Warriors must adjust style following departure of Klay Thompson

Klay Thompson is heading to the Dallas Mavericks. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Golden State Warriors agreed to a three-team sign-and-trade deal on Monday. Josh Green will head to the Charlotte Hornets as part of the deal.

Without Thompson, Steve Kerr must adjust Golden State's style of play. Thompson was an enormous part of the Warriors' pace-and-space offense. Without him, teams can load up on Steph Curry and take away his shooting space. Kerr doesn't have another elite perimeter threat who can also put the ball on the floor to replicate the spacing Thompson's presence provided. 

Curry will face more defensive pressure than usual in Golden State's current system. Kerr may need to adopt more pick-and-roll to counteract the lack of perimeter shooting on the roster. 

The Warriors' addition of De'Anthony Melton projects as a change in direction. Melton is an elite on-ball defender who can also pressure the rim. He hit 36 percent of his three-point jumpers last season. Golden State's defense was a legitimate issue last season, and Melton should help plug that gap. 

Nevertheless, Golden State is likely to lean into its younger talent pool. Jonathan Kuminga's athleticism and rim pressure make him an exciting prospect to assume a bigger role. Brandin Podziemski's all-around game projects him as a high-level glue guy. Moses Moody can be a scoring spark off the bench. The problem is, none of them are legitimate floor spacers, at least not to the same level as Thompson. 

Kerr has rarely had to implement a new system with the Warriors. His core trio has excelled in a particular brand of basketball. However, some tweaks must be made if Golden State wants to compete next season. It's a different style of roster with various skill sets. 

Fortunately, Kerr is a serial winner in the NBA. He knows what needs to be done and will likely mix things up.