Kerr Is Leaning Toward Draymond at Center — Porziņģis' Absence Forces the Call
GOATIFYSteve Kerr is preparing to open the 2026-27 NBA season with Draymond Green at center, a rookie in the frontcourt and no traditional big man in his preferred starting five. The Golden State Warriors coach said on October 12 that he is leaning toward Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos, Yaxel Lendeborg and Green when the regular season begins against the Los Angeles Lakers on October 21. That is not yet a formal opening-night announcement, but it is the clearest indication of how Golden State plans to manage a roster still waiting for answers about Kristaps Porziņģis.
The intriguing part is that Kerr's solution has already shown a pulse. Golden State beat Sacramento 111-106 on October 10 with that group starting, and Lendeborg delivered 23 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. The lineup offers pace, cutting and multiple passers. It also asks a 36-year-old Green to spend long stretches wrestling with bigger centers. Whether the experiment becomes a lasting identity or merely a bridge until Porziņģis returns is one of the Warriors' first major questions.
Kerr's preferred five trades traditional size for five connected decision-makers
At first glance, the proposed starters look undersized. Green would anchor the middle, Santos would defend bigger wings, and Lendeborg would take the other frontcourt assignment. The attraction is not a five-man shooting contest. It is the ability to make the defense move before Curry even comes off a screen. Green can initiate from the top of the floor, Santos can pass or cut from the wing, and Lendeborg has shown he can catch, turn and attack rather than wait for a play to be called for him.
That matters because the most valuable Warriors possessions often start with a defender making a difficult choice away from the ball. When Green handles near the elbow, opponents must decide whether to stay attached to Curry, help on a cutter or protect the rim. Adding another frontcourt player who can pass and finish makes those decisions less comfortable. Podziemski's instincts as a rebounder and secondary creator give the lineup another way to keep a possession alive when the first action fails.
Kerr has emphasized that the group has only played a limited sample of minutes together. The Sacramento result is encouraging, but it does not prove the lineup can survive a month of opponents specifically preparing to attack its size. A team with a powerful post scorer could force Green into early foul trouble or pull Santos into matchups that reduce his usefulness as a helper. Defensive rebounding will be another test: smaller groups can contest the first shot beautifully and still lose the possession on the glass.
The advantage is that Golden State would not have to wait for a conventional center to unlock its best passing combinations. Curry's gravity creates the initial stress; Green and the forwards can turn that stress into back cuts and quick finishes. That is a credible way to manufacture efficient offense without overwhelming isolation talent. It is also a plan that asks everyone to recognize openings at game speed. If the rookie hesitates or the ball sticks, the size deficit remains while the offensive benefit disappears.
Calling this lineup small ball therefore misses half the point. It is a wager that collective processing speed can outweigh the disadvantages of a smaller center, at least against certain opponents. Kerr is not claiming the experiment is finished. He is signaling that the Warriors have seen enough to make it their first option.
Lendeborg and Santos have made the emergency plan look like a real choice
Golden State's most persuasive argument for the new group came against Sacramento. Lendeborg scored 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting, pulled down 10 rebounds and supplied six assists in roughly 24 minutes. He did not build that line by waiting in the corner for open threes. He scored on cuts, used his body to get downhill and made quick decisions when Green or Curry shifted the defense. It was preseason, against an opponent still testing combinations, but the variety of the production is what makes it interesting.
The rookie is 24, older than a typical first-year lottery pick, and his unusually long college path has left him with more experience reading games than many players entering the league. That does not erase the defensive learning curve. He will still have to master rotations, recognize when to switch and avoid mistakes that veteran offenses punish immediately. Yet his 6-foot-9 frame and willingness to initiate plays give Golden State a different frontcourt profile from a specialist who can only shoot or only defend.
Santos supplies the less glamorous half of the case. He scored 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting against the Kings and grabbed six rebounds. His movement without the ball fits naturally alongside Curry and Green, and his ability to guard wings allows Kerr to keep a credible defender on the perimeter while Green handles the center assignment. Five turnovers in that same game underline the risk: connective basketball only works if its connectors protect the ball. Against aggressive regular-season defenses, loose handles and rushed passes will be punished.
Podziemski adds another layer. Fresh from a reported five-year, $110 million extension, he scored 14 points and collected seven rebounds against Sacramento, according to the official box score. The Warriors are investing in him as more than a spot-up guard, and a lineup with several willing passers gives him space to attack a rotating defense rather than create every advantage himself. But the contract does not make him an automatic solution to every perimeter mismatch. His defensive assignments and shot selection still matter.
The preseason numbers should be treated as evidence of possibilities, not projections of regular-season averages. The important development is that Kerr can now describe the smaller unit as a positive basketball idea rather than an emergency response. Lendeborg and Santos have earned that conversation. The next challenge is repeating their reads when opponents take away the easy first option and the game becomes less forgiving.
