Warriors players talk Kaepernick protest at media day

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It's almost hoops time. The Golden State Warriors will soon be back out on hardwood with the Dubs first pre-season game just a week away.

The team held a media day at the Warriors practice facility Monday as they prep for the upcoming season.

Besides Q&A sessions with the media, the players were busy posing for videos and photos for Warriors promotional materials.

An estimated 200 members of the news media attended the Warriors media day at their practice facility in Oakland, roughly a 25 percent jump over last season. Most came to see the newest member of the team Kevin Durant, as well as the two-time reigning MVP Stephen Curry.

Durant and Curry posed for pictures together and answered questions separately at the podium for about 15 minutes.

It didn't take long for questions about Colin Kaepernick and his protest of racial inequality to arise.

Coach Kerr is not officially addressing the media Monday, but when asked about media day he told KTVU's Mike Mibach, "It's fine, it's a necessity. Obviously we're doing a lot of stuff today that's going to be used throughout the season in the arena, on the broadcast - so it's just something we kind of have to do, so we do it."

He said the addition of Kevin Durant to the team isn't a distraction, "I mean - if it is, I'll take that any day. I mean Kevin is one of the best players in the league. So we are excited to have him here obviously and we're prepared to deal with the media onslaught that is obviously coming."

Last year Coach Kerr missed the beginning of the season because of health issues. He told KTVU he's fine and should be ready to go for the first big game of the season. 

Many of the players were also asked about Colin Kaepernick's protest.

Klay Thompson said, "What Col is doing is amazing because he's backing up what he's representing. He's not just going out there and seeking the spotlight and doing it for attention. He's really trying to make a change. And it's very honorable. There's a lot of guys out there who might just do it because a lot of people are doing it but Colin is actually out there - he's really tying to make a change and use the platform to better our society and there's a lot of honor in that. This is a great country but obviously there's a lot of things going on right now that are very disheartening." Thompson said after playing with Team USA and being around the military, he thinks that means a lot as well. He said he's not sure what he will do but he enjoys standing for the flag because "I know there's a lot of opportunity in this country."

Steph Curry also responded to the question saying he respects what Kaepernick is doing, and the message that he's fighting for, "and I hope all the spotlight is on that particular message and the things we can do to make changes." He talked about how it was tough to see the protest turn violent in Charlotte. "People can use their voice and they should do that but violence is never going to solve anything."

Mobile app users can watch Thompson's interview here. 

Mobile app users can watch Steph Curry's interview here. 

Meanwhile Draymond Green spoke about how he's grown up ahead of this season after he was arrested for assault over the summer.  He also made controversial headlines when he says he accidentally sent a graphic crotch shot on his Snapchat account. He says he's moving forward. 

Mobile app users can watch Green's interview here.