OAKLAND — Media day came and went for the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors on Monday at their team facility.
It was a lot of what you’d expect at a media day: some off the wall questions, some cliché answers from the players.
But there were some important things said and observed. Here’s exactly what you need to know.
Steph Curry — He looked refreshed. A summer away from the competitive chaos of basketball was exactly what the two-time defending MVP needed. He went from a promising young point guard to a top three basketball player in the world in a span of two years. Expectations and injuries caught back up with Curry last postseason, but that’s fine. Every dominant athlete has had setbacks on their chase of greatness. Curry changed some routines that he thinks will help him stay healthier throughout the course of a nine month season. And now, with Kevin Durant, his foot won’t have to stay on the pedal for an 82 game season, lessening some of the burden.
David West — From his facial expressions to the way he answered questions, West is certainly bringing a trait to the Warriors: Attitude. The 36-year-old says he’s not scared of what needs to be said in a locker room setting and it looks like he’s ready to scrape his elbows in the paint against opposing teams, maybe allowing Draymond Green to keep a cooler head. Interestingly enough, West said the Warriors reached out to his agent the very night the Spurs lost to the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, even though West had what many consider a down year.
Zaza Pachulia — No player said the word championship in their interview more than Pachulia. Pachulia offered this interesting nugget: whenever his teams played the Warriors, the term “Don’t get the crowd involved” was always a strategy. You can tell he wants to be a fan favorite at Oracle Arena. The14-year veteran also said part of the reason he’s been so durable is yoga. He actually just signed up at the same studio Steve Kerr goes to in the Bay Area. “You can call me Yogi,” he joked. We just might.
Draymond Green — Yep, he’s still the most fascinating interview in the NBA. Green went on a five-minute sermon about why he supports Colin Kaepernick but won’t protest the national anthem, said he expects to win multiple Defensive Player of the Year awards and said it would be brutal to try and win 74 games to break the record. But Green’s critique of last year’s roster is what stuck out. “If you aren’t getting better, you are getting worse.” Green insinuated the Warriors would’ve ran into trouble in the postseason again if they didn’t make major changes to the roster. And he’s right. There isn’t a GM in the league who would turn a Durant-Pachulia for Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut swap.
Klay Thompson — Every Warriors player stressed how long it’ll take to gel, that is everyone expect chill Klay Thompson. “That’s what the preseason is for.” Thompson says his role won’t change; he’s still going to be aggressive on offense and a pest on defense. Many kind of forget the Warriors already had a big red target on their backs last season and still started 24-0, but Thompson hasn’t. He says the pressure isn’t much different this time around — the team is. He also said he will be standing for the national anthem and gained a new perspective on what being an American is when he played for Team USA in the Olympics a few months back.
Kevin Durant — Happy first day of school, KD. Durant said it didn’t feel strange on Monday in his new surroundings, rather more excitement about his big step forward. Durant wanted to make it clear Nike had nothing to do with his decision to come to the Warriors and he informed the shoe giant of his decision after it was already made. How different will Durant look as a player on the court come Oct. 25th? “We’ll see. I’m relying on coach Kerr.” That x-factor, Kerr, is probably the least spoken about in terms of why KD committed to the Warriors. Would Curry, Thompson and Green has peaked this high without Kerr? Probably not. Durant also said he’s been observing how Curry approaches his craft, and that it’ll push him even harder to become the best player possible.
Andre Iguodala — Everyone is focused on how the Warriors will share the basketball on offense, but a savvy veteran, Iguodala was focused on mastering something different during training camp. “Defensively, how will we communicate?” Iguodala was keen on Durant’s defensive length being able to mask some of what the team lost in Andrew Bogut. Iguodala thought the Warriors fell down 3-1 to OKC because of their length defensively. He also has the best line on Durant: “We’ve got a monster on our team now.”
Shaun Livingston – Not one to sugarcoat, Livingston dove right into what the Warriors need to figure out first: lineups and rotations. “Preseason matters this year. Figuring out what units work well together.” Livingston, 31, had been on nine different NBA teams before he arrived in Golden State, many of them lousy. The stakes of winning a championship are what you want as a professional athlete. “I’m happy to have expectations. You want it this way.” Livingston said President of Basketball Operations, Bob Myers, has been encouraging him to shoot more three-pointers, something he might test out during the regular season.
Kevan Looney — He’s 100 percent healthy. That’s truly all we know about Looney the NBA player. No one has any idea if he will be a 20-minute per night guy for this team, or one of the garbage time guys who cleans up games in the fourth quarter.
Anderson Varejao — Reports that Varejao already rejected Cleveland’s championship ring are premature, although he said he’s not focused on that. Varejao seemed more comfortable knowing his role coming into a season already on the Warriors, as opposed to hoping right in last January as a free agent. Varejao has also spent eight years of his career with new assistant coach Mike Brown. “He’s really into the details. He’s going to really help this team.” After missing the Olympics with a back injury, Varejao said he’s a 100 percent and ready to participate in the Warriors’ first practice on Tuesday.