The Warriors opted to make minor tweaks to their roster this summer rather than wholesale changes. That approach puts more pressure on head coach Steve Kerr and his revamped staff, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area, since the team struggled in multiple aspects of the game last season, including “sloppy late-game execution, silly turnovers, curious shot selection and defensive rotations that were too late or entirely missed.”
For his part, Kerr is optimistic that Golden State will improve upon its 37-45 record from 2025/26.
“We’ve studied everything over the offseason, taken a lot of time to watch film and see certain combinations, what we did well, what we didn’t do well,” Kerr told NBC Sports Bay Area. “And I think we have a chance to be much better this year than we were last year. I really believe we’re going to be better, and I think I’ve got to be better.”
Kerr says he’ll collaborate with assistants Bruce “Q” Fraser, Seth Cooper and Nicholas Kerr on the offensive end, while new associate head coach Frank Vogel will handle the defense with input from returning staff members Jacob Rubin and Anthony Vereen, Poole writes.
“Frank’s a great coach,” Kerr told Poole. “He’s been obviously a head coach for many years in the league. He’s a great defensive mind. I’m excited. I think he will be a good voice for our team. He’s a great defensive mind, especially, but he’s someone who I feel very comfortable with right next to me. I’m going to turn the defense over to him.”
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Speaking to Joseph Dycus of Bay Area News Group, Vogel says Kerr initially gauged his interest in joining Golden State’s staff in the 2024 offseason, shortly after Vogel was let go by Phoenix after one season as the Suns’ head coach. Vogel decided to take a consulting job with Dallas at the time, but he stayed on the Warriors’ radar and is excited to join franchise legends Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Kerr, who have won four championships together. “It’s a special opportunity to be a part of this legacy that they’ve had,” Vogel said, “And we’ll see if we can squeeze some magic out of these last however many years that they’re together.”
Vogel, 53, also talked to Dycus about Green’s defensive impact and how difficult it is to gameplan against Curry, among other topics. Vogel has been impressed with Yaxel Lendeborg’s unselfishness — the former Michigan star was selected 11th overall in June’s draft. “There’s very little forcing of offense in Yaxel’s game, you know, and that’s something that you dream of as a coach,” Vogel said. “You want players that are going to play the right way each time down. He does it naturally.”
Kerr recently suggested Green’s offensive role will look a little different in 2026/27. The former Defensive Player of the Year said on his podcast (YouTube link) that he welcomes the opportunity to shoot more three-pointers, per Dylan Grausz of NBC Sports Bay Area. “As far as shooting threes, for the first time in my career, Coach Kerr told me towards the end of last year, he pulled me to the side and he’s like, ‘Draymond, I want you shooting the three.’ And I was like, ‘Oh s—.’ It was like an out of body experience, because I had never really heard him like confidently look me in my eye and say to me, ‘Yo, I want you shooting the basketball,” Green said. “… When he told me, the confidence level rose immediately. That was great for me, and now being able to go into the season with that mindset of like, I catch, I’m open, I’m firing. For me, ultimately, it’s going to help my shooting percentages, because it’s a lot different shooting the three when you catch and you’re not sure if you should shoot the three, or when you catch and you’re looking for the next action because that’s kind of your role in the offense. It’s a lot different shooting that three, because then it’s no longer a rhythm three.”