Kerr admits Warriors ‘sensed' shift was needed in new season
Fresh off their fourth NBA title in eight years, the Warriors were ready to run it back in the 2022-23 season.
Those efforts fell short with a second-round playoff exit seven months after a punch between teammates put a dent in the team camaraderie that was too damaged to be fixed.
Weeks after their season-ending loss, Warriors coach Steve Kerr admitted that a change was needed.
“We’re going to be a lot different,” Kerr told The Athletic's Tim Kawakami. “The last thing I’m going to do is say anything about a team that just won a championship a year ago and then fought through a difficult season. Made a hell of a run at the end of this year. I’ve loved this group that we’ve had the last couple years.
“But the biggest point is that we sensed we needed a shift. Didn’t mean we needed an overhaul, but we needed a shift of some sort. I think everybody in the organization sensed that. And it feels like we’ve made a pretty significant shift without giving up our identity and our sense of who we are as a team. I think, all in all, it’s a very positive shift.”
Golden State was part of a blockbuster trade ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft on Thursday which reportedly will send 24-year-old Jordan Poole to the Washington Wizards in exchange for veteran point guard Chris Paul. As part of the reported deal, the Warriors also sent Ryan Rollins, Patrick Baldwin Jr. and future draft picks to the Wizards.
The Warriors also used the 19th overall pick of Thursday's draft to select Brandin Podziemski and the No. 57 pick to select Trayce Jackson-Davis before reportedly later signing undrafted free agent Javan Johnson, a 6-foot-6 forward out of DePaul, to a one-year deal.
Back in October, a leaked video captured Draymond Green's fist knocking Poole to the ground during Warriors preseason practice.
Poole signed a four-year, $128 million contract with Golden State shortly after, appearing to signal that the Warriors were set on having the young guard as the face of their future.
That ended Thursday.
And now, as Kerr attested to, the Warriors needed a change, and they got it as they try to re-enter the championship picture next season.
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