With the NBA Draft Lottery set for Thursday evening, the Golden State Warriors and the rest of the teams in the draft lottery will find out their fate as the final order for the 2020 NBA Draft will be set. It may be the last time the Warriors find themselves at the top spot or it may officially start the ticking of a clock that unofficially began counting down in March.
CBS Sports’ final pre-lottery mock draft from Kyle Boone uses the order of the team’s heading into the draft lottery, an order that is unlikely to be the final order after Thursday night.
For perhaps the last time, Boone slots Ball into the top spot to the Golden State Warriors.
“Sure, Golden State has Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. But that’s exactly why a pick like LaMelo Ball makes sense. Because the Warriors already have a championship contender in place, Ball, the most electric and decisive playmaker in this draft class, can perhaps give this franchise a solid building block for the future in a post-Curry Warriors era. Even if he doesn’t fit perfectly now, the long-term star potential he carries is worth the gamble that he can one day be Curry’s successor.”
As intriguing as Ball to the Warriors is on many levels, no report out of Golden State has indicated the team has an interest in draft Ball. In fact, most reports suggest they value Anthony Edwards or a trade over selecting Ball.
While there is value long-term in drafting Ball to be the guard of the future, the Warriors likely aren’t prioritizing the future over their championship window, if it still exists.
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