggest concerns around Porzingis' potential unavailability is how the Warriors can maintain spacing from the center position. The 31-year-old only shot 31.1% from beyond the arc in his time with Golden State to end last season, but he's a career 36.4% who can shoot well beyond the 3-point line while commanding attention from opposing defenses.
The Warriors do have another floor spacing big in Al Horford, but they would undoubtedly prefer to bring the 40-year-old veteran off the bench. Golden State may instead be preparing their more unproven big men, Bassey and Ike, to be capable of filling in some of the Porzingis minutes by being able to stretch the floor effectively.
Graham Ike, Will Richard and Charles Bassey launching triples. Head coach Steve Kerr mentioned during his presser that he expects the team to play much more five-out offensively this season. pic.twitter.com/G7ddfiktvC
— Bonta Hill (@BontaHill) September 30, 2026
As positive as it is that Bassey and Ike are developing an outside shot which is important in the modern game, it's another thing to translate that to in-game situations and to build enough of a reputation where defenses close out like they do Porzingis and Horford.
Bassey, in particular, will be an interesting watch given he'll assuredly see a bigger role whenever Porzingis is out, and because the 25-year-old did shoot 15-of-37 (40.5%) from 3-point range with Santa Cruz in the G League last season.
Warriors might shoot even more threes this season
With the Warriors clearly urging Bassey and Ike to work on their shooting, and with Kerr already declaring that he wants Draymond Green taking more threes this season, it appears as if they're reliance on the perimeter could become even more dramatic.
Golden State already led the league in 3-point attempts last season, and one would argue they actually need to go the other way and diversify their offense more. On the other hand, perhaps Kerr and the coaching staff see the 3-point shot as the great equalizer for a team lacking talent without the injured Jimmy Butler.
That talent level will take another hit if Porzingis winds up missing more than training camp, but clearly there's a plan for Bassey and/or Ike to try and replicate things to some degree by developing their 3-point shooting.
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