Decisions, decisions
Bay Area teams all face critical choices for future
Maybe this is a bad year to be making momentous decisions with longterm ramifications, but the Warriors, 49ers, Giants and A’s have no choice.
They all face decisions that will impact their teams for years. If the Warriors, say, get a bad haircut Wednesday and whiff on their No. 2 overall draft pick, they will be wearing hats for the next decade to cover the damage.
It’s kind of weird that all four of the teams face crisis points at the same time, but their horoscopes don’t lie, and all have the same reading: Time to summon all your luck and knowledge. Your future hangs in the balance.
Warriors
All that’s at stake here is a dynasty. Make a great decision with their No. 2 overall pick and the dynasty continues, starting immediately.
Such an opportunity! Teams only one season removed from an NBA Finals appearance don’t usually get that type of pick. The last time the Warriors picked in the top three was 2002 ( Mike Dunleavy), and this pick is their highest since 1995 ( Joe Smith at No. 1). Both of those players arrived at bad teams. This year’s pick, assuming the Warriors keep it, comes to a great team, ready to roll.
There’s no free lunch in this draft. No Zion Williamson. The fellows at the top of the Warriors’ draft board ( we’re guessing) could contribute to the fun right away, but that’s no sure thing. The Warriors’ last firstround pick to make a significant early impact was Harrison Barnes in 2012. Hey, is he available?
This is truly a mystery draft. The Warriors are said to like Georgia guard Anthony Edwards, who is somewhere between 6foot3 or
pects to have worked out 10 prospects — the maximum allowed under NBA rules.
The problem for the Warriors is that, unlike in past years when Golden State hosted dozens of potential secondround picks for workouts and interviews, it has been limited mainly to video calls with players it could consider taking with its Nos. 48 and 51 selections. With only a few roster spots available, Myers said, “Maybe we don’t draft two guys in the second round. Maybe we stash one ( overseas) or sign one to a twoway ( contract). We haven’t figured that out.”
Such uncertainty remains one of the Warriors’ lone constants. Though Golden State has a general idea of whom it likes in the draft, it is still ironing out its big board and reaching out to prospects.
Reports have linked the Warriors to almost every player being mentioned as a potential top10 pick. Projecting what Golden State will do is particularly difficult because it is open to trading the No. 2 selection, but it likely won’t have a good sense of possible deals until just before it goes on the clock.
“I think the concrete ( trade talk) comes next week,” said Myers, who hasn’t drafted earlier than No. 28 since 2012. “A team might be calling and have a completely different idea of the value of the pick than we do, and it’s up to them to make a proposal.
“We could certainly do that, too. But at this point in time, it’s all talking around the issue, and that’s usually how it goes until it gets closer.”
What is known is that the Warriors are focused on taking someone who can help them longterm. In a draft devoid of a generational prospect such as Tim Duncan or Zion Williamson, Golden State doesn’t expect to select a player who can log major playoff minutes as a rookie.
The Warriors hope the prospect they take can shoulder leadership responsibilities by the time Stephen Curry ( age 32), Draymond Green ( 30) and Klay Thompson ( 30) near retirement. This would help Golden State follow the Spurs’ blueprint for sustained success, a goal that Myers and majority owner Joe Lacob have long made a priority.
In addition to preparing for the draft, Myers has begun mapping out a plan for free agency and the trade market. Odds are that the Warriors will use their full $ 5.7 million midlevel exception to sign a rotationcaliber player. Golden State also has a $ 17.2 million trade exception expected to expire around Thanksgiving, which would allow it to take on more salary in a deal than it unloads.
San Antonio’s Rudy Gay, Phoenix’s Ricky Rubio and Milwaukee’s Eric Bledsoe, among others, have been mentioned as possibilities with the trade exception. Though the bulk of the reporting on that topic has centered on the Warriors pursuing an elder statesman, Myers is also open to other scenarios.
“It may be a situation where it would be predicated on another team saying, ‘ We don’t want to take on that money to make this deal work, but we want to do the deal, so would you take this third player?’ ” Myers said. “It may be a situation where we’re incentivized to take a player into it. … It’s very, very fluid.”
Preparing for such possibilities amounts to enough late nights and early mornings to warrant Myers’ “work bender” label. In coming weeks, he will try to draft a future face of the franchise, round out the Warriors’ center rotation, bolster their perimeter defense, bring in a secondary ballhandler and shore up their wing depth — all while navigating a pandemic.
At least Myers can stick in San Francisco for a while once he’s done visiting prospects.
“Things are more challenging this year,” Myers said, “but you do what you can with it and do your best.”
“I think the concrete ( trade talk) comes next week. ... At this point in time, it’s all talking around the issue, and that’s usually how it goes until it gets closer.” Bob Myers, Warriors general manager