PORTLAND – Steve Kerr hopes his first Golden State Warriors starting lineup is his last starting lineup.

Speaking Wednesday before the Warriors opened their season against the Trail Blazers, Golden State’s head coach announced his starters: Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis.

The unit for the Warriors combines size and athleticism, theoretically maximizing their defensive potential – so long as it plays with pace amidst its lack of shooting relative to other combinations.

“Obviously very athletic group,” Kerr said, referencing its collective size around Curry: Wiggins and Kuminga are 6-foot-7 wings guarding at the point of attack, Green is 6-6 roving in help at power forward and Jackson-Davis is 6-9 at center as Golden State’s best rim protector.

The unit started last Tuesday in a preseason victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Las Vegas. A variation that included De’Anthony Melton in Curry’s place started the preseason finale Friday against the Lakers at Chase Center.

“I hope this group starts all year. That would be the hope. We’ll start this way and we’ll go from there,” Kerr added.

Warriors want Jonathan Kuminga to run like Usain Bolt, make strides on defense

Consequently, guards Melton, Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield and Gary Payton II, swingman Moses Moody, forward Kyle Anderson and center Kevon Looney were available as reserves in the opener. Kerr said Monday swingman Lindy Waters III and forward Gui Santos won’t be in his 10-man rotation to begin the season.

“The bench has been phenomenal in the preseason, almost regardless of who we’ve played because we’ve got so many guys who were worthy of playing,” Kerr said. “I’m excited to bring those guys off the bench. We’re going to play a lot of people and try to play fast. We’ll see if we can put together really good two-way combinations and go from there.”

Starting where it began: The Warriors started their 2024-25 season where their head coach’s playing career began.

Kerr made his NBA debut against the Trail Blazers in Portland on Dec. 17, 1988, making his only shot, a corner 3-pointer, in the fourth quarter of a 115-97 loss. As a second-round pick in 1988, Kerr didn’t play in Phoenix’s first 20 games behind second-year point guard Kevin Johnson, who averaged 20.4 points and 12.2 assists en route to Most Improved Player and All-NBA second team honors in 1988-89.

“Cut it to 30,” Kerr joked in recollection. “I thought we were going to carry the momentum forward.”

Kerr played 26 games during his rookie season, finishing his career in 2003 after 910.

Santa Cruz Warriors add Knox: The Santa Cruz Warriors acquired Kevin Knox on Wednesday in a three-team trade with the Rip City Remix and Westchester Knicks that sent wing Donovan Williams to New York’s G League affiliate, wing Hyunjung Lee, a 2025 first-round pick and a 2025 second-round pick to Portland’s and the seventh-year combo forward with forward Aaron Wheeler to Golden State’s.

Knox, 25 and the No. 9 pick (New York Knicks) in the 2018 draft, played in Summer League with Golden State, for which he participated in training camp.

In 306 games with the Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons and Portland Trail Blazers, he’s averaged 7.4 points and 2.9 rebounds, shooting 39.2% from the field and 34.1% from 3-point range.