Steve Kerr Makes Key Rotation Decision to Give Warriors Offense More Dynamism

Brandon Williams has had the inside track to the backup point guard role since being signed by the Golden State Warriors in late August.

But the fact that he got a non-guaranteed contract left open the idea that the role could go to someone else and that he could even be cut.

On Monday, Steve Kerr left no doubt about Williams' status this season.

"He is the backup point guard," Kerr told reporters.

Williams signed a one-year, $2.6 million deal, with $1.4 million of it becoming guaranteed on opening night.

Kerr Explains the Key for Williams This Season

Kerr said that Williams' ball security will have a big impact on how much he plays this season.

"The good news is, he can things that most people can't. His explosiveness in transition, his speed in transition, he can get us a lot of easy hoops. But's he got to recognize, he is the backup point guard. He is the ball-handler coming off the bench, and there's a lot of responsibility that comes in that role, and a big part of that responsibility is ball security."

In four preseason games, Williams has averaged 14.3 points on a blistering 61.8 percent from the field. But on the downside, he's had 14 turnovers to just nine assists in 57 minutes.

Kerr went to say that Williams is the most explosive player the Warriors have had since Leandro Barbosa "in terms of just pure speed and the ability to get past people."

Barbosa fit well in Kerr's offense as part of Warriors teams that won a title in 2014-15 and got to the Finals in 2015-16.

But Barbosa was a shooting guard who made 38.7 percent of his career threes. Williams has made 28.0 percent of his career threes, which could make it more difficult for him to thrive in Kerr's offense.

But to this point in the preseason, as I detailed here, Williams has not had any issue from a scoring perspective in the half-court offense.

What Rotation Decision Means for Other Warriors Guards

Williams projects to play the minutes that Stephen Curry is on the bench. That could mean anywhere from 12 minutes to 19 minutes if the game is competitive.

It's likely that Williams will play a few minutes with Curry as well, depending on matchups, how Williams has looked in that game, etc.

So it feels like he'll be settling to a role in the high teens in minutes.

That shouldn't have a major impact on the minutes of Brandin Podziemski and De'Anthony Melton. If anything, you can expect Podz's minutes per game to go up slightly from 28.5, and Melton could easily end up a bit higher than 23.0.

Part of the reason Williams won't eat into their time much is the Warriors figure to play more three-guard lineups this year until Jimmy Butler and/or Moses Moody return.

Williams' role will eat into the opportunities for the deeper guard reserves like Will Richard and LJ Cryer.

Even with some three-guard lineups coming, there are only so many minutes to go around with Curry, Podz, Melton and Williams holding consistent roles.

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