Kerr sees potential in McGee’s abilities
A day after the Warriors announced that JaVale McGee had earned the team’s 15th and final roster spot, head coach Steve
Kerr offered insight into the decision.
“I think he had a good camp,” Kerr said Friday before Golden State’s preseason game against Portland. “He gives us something that we don’t have with our other centers, just with that ability to catch a lob and finish. I think he has the potential to help us.”
At 7-foot, 270 pounds with a 7-foot, 6½-inch wingspan and a 31½-inch vertical leap, McGee is one of the NBA’s supreme athletes.
McGee signed a four-year, $44 million deal with Denver in July 2012. But after his penchant for bloopers and a slow-healing leg injury limited him to 62 games over three seasons, he received no guaranteed offers this past summer.
Golden State brought him to training camp because, after losing Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli in the offseason, it had no proven shot blockers on its roster. McGee, who didn’t play Friday, averaged 5.2 points on 51.9 percent shooting, 3.3 rebounds and 0.8 of a block in 9 minutes per game in the preseason. In the Warriors’ three games prior to Friday, he totaled 20 points on 10-of-14 shooting, six rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 21 minutes.
McGee is Golden State’s thirdstring center behind Zaza Pachulia and Anderson Varejao. With a strong start to the regular season, he could leapfrog the 34-year-old Varejao on the depth chart. ‘Coward’ quote: After shootaround Friday, Klay Thompson had a vehement response when asked about a recent ESPN article that examined the fiery Draymond Green’s role on the Warriors. The excerpt in question referred to an unnamed team official discussing how Golden State players view Green: “The guys might be frustrated by his antics, but they had an opportunity to prove themselves without him in Game 5 (of the Finals) and they played like a bunch of (cowards).”
“That article pissed me off for this reason: If you’re going to call someone a coward, how are you not going to put your name to that quote?” Thompson said. “Like, it’s easy to point at someone and call them a coward behind a shield . ... But to say that we play like cowards, and you’re not going to quote the guy who said it? That’s weak to me, man.”
Later Friday, Kerr also expressed concern over the quote.
“I talked to Draymond about it,” Kerr said. “I haven’t talked to the team about it. It upset me, too. I don’t know who said that. I can guarantee it wasn’t any of our coaching staff. I’d be shocked if it was anyone in basketball management. We don’t do that.”