Warriors training camp takeaways: Steve Kerr divulges plans for preseason opener originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
LAIE, Hawaii – The Warriors on Saturday said goodbye to the BYU-Hawaii campus, which played host to five practices ahead of Sunday’s preseason opener against the LA Clippers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
“I’ve loved it all,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I mean, Hawaii’s one of the great spots on Earth, and to have camp here, great chance for our players to bring family members and enjoy their time after practice. We also had great five days here at BYU.”
And how couldn’t Kerr and the rest of the many, many traveling Warriors not have loved their time on the north shore? The people are as welcoming as the waves. The food is delicious, and it’s the best reset away from the hustle and bustle of the NBA.
Players were on the same page as their coach, too.
“Oh, Hawaii’s beautiful,” Brandin Podziemski said. “Second time here. The people are just so nice and so welcoming. Make you feel at home.”
Finally, the Warriors soon will be back in the Bay Area playing on their home court at Chase Center. The home preseason opener is Tuesday night at 7 p.m. PT against the Los Angeles Lakers. But first, they’ll get to show off their new 5-out offense Sunday against the Clippers, as well as new defensive concepts being taught by Frank Vogel.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ fifth practice of training camp, which featured comments from Kerr, Podziemski and Charles Bassey.
Minutes Plan
The first starting five for the Warriors already was chosen Thursday when Kerr revealed a lineup of Podziemski, Steph Curry, Yaxel Lendeborg, Draymond Green and Al Horford. Kerr on Saturday laid out the plan for how long veterans will be on the floor.
When the second half begins, at least three Warriors starters will not be on the court.
“Steph, Dray and Al first half only,” Kerr said. “Probably between 12 and 16 minutes, somewhere in there.”
As Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody continue their rehabs from injury, plus Kristaps Porziņģis not being in Hawaii due to a health issue, the Warriors already are shorthanded. They’ll lean into their depth right away, even in the preseason. Every Warrior will see action against the Clippers — including their three players on two-way contracts — as well as Dalen Terry, Alex Toohey and Miles Kelly.
The plan helps Kerr get his first look at every available player without overexhausting anybody. The training staff will take a cautious approach throughout the preseason, and the schedule doesn’t do anybody any favors.
After playing Sunday in Hawaii, the Warriors play again Tuesday at Chase Center, then again the next day in Portland against the Trail Blazers. That’s right, the Warriors already are being challenged by a back-to-back in the preseason, including playing three games in four nights with two flights.
That bundle of games quickly will throw off the Warriors’ practice schedule, and a handful of players won’t even make the trip to Portland.
“Not a huge fan, but we get it,” Kerr said of the back-to-back. “These things are tricky. It’s not easy putting these schedules together – arena availability, the Hawaii trip. So, next week’s going to be an interesting schedule for us. We’ll keep some guys home from Portland. Then we’ll have to do half the guys have the day off on Thursday; guys who don’t go to Portland practice that day, almost like split-squad type stuff.
“We’ll just have to be creative.”
Podz Point Of Attack
Training camp this year has been a far different vibe than years past. The Warriors are hammering new ideas offensively and defensively into veterans and younger players. A lot of the offensive concepts already have been drilled into younger players who were around throughout the summer.
Coaches aren’t worried about either side of the ball feeling a bit foreign right now. It’s the point of training camp and preseason, and perfection is far from what is expected.
But one of the more important players on the defensive side is someone who has been impressive offensively throughout camp. Playing next to Curry always puts extra pressure on his backcourt mate to be trusted equally on both sides. Podziemski isn’t new to this going into his fourth season as Curry’s teammate.
Defensively, what has Podziemski learned about playing next to Curry?
“I learned that he’s really good at defense still, even though it’s his 18th year,” Podziemski said. “But yeah, obviously, it’s not crazy to know that if you’re gonna play with Steph, you got to be able to play defense. I think back in the last year, I played really well defensively. I’m ready for that challenge.”
Podziemski believes his game has grown most defensively from a point-of-attack standpoint over the last few years with the challenges he has faced.
“I think the comfortability of seeing the best players for four years now,” he said. “Obviously, everybody has a rhythm they like to play with, and so learning those guys, especially like tomorrow playing against Darius Garland, playing them in the play-in, they have rhythms that they want to get to. So over time, you get more accustomed to that, and I think that’s where I’ve grown.”
As a rookie, Podziemski had a defensive rating of 115.4. That number dropped to 112.0 his second season but grew to 116.1 in 2025-26. He and Curry together produced a 110.3 defensive rating over 601 minutes alongside each other last season.
Another Draymond Adjustment
Sunday’s preseason opener will give fans their first look at rookie Yaxel Lendeborg after his standout showing in summer league. It also will be their first look at how Green, Golden State’s other starting forward, adapts to the Warriors’ 5-out offense.
There has been an emphasis on Green to shoot more 3-pointers after making at least 100 of them last season for the first time in a decade. Shooting threes might be his smallest adjustment. Green will not be bringing the ball up the floor and directing the offense as much.
The last thing Kerr wants to see is Green trailing the offense in transition.
“It’s the biggest adjustment for him,” Kerr said. “He’s trailed the play for us for years, so we’re telling him every play, ‘Get down the floor.’ And when he’s down the floor, that could mean he’s in the corner, could mean he’s on the wing, but he’s still going to be involved in the action. And when we say 5-out, it doesn’t necessarily mean five 3-point shooters, but it means five guys around the 3-point line.”
Trailing the play in a 5-out offense is for guard and wings, not for Green. We’ll see just how smoothly he has adjusted to the change.
Podziemski will be initiating a lot of offense and made it a point to compliment Green for how he has been handling the transformation.
“He’s been super mindful of that,” Podziemski said. “It’d be easy for a guy that’s been doing it for 15 years now to just be like, ‘Nah, this is how I do it.’ But his adaptability … Steph’s trying to learn the new things, it’s encouraging and it’s a good example for all the young guys to see.”
Words are one thing. Actions are another. Sunday’s preseason game against the Clippers will give insight into adjustments for all and provide plenty of tape for the team to study.
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