Drafting Haliburton would help Warriors win now and later
In order to bounce back from the worst season in two decades and prevent it from happening again, the Warriors need to draft someone who can contribute immediately and can one day blossom into an All-Star.
There are several highupside prospects available in today’s draft, but all have significant holes in their games. Fortunately for the Warriors, they don’t have to pick from that lot. Iowa State guard Tyrese Haliburton, though not the most heralded player in the draft, has the talent and maturity to play meaningful minutes right away for a championship-caliber team, and the work ethic and skill to become one of the league’s premier two-way players.
While James Wiseman, A nthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball are widely considered the consensus top players in this class, Haliburton checks all the boxes of what Golden State is looking for.
“He’s prepared to be a star,” said Haliburton’s trainer Joe Abunassar. “He can win games by scoring zero points, or he can win games by scoring every basket.”
On offense, Haliburton is an efficient shooter and decision-maker. As a sophomore, he averaged 15.2 points, 6.5 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game, making 41.9% of his 3-point attempts. He can help the Warriors offense reclaim dynastic levels of ball movement while helping space the floor around paintdwelling players like Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Marquese Chriss.
On defense, Haliburton’s length at 6-foot- 5 with a 6- foot-7 wingspan gives him the frame to guard multiple positions. Working with Abunassar in Las
Vegas in the months prior to the draft, he’s added muscle and is up to 187 pounds, which should help him defend larger wings.
There, he’s also worked on ball-handling skills that will help him become more of a threat to score off the dribble. Though he may not have elite athleticism like Edwards and Wiseman, he shows a far more sophisticated feel for the game.
Many analysts conflate athleticism with upside but forget about feel. Players with great athleticism fall out of the league every year, but rarely do players with Haliburton’s feel for the game disappoint.
“He commanded the court with his personality, with his ability to be coached, being able to lead his teammates,” Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said last month. “He’s got such a great feel, such a great IQ.”
On the Warriors, Haliburton could come off the bench and fill Shaun Livingston’s old role and run the secondunit offense. (Incidentally, he could learn from Livingston, who was recently hired for a player development role with the Warriors). He could also play alongside Curry and Thompson is smaller lineups.
Drafting Haliburton at No. 2 may be considered a reach, but the Warriors can find an opportunity to trade down and make taking Haliburton more palatable. The Chicago Bulls (at No. 4), Detroit Pistons (at No. 7) and New York Knicks (at No. 8) may be willing partners who can trade front- court help or future draft compensation in exchange for the second overall pick.
However they do it, coming away from draft night with Haliburton would be the best way for Golden State to land a young player who can help Curry, Thompson and Green win now and preserve its winning ways in the future.
SCHEDULE COMES INTO FOCUS >> As the regular season approaches, the Warriors have slightly more clarity as to which teams they will play during the 72- game schedule and additional incentive to earn a higher seed in the playoffs.
Teams will play 42 games within their conference and 30 games out of conference, the NBA announced. The schedule will be released in two parts, the first half in early December, as to account for any scheduling conflicts due to the coronavirus. The one-time structure will include a play-in tournament for the seventh and eighth seeds in the playoffs.
Golden State will play three games against the other four Pacific division teams. The Warriors will also play two home games against each team from one of the other Western Conference divisions, and two road games against the other Western Conference division.
Golden State will also play each Eastern Conference team twice, once at home and once on the road.
The first half of the regular season will span from Dec. 22 to March 4. Any games postponed in the first half of the schedule will be added to the second half of the schedule, which will be released around the time of the revised All- Star break from March 5-10, per the release. The playoffs are set to begin May 22, and conclude July 22.
On Tuesday the NBA approved a play-in tournament for the 2020-21 season, which will take place after the regular season and include teams with the seventh-best record to the 10th-best record in each conference. The seventh and eighth seeds will each have two opportunities to win one game to earn a playoff spot, while teams nine and 10 will each have to win two straight games to make the postseason.