Steve Kerr Says 'There's A Position Waiting For' Andrew Wiggins On Warriors

[RealGM Wiretap]

Steve Kerr addressed the trade that sent D'Angelo Russell to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Andrew Wiggins, saying that Wiggins was a better fit than Russell.

"To be perfectly blunt, the fit was questionable when we signed him. Nobody questioned that. When you already have Steph [Curry] and Klay [Thompson] and you add a ball-dominant guard, you can rightfully question the fit. It was one of the reasons the trade rumors started even before the season began. And I think D'Angelo understood that when he signed the contract," said Kerr of Russell.

Russell signed a 4-year, $117 million deal last summer.

The Warriors believe that Wiggins can quickly adapt to the team's uptempo style.

"We feel like the fit here is really good for Andrew. We have a hole at that spot. We've lost Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston on the wing the last year. Klay's been gone all this year. So there's a position waiting for him. He's going to be playing next to three All-Stars at different positions -- Draymond [Green], Steph and Klay. Guys who he'll really enjoy playing with. And he'll be playing with a group of guys who know how to win," added Kerr.

Via Nick Friedell/ESPN

[Years80HAWKS]

So, Steve, Klay is a ball-dominat player, Livingston is a wing and Curry is playing most of the games?
I cannot understand how this franchise won three rings and almost a fourth one when so many people inside or who was inside is dellusional...

[dickfox]

So, Steve, Klay is a ball-dominat player, Livingston is a wing and Curry is playing most of the games?
I cannot understand how this franchise won three rings and almost a fourth one when so many people inside or who was inside is dellusional...

Huh?

Klay is not a ball-dominant guard... he is a catch-and-shoot off-ball guard. Livingston is gone. Curry has the ball the most but is the point guard. Russell needed the ball in his hands to be most productive. Wiggins can be a catch and shoot or catch and drive guy, which they were missing.

[Jeff Van Gully]

the position is called "harrison barnes."

[PoundTown]

So, Steve, Klay is a ball-dominat player, Livingston is a wing and Curry is playing most of the games?
I cannot understand how this franchise won three rings and almost a fourth one when so many people inside or who was inside is dellusional...

Not at all a warriors fan, but looks like you just wanted to criticize someone. Sure, it’s not 100 percent correct to say klay is ball dominant, but regardless he takes a good amount of shots and Russell and curry also like to shoot it and draymond likes to handle it. Guy was just answering questions that he has to as part of his job.. never has Steve Kerr appeared to be delusional there, keyboard warrior. Try not to criticize the convenient store clerk or whoever is next on your hit list

[Phystic]

Kerr didn't call Klay ball dominant, he said when you add a ball dominant guard(DLO) to Curry and Klay it's questionable. Which is fair. Curry and Klay, get the shots so having a guy that wants to be the go to guy doesn't make sense

[ElectricMayhem]

This wiretap would be a lot better with the addition of three simple words: Steve Kerr, patting the bench, says “There’s a position waiting for Andrew Wiggins on Warriors”

[Lockdown504090]

Call me crazy but wiggins needs to do the following to not suck on this team.
2 spot up 3s (6 points)
3 fast break layups (12 points
drive and score twice from warriors natural ball movement (16 points)
on average, 3 low % andrew wiggins points(19 points)

Thats very doable for him. he just needs to hope he can play some kind of defense to stay on the floor and they should be alright.

[hyberx]

Playing defense in the NBA is all about 1. effort and 2. physical capability. Guys like DLo doesn't really have the physical tool to be a defensive stopper given his slow feet and worse his lack of will. Curry doesn't really have the tools either, but he plays his heart out to the best of his capability. That's the difference.

Wiggins has all the physical tools in the world to be a good D player, now it's up to him and certainly Draymond will be in his ears all day.

[Quentin]

So, Steve, Klay is a ball-dominat player, Livingston is a wing and Curry is playing most of the games?
I cannot understand how this franchise won three rings and almost a fourth one when so many people inside or who was inside is dellusional...

Huh?

Klay is not a ball-dominant guard... he is a catch-and-shoot off-ball guard. Livingston is gone. Curry has the ball the most but is the point guard. Russell needed the ball in his hands to be most productive. Wiggins can be a catch and shoot or catch and drive guy, which they were missing.

Wiggins needs the ball in his hands to be effective. I have seen every game he has played. He is terrible when he sits in the corner waiting. He disengages. This will ultimately be the challenge for Kerr. Can he keep Andrew engaged so that he can excel without the ball in his hands. His nickname in MN was "Point Wiggins".

[arasu]

So, Steve, Klay is a ball-dominat player, Livingston is a wing and Curry is playing most of the games?
I cannot understand how this franchise won three rings and almost a fourth one when so many people inside or who was inside is dellusional...

Huh?

Klay is not a ball-dominant guard... he is a catch-and-shoot off-ball guard. Livingston is gone. Curry has the ball the most but is the point guard. Russell needed the ball in his hands to be most productive. Wiggins can be a catch and shoot or catch and drive guy, which they were missing.

