With no pick, Warriors may pay to get a player

As the latter stages of the 2016 NBA draft’s first round unfolded last June, the Warriors’ scouts, front-office executives and coaches debated whether to take Vanderbilt center Damian Jones or UNLV guard Patrick McCaw with their only pick.

Golden State selected Jones, a 7-foot project, 30th overall to add depth to a lean frontcourt. After the first several picks of the second round passed without McCaw’s name being called,

general manager Bob Myers bought the rights to Milwaukee’s No. 38 pick for $2.4 million. McCaw, watching the draft with family and friends at his favorite Italian restaurant in St. Louis, soon learned that the Warriors wanted to sign him to a guaranteed twoyear deal.

“They hit a home run with Patrick,” Golden State head coach Steve Kerr said recently of McCaw, who was a key rotation player in his rookie season with the NBA champions.

Now, as they prepare for Thursday’s draft, the Warriors are eyeing another secondround steal. Without a pick, Golden State must trade for — or, again, buy — one. The Warriors would prefer to purchase the necessary pick if one of their favorite prospects slides on draft night.

Because it hasn’t sent or received any money in transactions this season, Golden State has the full $3.6 million allocated under NBA rules to spend. On a big white board in the Warriors’ headquarters is a list of prospects. The team has placed a red “B” next to the names of the players it is willing to buy a pick to select.

Which prospects have that distinction is unclear. Because the Warriors will probably dip into the luxury tax this summer to re-sign Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston, they want to add a low-cost rookie they can develop into a contributor long-term. Myers is focused on bringing in the best player available, not necessarily filling a positional need.

“You look at our cap coming up over the next few years, and it would be really helpful for us to have some young guys on rookie contracts,” Kerr said. “But if there’s nobody there that excites them, it may not make much sense. It just depends on the board and who’s there.”

Over the past four weeks, Golden State has brought in 18 players for workouts. The three groups of six — filled mostly with fringe draft prospects — didn’t include everyone the Warriors are targeting. Many players projected to go late in the first round or early in the second weren’t willing to fly to Oakland to work out for a team without a pick.

Still, a couple of Golden State’s attendees might make sense.

Iowa State point guard Monte Morris is a skilled facilitator who played four seasons with the Cyclones. Nevada power forward Cameron Oliver is a raw athlete in the mold of Jones. Given time to mature in the Warriors’ system, he could blossom into a difference-maker in a few years.

“When we drafted McCaw, we didn’t know what he would give us,” Myers said. “Who’s the best player at the number we’re looking at? That’s basically how we’ll approach this year.”

The draft is an inexact science. For every McCaw, Draymond Green (No. 35 pick, 2012) and Monta Ellis (No. 40, 2005) Golden State has taken in the second round, there have been players like Ognjen Kuzmic (No. 52, 2012), Richard Hendrix (No. 49, 2008) and Jermareo Davidson (No. 36, 2007) who spent much of their careers toiling in basketball’s hinterlands.

Unlike last year, when a draft widely known to have underwhelming first-round talent produced such secondround gems as McCaw, Malcolm Brogdon (No. 36, Milwaukee) and Paul Zipser (No. 48, Chicago), the 2017 crop is considered top-heavy. Though the lottery picks will be riddled with potential All-Stars, the second round hardly seems exceptional.

“I think when you get outside the lottery, it’s actually kind of like a normal draft or maybe even a weak draft,” said Aran Smith, founder of NBADraft.net. “The Internet has built it up as one of the greatest drafts, but I don’t think you’re going to see the depth we saw last year.”

The Warriors, fresh off their second NBA title in three years, have the luxury of not depending on their draft-night success. Regardless of whether Golden State selects anyone Thursday, it has dynastic potential.

“You look at our cap coming up over the next few years, and it would be really helpful for us to have some young guys on rookie contracts.” Steve Kerr, Warriors’ head coach