Warriors’ New Backup Point Guard Gets Assurance From Steve Kerr

Not many fans paid attention when the Golden State Warriors signed point guard Brandon Williams back in August, but head coach Steve Kerr said on Monday that Williams is now the team's backup point guard, so the second unit has its lead guard with one exhibition game left before the season starts.

Williams played last season with the Dallas Mavericks and then signed a one-year deal with Golden State.

San Francisco Chronicle reporter Luca Evans noted that the deal is non-guaranteed and that Williams is set to receive $1.4 million on opening night, though Evans also wrote that it is pretty clear Williams has made the roster.

Kerr told reporters this is a great step for the 26-year-old, who is still looking for a lasting place in the league, and then he spelled out what the job will ask of him.

"He is the ballhandler 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."

Kerr also went out of his way to praise Williams for his speed, calling him the most explosive player the team has had in a long time at getting past defenders, and he thinks Williams has the talent to last 10 or 12 years in the NBA if he keeps making better decisions.

Saturday's game against the Sacramento Kings had a little of everything from him.

He scored 19 points on 7-for-8 shooting in under 17 minutes, but he also turned it over five times and had just one assist, and the whole team gave the ball away 23 times that night, which is why Kerr said the sloppy possessions in the win were the first thing his group had to clean up.

Williams looked a lot calmer in Tuesday's 101-89 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Las Vegas, where he scored six points on 2-for-8 shooting and turned it over only once in a little more than 15 minutes.

The Warriors need their healthy guards to be steady right now, with forward Jimmy Butler still working back from a torn right ACL and guard Moses Moody listed out with a left patellar tendon injury.

Guard Stephen Curry is 38 years old, and every steady stretch Williams gives them is a few more minutes Curry gets to save for the spring.

Williams averaged 13.0 points and 1.9 turnovers in 22.2 minutes a game for Dallas last season, so the scoring is already there, and Kerr just wants the ball security to catch up to it.

Golden State finishes the preseason on Friday against the Portland Trail Blazers at Chase Center, the same team that beat the Warriors earlier this month, and the regular season starts on Oct. 21 against the Lakers.

I like the way Kerr handled this, because he gave Williams something solid to stand on while telling him exactly what could take it away, and if Williams plays more like the one-turnover night in Las Vegas than the five-turnover night against Sacramento, I expect him to keep this job all season.