Kerr's two-word message to Dubs youngsters in Dray-JP aftermath originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Training camp is a busy time for any NBA player, but the Warriors’ group of youngsters have had quite the interesting week with all of the commotion surrounding their team.
Aside from answering questions about the altercation between their teammates Draymond Green and Jordan Poole, Golden State’s young players have been responsible for improving their game and showing they belong.
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But their coach Steve Kerr wants them to know the outside noise is not typical.
“I just told them that this is not normal,” Kerr said Monday regarding his message to the young Warriors.
On a team anchored by veterans like Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala, there also are six players 21 years old or younger on the Warriors’ training-camp roster: Patrick Baldwin Jr. (19), Jonathan Kuminga (20), Moses Moody (20), Lester Quiñones Jr. (21), Ryan Rollins (20) and James Wiseman (21).
While Wiseman has been around since the Warriors selected him No. 2 overall in the 2020 draft, he approaches the start of his first full NBA season with the Green-Poole punch dominating the conversation around his team.
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Moody and Kuminga certainly know this isn’t the way things always are, having helped Golden State secure its fourth championship in eight seasons during their 2021-22 rookie seasons.
But Baldwin, Quiñones and Rollins? This is their first taste of professional basketball after joining the Warriors this year -- Quiñones signed a two-way contract with the team this summer out of college, while the others were selected by Golden State in the 2022 NBA Draft.
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And as they entered the league, they surely know dust-ups and scuffles on the NBA practice court are common. Pushes and shoves aren’t unheard of, but a punch to the face? Kerr made sure the young athletes on his team don’t come to expect such turbulence as an everyday occurrence.
“That’s all I needed to say,” Kerr said.
