SB Nation NBA Blogger Mock Draft: Why Ty Jerome is a fit for the Warriors

Earlier this year, Charlie Stanton laid out the argument in favor of the Golden State Warriors drafting 6-foot-5 Virginia junior Ty Jerome with their draft pick because of his defense, shooting and basketball IQ.

With the Warriors having lost both Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson to severe injuries during the 2019 NBA Finals, the demand for a shooter became even more dire.

As has been well-documented elsewhere, Durant and Thompson can be expected to miss most of the 2019-20 NBA season if not the whole thing — in the meantime, the Warriors will have to find a way to put a roster around stars Steph Curry, Draymond Green and a bench rotation that was the subject of intense scrutiny throughout the 2019 NBA Playoffs. Although it’s feasible to make various lineups work on a roster of five all-stars, the lack of reliable shooters of the bench is far more glaring when you take away Durant and Thompson.

With that in mind, it made quite a bit of sense to select Jerome with the 28th pick in SB Nation’s 2019 NBA Blogger Draft, which you can see the results of at Ridiculous Upside.

Why Jerome fits

Back in February, Charlie wrote that Jerome, “...boasts NBA range and a quick release that will translate to the NBA. This season, Jerome is shooting 41.3% from beyond the arc.”

Jerome actually finished ACC conference play shooting about 43% from the 3-point line, according to Sports-Reference, and coasted to 39.9% shooting for the season. Yet it might be noteworthy that he remained consistent over the final three months through UVA’s tournament run: Jerome shot a healthy 39% over the last three months of the season, which isn’t bad considering the Cavaliers’ championship run. Additionally, his free throw rate and assist percentage went up in his senior year went down while his turnover rate went down, suggesting improved ball handling and decision making with the ball given his higher usage.

Who else might be around at the 28th pick?

You can read more about the logic of selecting Jerome by checking out Charlie’s piece from February or the blurb at Ridiculous Upside, but you might be curious about who else might be on the board at 28.

The following is just a quick list of players we also considered, which we might dig into a bit more as the draft approaches:

Dylan Windler, G/F (6’8”, Belmont)

Carsen Edwards, G (6’1”, Purdue)

Daniel Gafford, F (6’11”, Arkansas)

Admiral Schofield, G/F (6’6”, Tennessee)

Who do you think the Warriors should target with the 28th pick? Share your thoughts on Jerome or any other prospect in the comments below!