Warriors ditch championship expectations in favor of process

SAN FRANCISCO — There were two things Steve Kerr omitted from his usual preseason address to the Golden State Warriors to set the tone for the season ahead.For one, there will be no more special treatment for Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.“Our team was built in such a way that I literally told everybody, all of you guys have to take care of the ball, they’re allowed to turn it over six times,” Kerr said.“We’ve got to tighten things up.”The crackdown on playing cleaner, crisper basketball is part of a broader makeover that was desperately needed after finishing fourth from the bottom in giveaways last season. It’s also part of what Kerr described as a way to “reimagine” Warriors basketball heading into his 14th season with an aging roster that’s been lapped by teams both younger and better.That goes as far as their own expectations for this season and however many Curry has left with Golden State after taking a discount to sign a two-year extension.For the first time in a while, the Warriors didn’t spend media day talking about championships.The word of the day was “process.”“Last year I think I told the team in our first meeting, ‘we’re trying to win the championship,’” Kerr said.

“What’s our goal? They all said, ‘championship.’ I think I even told them, we want a home court advantage in the playoffs.”This season, after contemplating walking away, “I am 100% locked in on the process on how we’re teaching every single day,” Kerr continued.“I firmly believe that if we do that from the beginning without even mentioning anything about expectations, then we’re going to have a good season, and that’s how I’m approaching things.”After watching Giannis Antetokounmpo take his talents to South Beach, losing out on Kawhi Leonard to Toronto and getting snubbed by LeBron James for the 76ers, maybe the Warriors are just being realistic.

According to DraftKings, there are 14 teams with better NBA title odds.They...