Golden State Warriors: How Will Kevin Durant Be Utilized?

The Golden State Warriors are oozing with talent after siging Kevin Durant, but how will they fit him into their schemes on both ends of the court?

The Golden State Warriors won the offseason when they landed Kevin Durant, the crown jewel of the free agent class.

Durant joins an already loaded Warriors squad with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green that were a few plays short of being back-to-back NBA Champions.

With Durant in the fold, the Warriors look even more formidable. They were forced to part with some key pieces such as Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, and Leandro Barbosa, but it was a price worth paying to land a player that is the caliber of Durant.

But, the question remains; how will Durant fit in?

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This isn’t a MyGM Mode in NBA 2K where you can just put the best players on the court and dominate.

While the Warriors will undoubtedly win some games based on talent alone, if they are going to get to the NBA Finals for the third season in a row and win for the second time in three years, they will need to put their egos to the side and come together as a cohesive unit.

That job will fall upon head coach Steve Kerr and his staff, and they cannot wait to get their hands on Durant and fit him into their schemes. Assistant coach Ron Adams is chomping at the bit to get going.

What he is most excited about may surprise some people. Durant is one of the most gifted offensive players in the NBA, but what Adams is looking forward to is deploying Durant defensively.

"“Ron can’t wait,” Leah Adams, wife of assistant coach Adams, told Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com, “to integrate Kevin into that defense.”"

This is a reunion for the Adamses and Durant, as Ron was on the Oklahoma City coaching staff from 2008-10, the second and third years Durant was in the NBA.

Just as Adams did with the Oklahoma City Thunder, he helps out on the defensive end of the court with the Warriors. To say that he is excited to have Durant to use defensively would be an understatement.

"“His versatility is outstanding,” Ron Adams says of Durant. “He’s a terrific defender, who played with great defensive consistency in our playoff series. We will expect a lot out of him in that regard.”"

Durant should fit in seamlessly with the schemes that Adams developed. The Warriors like to switch on defense, doing it on an NBA-high 24 percent of screens.

It is something that the Warriors could do even more often with Durant, as he is superior to Barnes in defensive metrics on switches.

Standing close to 7-feet tall with a wingspan of 7-feet-5 inches, Durant can be used in a multitude of ways defensively. Adams believes he can defend all over the court.

"“He can, if necessary, guard all five positions – and do it effectively.”"

Golden State saw it first hand, as Durant spent time banging with Green in some lineups or chasing around perimeter guys in others.

Kerr gave some insight to the versatility that he has, speaking about his ability to defend the rim even though he does not look like a prototypical rim protector.

"“He’s a really good rim protector, in a non-traditional way,” Kerr says. “When he played the ‘four’ against us in the playoffs, he was brilliant. He blocked some shots and he scored a bunch of times. So he’ll play a lot of ‘four’ for us, for sure.”"

While the coaching staff is excited about what Durant will bring defensively, offensively is where he makes his biggest impact. Adams believes that Durant will also blossom on the offensive side of the ball, where the Warriors will give him a chance to run the show as a playmaker.

"“I personally think he will really blossom here as a playmaker,” Adams says of Durant, who finished behind only LeBron James for assists among small forwards. “He can play the point; he played point a lot for Oklahoma City over the years. He likes involving his teammates.“I don’t know how you rank him in the pantheon of current players,” Adams adds. “But no matter how you do it, he’s certainly in the top three in the world.”"

Wherever you rank Durant personally, there is little debate that he is one of the best players not only in the NBA, but in the world. He was already exceptional with the Thunder, but the Warriors have plans to get his game to the next level.

The Warriors are giving Durant what he wants; a chance to be more involved as a playmaker in their free-flowing offense. The sky seems to be the limit for what they can do, as Durant gives them yet another weapon at their disposal on both ends of the court.

Expectations will be extremely high for Durant and Golden State, as it is championship or bust. While it will take some time for the pieces to gel together, the coaching staff is already actively looking for ways to make the transition for Durant a seamless one.

Next: Golden State Warriors 2016 Offseason Grades

The Warriors will be a must-watch team throughout the season, as it will be interesting to see how they fit Durant into their already developed nucleus.

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