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Arizona guard Nico Mannion entered the NBA draft projected to be an early second-round pick but the 19-year-old falling to the Golden State Warriors with the 48th overall pick likely would have been hard to envision happening on Wednesday.
The Warriors nabbing him that late firmly has Mannion as a potential steal candidate since some believe he can potentially become a regular contributor next season. The pick earned the stamp of approval from Hall of Famer, and Warriors legend, Chris Mullin, according to Drew Shiller of NBC Sports Bay Area.
I was impressed with him. Ball-handling, toughness, driving to the basket. His shot selection (is important). He took some contested shots. He’s a much better shooter than his numbers show. Tough kid, athletic … I’ve seen some clips of him in the gym. If you have talent and you work hard, you’ll get better. All indications are that’s what he’s all about. He’s a gym rat. I think he’ll be able to play some backup minutes. I really do. I think it’s a great pick.
Mannion earned Second Team All-Pac 12 honors last season after averaging 14 points, 5.3 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals. He also posted the second-best assist percentage (31.5) among all high-major freshmen. His stock took a bit of a hit after an inconsistent showing in conference play but he could have a bright future with further development.
Mannion falling that low was perhaps one of the biggest surprises of the second round but if he can play backup minutes, the Warriors may have found something with him. The value of second-round contracts is significantly lower than first-rounders and that could help the Warriors immensely in cap space.
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