Wiggins needs the ball in his hands to be effective. I have seen every game he has played. He is terrible when he sits in the corner waiting. He disengages. This will ultimately be the challenge for Kerr. Can he keep Andrew engaged so that he can excel without the ball in his hands. His nickname in MN was "Point Wiggins".

Steph and Klay can both play well off the ball. Wiggins will get plenty of opportunities to run the offense as a point forward, and he is also a good cutter, which the Warriors will employ often. His catch and shoot three point percentage is actually much more consistent than his three point shooting overall, so he fits in there too. If there is a good team for Wiggins to flourish with, this is the one.

[Jedzz]

Call me crazy but wiggins needs to do the following to not suck on this team.
2 spot up 3s (6 points)
3 fast break layups (12 points
drive and score twice from warriors natural ball movement (16 points)
on average, 3 low % andrew wiggins points(19 points)

Thats very doable for him. he just needs to hope he can play some kind of defense to stay on the floor and they should be alright.

Sounds right and he is capable of all that. Of course when the other stars are all there he is capable of giving you a 10 pt game too when just sitting in a corner waiting and letting others lead the charge. I expect the Warriors good ball movement to keep him more involved though so that should help. He is capable of doing many things, so with defenses locked in on Steph, Klay, Green, it should be interesting for him or for those star players. He's been a core scorer of 2 players for his career so far. Joining Warriors will be something so new. Being freed from double teams and with the spacing they have he might go off at times.

He's going to have no choice but to defend with more effort there. Hopefully he will learn a lot from that team and gain more confidence in himself when he's forced finally to defend larger players than he's had to. Plus, he probably only has to do all this for a season or two before the Warriors flip him again for someone else.

[hyberx]

So, Steve, Klay is a ball-dominat player, Livingston is a wing and Curry is playing most of the games?
I cannot understand how this franchise won three rings and almost a fourth one when so many people inside or who was inside is dellusional...

Huh?

Klay is not a ball-dominant guard... he is a catch-and-shoot off-ball guard. Livingston is gone. Curry has the ball the most but is the point guard. Russell needed the ball in his hands to be most productive. Wiggins can be a catch and shoot or catch and drive guy, which they were missing.

Wiggins needs the ball in his hands to be effective. I have seen every game he has played. He is terrible when he sits in the corner waiting. He disengages. This will ultimately be the challenge for Kerr. Can he keep Andrew engaged so that he can excel without the ball in his hands. His nickname in MN was "Point Wiggins".

Just watched his first game as a Warriors against the Lakers. Sure it's one game only and lakers was not at the top of their game, but Wiggins did not need the ball in his hand. He played mostly off-ball as Kerr's system wanted him to do. He played some really good defense against both LeBron and AD. Kerr had him guarding LeBron.

That's the difference with Kerr's system comparing to other coaches. When you play off the ball in the Ws lineup, you don't just stand in the corner. Just look at Klay and Curry, they move around picks and get to the other side of the court to get open. You HAVE to engage even if you are playing off the ball.

Wiggins is absolutely capable to be a good D player. He scored 24pts easily without pounding the ball to death like DLo usually does.

And true to his rep, he did have couple occasions that he wasn't paying attention nor tried hard enough. But most of the game he was running at open shooters and challenging shots well. Overall he should have no problem in Kerr's system, unlike DLo, especially when Curry/Klay come back and open up the floor for him and Draymond gets in his ears on D.

[Quentin]

Huh?

Klay is not a ball-dominant guard... he is a catch-and-shoot off-ball guard. Livingston is gone. Curry has the ball the most but is the point guard. Russell needed the ball in his hands to be most productive. Wiggins can be a catch and shoot or catch and drive guy, which they were missing.

Wiggins needs the ball in his hands to be effective. I have seen every game he has played. He is terrible when he sits in the corner waiting. He disengages. This will ultimately be the challenge for Kerr. Can he keep Andrew engaged so that he can excel without the ball in his hands. His nickname in MN was "Point Wiggins".

Just watched his first game as a Warriors against the Lakers. Sure it's one game only and lakers was not at the top of their game, but Wiggins did not need the ball in his hand. He played mostly off-ball as Kerr's system wanted him to do. He played some really good defense against both LeBron and AD. Kerr had him guarding LeBron.

That's the difference with Kerr's system comparing to other coaches. When you play off the ball in the Ws lineup, you don't just stand in the corner. Just look at Klay and Curry, they move around picks and get to the other side of the court to get open. You HAVE to engage even if you are playing off the ball.

Wiggins is absolutely capable to be a good D player. He scored 24pts easily without pounding the ball to death like DLo usually does.

And true to his rep, he did have couple occasions that he wasn't paying attention nor tried hard enough. But most of the game he was running at open shooters and challenging shots well. Overall he should have no problem in Kerr's system, unlike DLo, especially when Curry/Klay come back and open up the floor for him and Draymond gets in his ears on D.

Engaged. Keep an eye on it. Like I've said....wait for it.

[DoItALL9]

Wiggins effort vs potential critiques seem to put him in the same boat as Jeff Green.

I hope he figures it out with GSW.

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