Porziņģis' uncertain availability turns an experiment into a necessity
The unanswered question is not whether Golden State likes its smaller group. It is how many nights the Warriors may need it. Porziņģis has been away from the team with a health issue, and the club has not provided a firm timetable for his return. Kerr said the 7-foot-2 center was expected at Chase Center on Tuesday, October 13, to meet with director of performance Rick Celebrini and the medical staff. That visit is an opportunity to gather information, not evidence that a return date has already been decided.
It is important not to turn an incomplete medical update into a diagnosis. The public information establishes uncertainty and a planned assessment. It does not establish the severity, precise cause or duration of the current issue. Kerr has avoided offering a definitive forecast, and Golden State must build its early rotation around the players it can actually use. The coach's preference for Green at center reflects that practical reality.
A healthy Porziņģis would change the geometry at both ends. His height and outside shooting can create space without forcing Green to absorb every center matchup, while his ability to contest shots offers a different defensive look. Those benefits are theoretical until he is cleared to play, and even then the staff would need to manage his minutes and integration. Golden State cannot assume a full-strength version will be available on opening night simply because the player is returning to meet with doctors.
There is also a roster-building consequence. The Warriors retained Porziņģis after acquiring him from Atlanta earlier in 2026, betting that his combination of shooting and size could help extend Curry's competitive window. When he is unavailable, the team loses the very kind of traditional center who could make its small-ball minutes a strategic changeup rather than the foundation of the rotation. That does not invalidate the original idea, but it makes the margin for error narrower.
The fairest assessment is conditional. If Porziņģis returns in good health, Kerr gains flexibility to mix large and small lineups based on matchups. If his absence continues, the smaller starters must carry a much heavier workload, and the reserves must hold up against opposing size. Until the medical staff offers clarity, every projected rotation is provisional.
Horford's 20-minute limit makes the center rotation a nightly calculation
Kerr's decision is also shaped by Al Horford, not just Porziņģis. The coach indicated that Golden State wants to keep the 40-year-old veteran near 20 minutes per game. Starting him would complicate the substitution pattern and make it harder to ensure that either Horford or Green is available to organize the defense. Bringing Horford off the bench can preserve that coverage without requiring both veterans to spend their best minutes together.
That is a sensible principle, but it leaves a real arithmetic problem. An NBA game contains 48 center minutes. If Horford plays about 20, the remaining 28 cannot simply be assigned to Green every night without considering foul trouble, rest, matchups and the other responsibilities Green carries. Some lineups will need Charles Bassey, whose size and rebounding offer a more conventional alternative, or rookie Graham Ike. Neither should be treated as a plug-and-play replacement for a healthy Porziņģis. Bassey still has to demonstrate how comfortably he fits next to Green on offense, and Ike is at the beginning of his NBA development.
Opponents will influence the answer. Against a smaller, perimeter-heavy team, Green at the five may be Golden State's best option for long stretches. Against a club that can repeatedly establish deep post position, Kerr may need Horford or Bassey earlier than planned. The closing lineup could be different again: Curry's offensive value may favor maximum spacing, but protecting a late lead can demand a stronger rebounding unit. A fixed starting five does not mean a fixed closing five.
The Lakers game on October 21 will offer the first meaningful regular-season test, while Tuesday's preseason meeting in Las Vegas and the remaining exhibition schedule can provide more information about combinations. Kerr also plans to increase Curry's workload after keeping his minutes limited earlier in preseason. Horford, meanwhile, is expected to miss the Vegas trip as part of his veteran maintenance schedule. Those decisions underline how much of Golden State's opening plan is about managing bodies as carefully as designing plays.
There is a broader competitive clock here. Curry is entering his 18th season, and the Warriors do not have unlimited time to wait for every young player to develop. They need immediate production from Lendeborg, steadiness from Podziemski and Santos, and enough defensive organization to avoid asking Curry to win shootouts every night. Small ball can be a weapon, but only if the center rotation behind it is sustainable. The first month will show whether Kerr has found a workable balance or whether Golden State needs more conventional size sooner than expected.
Kerr's likely opening lineup is both an adaptation to Porziņģis' uncertain status and a vote of confidence in what Lendeborg and Santos have shown. Green at center gives Golden State an experienced organizer, Curry supplies the gravity, and the younger players can turn the space into movement. The Sacramento preseason win offers a promising glimpse, not a guarantee.
The larger answer will come from three developments: what the medical staff learns about Porziņģis, how reliably the smaller frontcourt rebounds and defends, and whether Horford's limited minutes can be managed without overloading Green. If those pieces hold together, the Warriors may discover a useful identity before their tallest option returns. If they do not, the absence of a traditional starting center will become impossible to disguise once the regular season begins.
