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Warriors camp takeaways: Looney makes splash in scrimmage originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
LAIE, Hawaii – On their second day of training camp at BYU-Hawaii, the Warriors progressed from concepts to game play, scrimmaging full court. Effort, energy and flow is what stood out most to coach Steve Kerr on a day where three teams were created positionally as he’s far from naming a starting five.
“We just divided them positionally and spread guys all over the place,” Kerr said. “No hints on the starting lineup.”
Wednesday did end on a particularly positive note, especially for one veteran.
Here are five takeaways from the second day of Warriors training camp, which featured comments from Kerr, Draymond Green, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Brandin Podziemski.
Looney For Three … Bang!
Podziemski found center Kevon Looney, and the big man showcased what he has been working on tirelessly over the offseason: His 3-point shot. Looney drilled a game-winning three, and the celebration was on after that.
“That’s the best way we can end practice, a Looney three,” Podziemski said.
A leaned-out Looney has dropped 15 pounds to be more versatile, specifically on the offensive side as more of a shooting threat. After taking a grand total of three 3-pointers the last three seasons, and not making a single one, Looney took 400 to 500 threes this summer to be an option from long distance. That doesn’t mean he’s going to evolve into the next Splash Brother overnight.
The message sent to Looney is one of confidence. To be aggressive and not to hesitate. But he isn’t going to be a pick-and-pop option as the Warriors look to rain threes on their opponents. More so, it’s him taking advantage of broken plays and open opportunities.
“That’s different from being Kevin Love,” Kerr explained. “But he feels it. Loon still has to be who he is, which is a guy who is getting a lot of stuff done on the offensive boards and setting screens. If he’s open and it’s a stand-still three, I want him shooting it.”
Draymond Chimes In On Kuminga
Though his coach believes he’s a power forward, Jonathan Kuminga says he’s a small forward. What about Green?
He seems to side with his teammate.
“I think he’s a 3,” Green said. “It’s always been my opinion and that’s not going to change. To play the 4, it requires a certain skill set. So often times, people approach the 4 as if it’s not a position. … It requires a certain skill set, a certain knowledge, a certain understanding of that position to do that.
“He’s never done it. Can he adjust and learn that? I don’t know.”
The numbers tell a different story from Green’s point of view. Per Basketball-Reference’s position estimate, Kuminga spent only 2 percent of his time last season at small forward, as opposed to a career-high 65 percent as a power forward and 34 percent at center.
In order for Kuminga to thrive as a small forward, his outside shooting will have to vastly improve, an area he worked on relentlessly the past few months.
Draymond’s Message To Podz
Competition to start alongside Steph Curry at shooting guard is well underway. And, it appears to be between three players: Podziemski, Buddy Hield and De’Anthony Melton. No matter who is handed the job, Podziemski expects to play plenty with the other two.
The last thing Green and the rest of the Warriors want Podziemski to be is a replica of franchise icon Klay Thompson. Being himself is what gained Podziemski so much trust from Kerr as a rookie. Changing now would be foolish.
“I want him to be Brandin,” Green said. “You can fall into the trap of so many people saying, ‘Oh, Klay’s leaving – you got to do this, you got to do that.’ No, be you. You’re going to have a much better opportunity to succeed being yourself than trying to fill somebody else’s role.”
Green can use himself as an example. When Green took over years ago in the starting lineup for David Lee, the last thing he tried to be is Lee.
The two have much different skill sets, so trying to be somebody else wouldn’t let him flourish and ultimately impact the game at a Hall of Fame level for the Warriors.
“I warned [Podziemski]: If you do great things on the court and there’s something great that you do, do that,” Green said. “If you do it great, the team, the offense, the organization will adjust to you.”
Speaking Of Draymond …
Trying to replicate Green’s style of play is fool’s gold for every other play, and every other team. Organizations have been searching for the next version of their do-it-all point-forward who even can play center when needed.
Good luck with that. However, the Warriors might have found their own new version in Kyle Anderson.
“He’s just like Draymond,” Podziemski said of Anderson. “He understands how players move, where the guys like their touches and he can make plays out of the short roll, hit a pick-and-pop jumper – all things that Draymond can do.
“There hasn’t been someone like Draymond in our organization in a while. To have one of those that’s defensive minded, it’s going to help us in the long run.”
The New GP2?
Podziemski also compared another addition to a leftover Warrior. The young guard sees a lot of Gary Payton II in De’Anthony Melton.
“I feel like he can be twin brothers with Gary,” Podziemski said. “They both kind of look the same, both love defense. For me, being able to go against that and vice versa being able to play defense against them has been great.
“I think the better they are defensively now, the better it makes guys like me and Steph during the regular season.”
The Warriors’ lack of on-ball defense last season couldn’t have been more clear. Part of that was because of Payton dealing with multiple health snafus. Melton was held to 38 games in 2023-24 because of a back injury, but is fully healthy now and was averaging a career-high 11.1 points per game for the Philadelphia 76ers before his season ended.
Having a point-of-attack defender for the Warriors who can be an offensive boost would be a welcome sight for all. Melton, if all goes right, can check both boxes.