— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) September 26, 2024 Wiggins is the presumed starter at small forward. But presumed is the necessary qualifier. Kerr wants a competitive training camp in Hawaii and is making it clear that multiple starting spots are up for grabs. “What I love about this camp is that we do have spots available,” Kerr said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who have started a lot of games. Last year Wiggs, (Jonathan Kuminga), Draymond (Green), Trayce (Jackson-Davis) started some games. (Brandin Podziemski), De’Anthony (Melton), Buddy (Hield) has been a starter most of his career. It’s the easiest thing for me to do is just to tell the guys we’ve got starting spots available. That doesn’t mean I’m going to say how many to you or to them.” Advertisement The answer is probably two. Curry is the secure starting point guard. Green will occupy one of the frontcourt slots. Wiggins will be the small forward unless he plays himself out of it. But there’s an opening at shooting guard in the Klay Thompson vacancy and likely a choice between Kuminga and Jackson-Davis in the frontcourt. Emphasis on defense The Warriors added Melton, Kyle Anderson and Hield in free agency this summer. Hield’s addition was about shooting and floor spacing, something this roster lacked even before Thompson’s departure. But Melton and Anderson are defense-first chess pieces who improve the team’s ability to put versatile lineups on the floor to stop various types of offensive attacks. “We’ve got to get back to defending at a high level,” Dunleavy said. “We’ve got to be in the top five, six, seven in the league in defense, at least. That’s really been the recipe here all along. You talk about the championship years, certainly back to 2022, I think we were second in the league in defense. We got off to a good start because we defended.” Kerr agreed. “Our transition defense fell off the map last year,” he said. “A huge emphasis in camp will be to shore that up. We do have, I think, better personnel this year to become a better defensive team, barring injury. Gary Payton’s healthy. I think he’s one of the most impactful defenders in the league. Kyle and De’Anthony in particular have been excellent two-way players. Trayce is a year older. Draymond remains one of the best defenders in the league.” The Warriors leaned defense with some of their roster tweaks this summer. Mike Dunleavy: “We’ve got to get back to defending at a high level. We’ve got to be in the top five, six, seven in the league in defense, at least.” pic.twitter.com/OLz2tDgwLz