Warriors will draft at No. 2, their highest pick since 1995
The Warriors will have the No. 2 pick in the Oct. 16 NBA draft, providing them with their highest draft pick since 1995 and the means to add an exciting player with the talent to blossom into the team’s next star.
After a season derailed by injuries, the Warriors aim to return to the playoffs next season after posting a league-worst 15-50 record last season. Drafting a player who can contribute immediately, but who still has the upside to develop into a future All-Star, is a priority.
Despite having the league’s worst record, the Warriors actually had a better chance entering Thursday’s lottery to land the No. 5 pick (47.9% chance) than they did the No. 1 (14%) or No. 2 pick (12.7%).
“Steph Curry delivered as usual,” Warriors general manager Bob Myers said, crediting Curry as the team’s representative for the lottery telecast. “It was about as good as you can get.”
Golden State will draft after Minnesota at No. 1, followed by Charlotte at No. 3, Chicago at No. 4 and Cleveland at No. 5.
Unlike the other teams at the top of the draft, Golden State has a playoff-caliber roster with Klay Thompson (ACL surgery), Curry (broken hand) and Kevon Looney (neuropathy, abdominal strain) all set to return from injuries that sidelined them for all or most of last season.
The Warriors need to draft a young player who can fit alongside their core trio of Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green, but league sources say the top priority is drafting the best player available, regardless of position, who can develop into the next face of the franchise.
Myers said Thursday that Curry, Thompson and Green will have a say in the pick.
“When guys win three championships for you, they deserve that,” he said.
Golden State has spent the months since the NBA season was postponed in mid-March scouting this draft’s top prospects, which include Georgia’s Anthony Edwards, former Memphis center James Wiseman and LaMelo Ball, who played for the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League.
Analysts largely consider this a weak draft class but, according to a league source, the Warriors view it as “good” but not “great” because there is no sure-thing like Zion Williamson, the Pelicans star selected No. 1 last year.
According to a league source, the Warriors have narrowed their draft board to roughly 10 prospects, some of whom they believe are capable of making multiple All-Star games.
Meanwhile, some have speculated that they could trade the pick for an immediate contributor.
“A lot of people are talking about trades,” Myers said. “The first thing we have to do is rank our board.”
Because of the cancellation of May’s draft combine in Chicago, the Warriors and other teams have yet to gather key information such as health records or thoroughly evaluate prospects beyond game film.
But sources told ESPN that the NBA is developing plans for a virtual draft combine to be held at regional sites throughout September that would include team doctors administering physicals, the recording of body measurements and putting players through physical testing at team facilities.
While the virtual combine may not necessarily include the draft’s top prospects, it does provide vital information for teams making important draft decisions.
“You don’t hire someone over a Zoom interview and pay them $30-$40 million,” Myers said. “Ideally, you don’t do that.”
The Warriors have seen most of the top prospects play in person, but have been limited to interviewing them on video calls since the college basketball season was canceled in March. According to a league source, they have already interviewed several of those prospects, and expect to complete interviews in the coming weeks now that the draft order is set.
In a few weeks the Warriors will begin voluntary workouts at Chase Center. With the NBA allowing teams not invited to the season restart in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, to hold voluntary workouts from Sept. 14 through Oct. 6, the Warriors could have a chance to evaluate the on-court fit between Curry, Thompson, Green and Andrew Wiggins, who was acquired from Minnesota before February’s deadline but has yet to play alongside those three.