The Golden State Warriors have made their lack of desire to draft LaMelo Ball well known in the months leading up to and including the lockdown period. Despite general manager Bob Myers going on a fact-finding trip to Australia regarding Ball and the franchise most likely to be at the top of the draft, nearly every indication has been that the team is more interested in other top prospects in either Anthony Edwards or James Wiseman.
But the Warriors’ apparent disdain for Ball as a No. 1 pick goes even further than that. According to Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Warriors don’t even have Ball as the top point guard on their big board.
“I’ve been told that (Haliburton) has emerged as the No. 1 point guard on the Warriors’ board — yes, above LaMelo Ball and Killian Hayes. If Golden State lands anywhere between No. 2 and No. 5, it will seriously consider Haliburton, who played two seasons at Iowa State.”
Haliburton is an interesting prospect that compared himself to Lonzo Ball in the pre-draft process. By most, he’s considered a prospect in the second or third tier. DraftExpress’ most recent mock draft in early April had Haliburton going ninth to the Washington Wizards.
It would certainly be an interesting call to have Haliburton ranked higher than Ball. Instead of picking Haliburton over Ball, it would likely make more sense for the Warriors to attempt to trade back, particularly if the Knicks are as interested in acquiring Ball as they have been reported to be.
Still, it’s yet another sign that the Warriors aren’t interested in making Ball the third member of the Splash Bros for next season.