Kurtenbach

then their $2 million purchase of the No. 41 pick in the second round, used to select Toledo point guard Ryan Rollins — was a reminder that this ownership is not in it to make a big profit, they're in it to win now and in the future. Whatever that costs will be paid. I don't expect Baldwin to have much of a role with the Warriors this upcoming season, and that's what's most telling about this pick.

He's a project. A worthy project, but a project nevertheless.

So we'll see him — probably in the same way we saw Moses Moody last season, which is to say playing time will be sporadic.

In the meantime, the Dubs will play him his rookie salary — and

then they'll pay the rest of the NBA roughly six dollars on every dollar they pay Baldwin.

The Warriors' luxury tax situation is so significant — there is a circumstance where the Dubs should have a payroll of more than $400 million this upcoming season, should key players be re-signed — that there was significant speculation around the league that Golden State would simply punt their firstround pick this season to save cash.

With Jonathan Kuminga, Moody and James Wiseman, the Warriors have enough young players, as is, right?

The alternative is that they could have used that late first-round pick on a win-now option — a player with a high floor but perhaps not much upside potential.

Instead, the Warriors will pay more than $10 million in total next year just for the right to start playing

the long game with Baldwin, who could have been a top-10 (if not top-five) pick if he was in last year's draft, but who saw his stock plummet after playing an injury-plagued season for his dad at Milwaukee.

Baldwin has an incredible combination of size and a jumper that gives Klay Thompson's a run for prettiest on the Dubs. If that translates in a serious way to the NBA level, that's the kind of player that could perfectly round out this team's young, up-and-coming future core. That's a player who could be a star.

Of course, he's the No. 28 pick and he certainly lacks NBA-level athleticism, making him a question on defense and as a shot-creator, too.

This is a big bet.

But it could pay off huge. That's the way we do things in the Bay.