Team USA’s Durant to give Oracle fans a glimpse of future.
OAKLAND — Steve Kerr said it probably won’t hit him until training camp, when Kevin Durant is wearing a Warriors jersey.
But Tuesday night, the Warriors head coach, along with the rest of the Bay Area, will get his first up-close look at the coming reality. Team USA, featuring three of his Warriors stars, takes on China at Oracle Arena on its exhibition tour heading to the Olympics in Rio.
Kerr has only watched his guys — Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green — playing together on television thus far is forced to temper his excitement over the possibilities.
“They look great,” Kerr said in a phone interview. “Not surprising, because none of them dominate the ball. All of them move the ball. One of the things that made (Durant) so attractive to us is that it didn’t feel like it would be difficult to blend in.”
Durant was booed in Los Angeles on Sunday. But he is sure to be serenaded at Oracle, a preface to the love he will receive when finally wearing blue and gold. Especially the
way Durant and Thompson have clicked, finding each other and serving as Team USA’s resident gunners, there are sure to be some glimpses of the Warriors’ future.
Kerr said this experience is good for the Warriors trio. A minicamp preparing them for training camp.
“It helps,” Kerr said. “I’m happy that they’re spending the next few weeks together. Not only playing together but getting to know each other. All that stuff matters.”
The Warriors’ offense will certainly have more layers to it. Adding a talent such as Durant to the core — replacing a career 10.1 points per game scorer, Harrison Barnes, with Durant’s 27.4 average — takes the offense to a new level.
But Kerr maintains nothing will change foundationally. The Warriors will still “move the ball like crazy and run,” as Kerr put it, and they now have two players capable of creating offense in Durant and Stephen Curry. So the biggest adjustment might be feel and comfort.
The Warriors’ three existing All-Stars have four years together under their belt. They know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes. Curry can sense when Thompson is feeling it. Green knows the best angles to set Curry screens. Thompson knows how to make himself visible to Curry in transition. Those things come with time together.
That’s what the Warriors are getting to learn with Durant, an education on each other’s games.
“We don’t have to change a whole lot of stuff,” Kerr said. “We’ll probably plug Kevin into what we already do . ... We can definitely add some things. Kevin makes any offense look better than it actually is. It’s still about players sharing the ball. Playing with pace. Playing unselfishly.”
Kerr said the Warriors will definitely use their status as villains, mostly as comic relief. Knowing Kerr, he’s lining up Gary Oldman to address the team about playing the villain role. Ron Adams is being suited for a Darth Vader costume to wear during film sessions.
The light moments will be needed. The Warriors have a hard road ahead. The pressure will be immense. The vitriol thrown their way will be hectic. They will need to adjust quickly. Team USA is giving them a head start.
“It’s going to require some work together, and we’re going to have to go through it to feel it,” Kerr said. “It won’t be easy all the time, that’s for sure. This is what they all wanted. We’re gong to have a lot of pressure on us. That’s fine. We welcome that.”