Takeaways from Warriors camp: Looney makes a splash in scrimmage originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
LAIE, Hawaii – On their second day of training camp at BYU-Hawaii, the Warriors moved from concepts to play, mixing it up all over the field. Effort, energy and fluidity are what stood out most to coach Steve Kerr on a day where three teams were created positionally, as he fell short of naming a starting five.
“We just split them up by position and spread guys out all over the place,” Kerr said. “No indication on starting lineup.”
Wednesday ended on a particularly positive note, especially for a 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 showed off what he worked tirelessly on during the offseason: his 3-point shot. Looney hit a game-winning three-pointer, and the celebration continued after that.
“That’s the best way to end practice, a Looney three,” Podziemski said.
One leaning Looney lost 15 pounds to be more versatile, especially on the offensive end, as a shooting threat. After making a total of three 3-pointers over the past three seasons, without making a single one, Looney took 400-500 three-pointers this summer to be a long-range option. That doesn’t mean he’ll evolve into the next Splash Brother overnight.
The message sent to Looney is one of confidence. Be aggressive and don’t hesitate. But he won’t be a pick-and-pop option as the Warriors look to rain threes on their opponents. Even more, he is the one who takes advantage of interrupted games and open opportunities.
“It’s different being Kevin Love,” Kerr said. “But he feels it. Loon still has to be who he is, which is a guy who does a lot of things on the offensive boards and on setting screens. If he’s open and it’s three o’clock, I want him to shoot.
Draymond intervenes on Kuminga
Although his coach considers him a powerful striker, Jonathan Kuminga says he is a small forward. And green?
He seems to be on his teammate’s side.
“I think he’s a 3,” Green said. “That’s always been my opinion and that’s not going to change. To play 4, it requires a certain skill set. Very often, people approach 4 as if it were not a position. … It requires a certain skill set, a certain knowledge, a certain understanding of this position to achieve it.
“He never did. Can he adapt and learn this? I don’t know.”
The numbers tell a different story from Green’s perspective. According to Basketball-Reference’s position estimate, Kuminga spent just 2 percent of his time last season at small forward, compared to a career-high 65 percent as a power forward and 34 percent at center.
For Kuminga to flourish as a small forward, his outside shooting will need to improve significantly, an area he has worked on tirelessly in recent months.
Message from Draymond to Podz
The competition will begin alongside Steph Curry at shooting guard is on track. And it seems to be played between three players: Podziemski, Buddy Hield and De’Anthony Melton. Regardless of who gets the job, Podziemski expects to play a lot with the other two.
The last thing Green and the rest of the Warriors want is for Podziemski to be a replica of franchise icon Klay Thompson. Being himself is what earned Podziemski so much trust from Kerr as a rookie. To change 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 have to do this, you have to do that.’ No, be you. You’ll have a much better chance of succeeding by being yourself than trying to fill someone else’s role.
Green can use himself as an example. When Green took over years ago in David Lee’s starting lineup, the last thing he tried to be was Lee.
The two have very different skill sets, so trying to be someone 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 field and you do something great, do it,” Green said. “If you do it well, the team, the offense, the organization will adapt to you.”
Speaking of Draymond…
Trying to replicate Green’s style of play is a gold mine for every other game and every other team. Organizations were looking for the next version of their do-it-all forward, even capable of playing center when needed.
Good luck with that. However, the Warriors may have found their own new version in Kyle Anderson.
“He’s like Draymond,” Podziemski said of Anderson. “He understands how players move, where guys like their touches and he can play from a short roll, hit a pick-and-pop jumper – everything Draymond can do.
“There hasn’t been someone like Draymond in our organization in a while. Having one of those defensive-minded guys is going to help us in the long run.
The new GP2?
Podziemski also likened another addition to a remaining 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 are both similar, they both like defense. For me to be able to go against that and vice versa, to be 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 clearer. This was partly due to Payton dealing with multiple health issues. Melton was limited to 38 games in 2023-24 due to a back injury, but he is now fully healthy and was averaging a career-high 11.1 points per game for the Philadelphia 76ers before the end of his season.
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 well, can check both boxes.
