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With the Golden State Warriors going from the top of the NBA food chain, to the bottom of the league after a reset season, we are starting to get some intel on what their prize could be.
The Warriors have a 14% chance to win the Aug. 25 NBA Draft Lottery, and it looks like general manager Bob Myers and his crew seem set on which prospect they will select with the top pick.
The SF Chronicle’s Connor Letourneau says if the Dubs get the No. 1 selection, they will take Georgia guard Anthony Edwards. This doesn’t come as a surprise, since Edwards — who averaged 19.1 points and 5.2 rebounds this season — is widely regarded as the top prospect available in the 2020 NBA Draft.
But, what would happen if Golden State drops in the lottery and picks between two and five? Letourneau says the Warriors have their sights set on the following:
“If Golden State lands anywhere between Nos. 2 and No. 5, it’ll strongly consider Iowa State’s Tyrese Haliburton, Auburn’s Isaac Okoro and Israel’s Deni Avdija, among others.”
It is surprising to not see big men James Wiseman, and Onyeka Okongwu mentioned as potential Dubs’ picks. The team is thin at the 5 spot, with Marquese Chriss and the injury plagued Kevon Looney the only options on the roster as it stands.
Reports are that the Warriors are high on what what Haliburton brings. Okoro will upgrade the Warriors’ defense right away. Some scouts project him to be an Andre Iguodala type player. Here is what The Stepien Report, which might be the most comprehensive independent evaluation service had to say about the 6’6, 215 pound freshman:
“A glue guy on offense ... high IQ ... can finish through contact ... if team can unlock his shooting, his offensive role can expand a bit ”
The Stepien mentions his shooting mechanics, and pick-and-roll defense as areas he needs to improve.
Avdija is playing against men already in Europe. The Israeli forward has good playmaking abilities, and is basketball IQ had been lauded by scouts. The 19-year-old is strong enough that he should be able to hold his own on the defensive end, but his shooting leaves something to be desired, hitting just 28% of his attempts from beyond the arc.
If the reports are true, Myers will likely try and address the center position via a trade. The team still has the $17.2 million trade exception from the Iguodala deal, as well as the Minnesota Timberwolves 2021 top-three-protected pick.
Wiseman and Okongwu have the potential to develop into very good NBA players, but it seems that Warriors management and scouts aren’t that high on the pair.
If the Dubs’ pick falls between Nos. 2 and No. 5, who do you want them to take?
On to some more links:
Just how bad was the D’Angelo Russell experience in the Bay Area? NBC Bay Area’s Josh Schrock wrote a piece detailing how Warriors players were more upset by the team trading away Glenn Robinson III than they were about the Russell deal.
Some more Warriors rumors are out there heading into the offseason. Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox looks into what the team thinks of LaMelo Ball.
With the pandemic pushing the start of the 2020-21 NBA season back, it looks like Klay Thompson won’t play in an NBA game for 18 months. USA Today’s Mark Medina says Myers is unsure if Thompson has fully recovered yet from his torn ACL injury.
What does Myers think of the NBA playoff format? He joined 95.7 The Game and his shared his thoughts on how the league is planning to finish up the 2019-20 season.