How Warriors will approach Klay Thompson’s workload for 2022-23 NBA season

The Warriors are taking a cautious approach with Klay Thompson, who will be playing his first full NBA season since returning from ACL and Achilles tendon injuries in January.

As a result, coach Steve Kerr wants to ease the 32-year-old into his minutes rather than throwing the Warriors star right into the fire ahead of opening night against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday at Chase Center.

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Thompson will see some action in Golden State's final preseason game against the Denver Nuggets on Friday at Chase Center in one last tune-up before the 2022-23 NBA season gets underway.

"I think he'll probably, I'm guessing; I haven't talked to Rick [Celebrini] yet, but 15-18 minutes tomorrow, probably not much more than that," Kerr told reporters Thursday.

"So because of his delayed start to camp in terms of contact, he's going to take a little while longer than the other guys to get up to the usual minutes."

Steve Kerr explains that "the dream" for the second unit is to play well enough to give the vets extra rest this season pic.twitter.com/oFsJd4qb3m
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 13, 2022

While the Warriors figure out a way to handle Thompson's minutes, Kerr added that his optimal scenario for the team this season would be to have a secondary unit that takes playing time from the veterans, allowing them to rest.

"I mean, that's kind of the dream that's what you really want is to have a potent second unit that can not only just hold the line, but can do some real damage and create separation," Kerr added. "When that happens, and you're able to extend that run a little bit longer, it also might mean that by the fourth quarter, you've got a comfortable lead, and you don't have to ask for those extra four or five minutes from the starter.