Iguodala: ‘2nd unit will be better’
While catching up this week with former teammate Marreese Speights, Andre Iguodala had a question: “Who am I going to talk to now on the bench?”
“He was kind of my go-to guy,” Iguodala said of Speights, now with the Clippers, after practice Wednesday. “I’ll be missing him from that aspect.”
To sign Kevin Durant, the Warriors were forced to do without key reserves Speights, Leandro Barbosa, Festus Ezeli and Brandon Rush. The new-look second unit, however, is impressing early.
David West has flashed his fundamentals and savvy posting up younger big men. Rookie Patrick McCaw is building off a strong performance at the Las Vegas Summer League. Ian Clark, in his second training camp with the team, has been more selfassured handling the basketball. A training-camp invitee on a nonguaranteed contract, JaVale McGee is cementing his status as Golden State’s best rim protector.
“I think a couple of people have either said or written that our bench is going to be … weaker than last year,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “I think we’ve got every reason to believe we can play the same way, strength in numbers.”
Said Iguodala: “I think our second unit will be better, actually.”
In the season before Kerr was hired in May 2014, Golden State’s second unit was a glaring issue. Over the past two seasons, with Iguodala and Shaun Livingston leading the way, the bench has become a source of pride for fans. The “Strength in Numbers” catchphrase adorns T-shirts, billboards and posters.
The Warriors used the money left after the Durant signing this summer to round out their bench. West, a twotime All Star, spurned more lucrative offers to ink with Golden State for the veteran minimum. McCaw fell to the Warriors with the 38th overall pick. Clark and James Michael McAdoo re-signed for minimum-contract deals, and Anderson Varejao resigned for the veteran minimum. Livingston was retained for $5.8 million, probably far less than he would’ve commanded on the open market.
Entering Saturday’s preseason opener against Toronto, Golden State boasts a bench capable of complementing arguably the most stacked starting five in NBA history. It only helps, of course, that Kerr plans to play at least two of his starters with the reserves in the regular season.
“With some of the pieces we’ve added,” Draymond Green said of the bench, “it can be really good for us.” Lacob to Santa Cruz: Kent Lacob has been named the general manager of the Warriors’ NBA Development League affiliate in Santa Cruz, Golden State announced Wednesday afternoon.
Kent Lacob, son of Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob, enters his second season with the organization after serving last season as the Warriors’ coordinator of basketball operations. In that position, his duties ranged from helping with scouting reports to implementing wearable technology to preparing for the NBA draft. Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.