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While the Golden State Warriors are making moves to stay at the top of their league, the Santa Cruz Warriors are making moves to get there. Santa Cruz - Golden State’s G-League affiliate - has executed a trade to net them the top overall pick in Saturday’s 2018 G-League Draft.
Source: @GLeagueWarriors have traded for the #1 overall pick in Saturday’s draft from the @slcstars
— Adam Johnson (@AdamJ_NBAGL) October 18, 2018
SCW receive: #1 overall pick, Aaron Craft’s returning rights
SLC receive: #18 overall pick, returning rights to Lamar Patterson & Winston Shepard
With the first pick, the Warriors will get the first crack at the available talent, and the chance to find a diamond in the rough.
The G-League draft is lacking in top-level talent, as it’s limited to players who are not under any form of NBA contract. That means that neither two-way nor Exhibit 10 contracts can be selected in the draft.
Still, there are always compelling players available, who could be close to putting things together - just ask Philadelphia 76ers starter Robert Covington, who was the top pick in the then-D League draft in 2014.
That said, Santa Cruz drafting a player doesn’t mean Golden State has the player’s rights. It just means that they’re in the Warriors organization, so the team will get the most hands-on experience of what the player brings to the table.
But since the Warriors franchise has dominated the NBA, why not try and dominate the G-League, too?