Golden State's 'Open Competition' Isn't Actually Open
Steve Kerr says three starting spots are open, but with Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody both out until December, the real competition is just for the minutes left behind by two absent starters.
Golden State of Mind reported that Kerr has already locked in Draymond Green as a starter, while a camp-deal rumor on Obi Agbim jumped from 44 percent confidence to 85 in a day, a sign of how much small-stakes business the Warriors still have to settle. None of it changes who is missing from camp: Butler and Moody, both working back from knee injuries with a Dec. 1 target return.
Three spots, one real variable
Kerr has settled on Green at one of the three spots he called open, per Golden State of Mind. The other two are less a tryout among equals than a stopgap: Butler is sidelined by a right knee injury and Moody by a left-side issue of his own, both targeting a Dec. 1 return. The Athletic reported that a rehabbing Butler is eager to return, but practices stay light. Toohey, also working back from a knee injury, is aiming for the Oct. 4 opener at the Clippers.
Last season's best lineups won't be available
Last season's best five-man groups ran through the players now out. A Curry-Butler-Green-Kuminga-Podziemski unit posted a plus-16.9 net rating over eight games and 65 minutes, the top mark logged all season. A Butler-Green-Moody-Podziemski-Post group was next, at plus-2.3 over 64 minutes across 12 games. Neither is available for the four-game preseason slate that runs from the Clippers on Oct. 4 through the Kings on Oct. 10.
The budget behind the churn
Golden State's payroll sits at $224.7 million, above the second apron and past the $200.4 million luxury-tax line, with Curry's $62.6 million salary the largest commitment on the books. That leaves camp deals, like the one a rumor now gives Agbim an 85 percent chance of signing, up from 44 a day earlier, as one of the few moves left before the Oct. 21 opener at the Lakers.
What's still unsettled
Who takes the other two starting spots won't be clear until Golden State plays through preseason games against the Clippers, Lakers, Trail Blazers and Kings. The answer matters less for October than for December, when Butler and Moody are due back and Kerr has to fold them into whatever lineup wins out.
Is Jimmy Butler playing in the Warriors' preseason opener?
No. Butler is sidelined by a right knee injury with a Dec. 1 target return, well past the Oct. 4 preseason opener at the Clippers.
When do the Warriors start the regular season?
Golden State opens the regular season on Oct. 21 at the Lakers, after a four-game preseason slate against the Clippers, Lakers, Trail Blazers and Kings.
