Warriors master art of finding gems
Warriors director of player personnel Larry Harris was scouting Keifer Sykes, a highscoring point guard for Wisconsin-Green Bay, when he jotted down a note: “Alfonzo McKinnie has a chance down the road.”
It was winter 2014, and McKinnie — a part-time starter for the Phoenix just beginning to find his rhythm after getting his right meniscus removed — was far from an NBA prospect. But Harris was captivated by his athleticism. If McKinnie could become a three-point shooter and wing defender, Harris recalled telling himself, he had a shot at the NBA.
“I give him all the credit in the world,” Harris said of McKinnie, whose emergence with Golden State has been one of the most surprising developments in the NBA this season. “When I saw him in college, he was more of an interior player. Now, he can guard multiple positions and knock down the open three. He turned himself into that.”
Set to go deeper into the luxury tax as it tries to keep its core together, Golden State must hit
on minimum-contract signings to round out its roster. McKinnie and Jonas Jerebko — two such additions from this past offseason — offer case studies in how the Warriors’ scouting department has come to master the art of unearthing hidden gems.
Like Quinn Cook, Marreese Speights and Leandro Barbosa before them, McKinnie and Jerebko were budget acquisitions whose abilities exceeded their market value. Now, with the Warriors tied with Toronto for the league’s best record at 10-1, McKinnie and Jerebko are Golden State’s two most productive bench players.
“I think our front office has demonstrated for years how capable they are,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “Whether it’s through the draft or free agency, they’ve always done a great job putting together this roster. This year was no exception. ’Zo has been fantastic, and Jonas has really fit in well.”
Golden State has two college scouts (LaMont Peterson and Reggie Rankin), two pro scouts (Nick U’Ren and Mike Dunleavy Jr.) and one international scout (Kosta Jankov) who work closely with Harris, general manager Bob Myers, assistant general manager Kirk Lacob, director of basketball operations Jonnie West and Kent Lacob — general manager of the G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors — to identify players.
When evaluating a potential role player, they look to see whether he has a go-to skill that could translate into Golden State’s system. Kevon Looney, for example, is an elite rebounder. Cook is a world-class threepoint shooter, and Damian Jones provides a lob threat. Rookie Jacob Evans can defend four positions.
Such abilities mean little, however, if the player doesn’t have a solid basketball IQ. To thrive in the Warriors’ offense, one must know how to move off the ball, read situations and adapt on the fly.
It is also important to be a locker-room fit. If a bench player can’t jibe with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant or Draymond Green, he risks hurting Golden State’s muchprized ethos.
“It’s really valuable to us to be able to evaluate relationships at the college and pro level,” Harris said. “We really have some good scouts who are as good as any from an intel standpoint. They’ve got good relationships, which is very important to be able to get honest answers.”
While at Wisconsin-Green Bay to scout Sykes four years ago, Harris peppered coaches with questions about McKinnie. The response was unanimous: McKinnie was a humble, diligent worker who was intent on carving out a long-term professional career.
In fall 2016, when McKinnie (6-foot-8) was playing for the Windy City Bulls of the NBA Development League (now G League), he resurfaced on Golden State’s radar. By that point, he was a far cry from the rail-thin post player Harris had watched in the Horizon League. Kent Lacob’s staff saw in McKinnie someone well-suited for the modern NBA’s versatile, smallball lineups.
At an upscale restaurant in Chicago, shortly after McKinnie was waived by Toronto in July, Lacob offered him a trainingcamp invite with the Warriors. Lacob’s pitch was succinct: Kerr would give McKinnie a chance in the preseason, but he might be competing for only a two-way contract, meaning most of his time would be spent in the G League. McKinnie, who already had two-way-contract offers from multiple teams, accepted.
“I mean, it’s Golden State,” McKinnie, who signed a twoyear minimum contract with the Warriors last month, said after scoring 14 points in Monday night’s win over Memphis. “That’s the perks of it. Just being in this organization, with the things they’ve accomplished the past few years. I mean, why wouldn’t you want to be in that atmosphere?”
Therein lies one of Golden State’s biggest advantages: Though it often can’t offer as lucrative of contracts as other teams, it is enough of a destination that many players are willing to sacrifice money or even playing time.
In early July, less than two hours after the Jazz waived him, Jerebko got a call from Myers, who was interested in signing him to a one-year, veteran-minimum deal. After a season spent largely parked along the perimeter for Utah, Jerebko was intrigued by the prospect of playing a more versatile role for the league’s best team.
What he didn’t know was that the Warriors had identified him months earlier as someone they wanted if he became available. Though he won’t make any All-Star teams, Jerebko — an eight-year NBA veteran — has the feel for the game and the three-point shooting that Golden State wants off the bench.
“You’re not going to find someone who checks every single box,” Harris said. “But when you’re talking about bringing in someone on a minimum deal, you want someone you know can fill a specific role. Alfonzo and Jonas have been that and more.”