The Golden State Warriors have a bevy of options with their lottery pick in this year’s draft, and one of them could be their big man of the future.
The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie released his latest mock draft Tuesday, and the Warriors picked at No. 5 in this one. According to Tankathon, the Warriors, which have the NBA’s worst record, cannot pick lower than fifth overall.
Vecenie mocked USC big man Onyeka Okongwu to Golden State, and the simulation had the Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, Charlotte Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers drafting ahead of the Warriors. The 2020 NBA draft is scheduled for Oct. 16.
USC big man Onyeka Okongwu had another monster performance with 27 points and 12 boards against Washington State. Future top-5 pick❓ pic.twitter.com/pUYuUYgXfl
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) January 3, 2020
Okongwu is one of the top big men in this draft, and his interior game is NBA-friendly. He positions himself well down low for easy buckets, and he is a stellar roll man in the pick-and-roll. Okongwu was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team, and he was on the All-Pac-12 first team.
He scored 16.2 points per game, grabbed 8.6 rebounds a game and swatted 2.7 blocks a game in his lone season with the Trojans.
Okongwu would fit in Golden State’s offense because of his athleticism around the rim, but Marquese Chriss already fits that archetype. He had his best season during the 2019-20 campaign, and he showed he could be a valuable player for Golden State.
Chriss scored a career-high 9.3 points per game on a career-best 54.5% shooting this season, along with grabbing a career-high 6.2 rebounds.
The Warriors will have a decision to make as to whether they’ll trade or keep their pick. If they fall out of the top three, another team could see value within the top five and want to trade up.
Golden State still has a good opportunity to be a contender for the next few years, with Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson boasting a championship pedigree. Still, choosing to place value on the future in this year’s draft could help the Warriors maintain long term.
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