Bright spots have been hard to come by for the Golden State Warriors (13-14) in 2025-26.
However, their No. 56 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft Will Richard bursting onto the scene as one of the most NBA-ready rookies to begin the new campaign could certainly be labeled as one.
With that being said, Golden State's legendary head coach Steve Kerr recently opted to remove the 22-year-old guard from his rotation for their past two contests against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Portland Trail Blazers (both losses), a head-scratching move for a franchise in dire need of youthful, but experienced bench options.
According to Mercury News' Joseph Dycus, Kerr's decision had more to do with the return of a few key veterans than any concerns regarding Richard's production.
"The great thing with Will is he gets it," Kerr shared with Dycus on Wednesday.
"I went to him last week, told him, I'm going to take him out of the rotation because we're getting healthy, and I want to play my vets and give everybody you know a look."
Kerr went on to explain that Richard took the news from a positive angle, yet another showing of the first-year shooting guard's maturity.
Through his first 23 appearances for the Warriors this season, Richard has contributed 8.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 steals while knocking down 39.7% of his looks from three-point range and boasting an excellent 1.1 defensive box plus-minus.
Richard began to earn plenty of favor from Kerr and the rest of Golden State's coaching staff after a fantastic opening to his debut season, but it appears as though the franchise will begin to prioritize veteran guards like De'Anthony Melton and possibly the quickly developing Pat Spencer instead.
At the end of the day, Kerr's decisions will be geared towards providing as much help as possible for the Warriors' 37-year-old superstar Stephen Curry, as the 4-time NBA champion has remained in MVP shape despite the team's mediocre start.
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