Warriors need to be realistic and do this with their draft picks
In NBA fantasy land — aka the offseason — anything goes.
And in this fantasy land, the Warriors (and Draymond Green) want to trade their picks (Nos. 7 and 14) in the NBA Draft in exchange for a younger player who is capable of starting — or at least closing — for them in 2021-22.
Of course they want that. I, for instance, want to drink beer all the time and never gain weight, all while being a scratch golfer.
It’s not going to happen, though.
And the same goes for the suggestions of trading for Damian Lillard or Ben Simmons or any of the countless other Allstar names tied to Golden State.
It’s not going down, no matter how many times you see it posted online.
After a half-decade of surrendering the league’s narrative to Twitter and state-run media cries of “chaos” and “this league!”, the plot has been lost. The offseason conversation and what passes as news — or even rumor — is loonier than the latest Space Jam (and far funnier, too.)
The Warriors, despite their decline over the last two seasons, remain at the center of it all.
Now, there is validity to the argument that the Warriors have a strong trade package in such hypothetical deals, but at the moment they remain works of fan fiction unlikely to ever cross over in the realm of reality.
No, the far and away most likely scenario is that the Warriors not only use pick No. 7 but also pick No. 14 in the 2021 NBA Draft on July 29.
Warriors fans need to embrace that possibility — that reality — now, because while it’s not ideal for a team that wants to win a title this upcoming season, it might be the most prudent thing for the organization to do long-term.
Regardless of what else they do this offseason, it’s fair to say that the Warriors should never be drafting in the lottery again. That’s the standard for great organizations, so it needs to be the standard in San Francisco.
That means that, if all goes according to plan, picks Nos. 7 and 14 will be the last picks the Warriors make that high for the foreseeable future.
So the Warriors need to swing for the fences with those picks. The only question in the draft room should be, “Who has the biggest upside?”
Bust potential? Don’t worry about it. Just find premium players — preferably at the premium position, wing — with notquite-premium picks.
The Warriors want to be the second coming of the San Antonio Spurs, using strong coaching, player development, and a keen eye for talent to create a winning machine.
These draft picks are their chance to prove that they’re up to the task.
Such players will probably not help the Warriors this upcoming season, but remember, this team is fine. Before the Bucks won the title on Tuesday night, most sportsbooks had the Warriors with shorter odds to win next year’s title than Milwaukee. It’s less than 10to-1 in some places. This is before the draft and free agency. If Golden State grabs a few of the guys they want in just the latter — a big wing who can knock down a 3, a center, and perhaps even a backup point guard — they should be a legitimate title contender next year in a Western Conference that is not nearly as daunting as in years past.
And success breeds more success (and ringchasing veterans). If the Warriors play this offseason right, they won’t need the players they select next Thursday to seriously contribute for another couple of years.
What the Warriors can’t do is try to have their cake and eat it too. Not again. They need to learn their lesson from last season.
The Warriors tried to thread the needle when they selected James Wiseman. They wanted future upside with immediate contributions. The latter didn’t happen for any serious stretch of time and the former is debatable.
There’s no such thing as a sure thing in the draft, either. Especially not where the Warriors are selecting.
The Warriors need to lean into that — embrace the game of chance and go for the players with the highest ceiling and not worry about the floor.
It would be, simultaneously, a bet on this revamped coaching staff and a hedge for the future. It’s a play for the future that could pay out 10fold.
But it’s a risky game, too.
Do the Warriors have it in them to play it?