Casual basketball fans might expect the Golden State Warriors to add a top recruit like James Wiseman or LaMelo Ball in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Despite the fact that their poor record will give them a solid chance at their pick of the litter, per team insider Connor Letourneau, the front office is not “infatuated” with any of the projected top picks in the 2020 NBA Draft.
This makes some sense considering the personnel they already have with superstars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. As such, the Warriors will have a different approach to this draft class than just selecting the best player available.
Letourneau, however, specifically mentioned one prospect that may be a good fit in Golden State (via SF Chronicle):
“One player who could intrigue Golden State is Dayton forward Obi Toppin, who, like Murray State’s Ja Morant last year, has used a torrid start to his sophomore season to emerge as a potential top-5 pick. At 6-foot-9, 220 pounds, Toppin is a strong, versatile big man who can hit open jumpers, throw down highlight-worthy dunks, defend multiple positions and dive for loose balls.”
Toppin is 6-foot-9 but has spent 70 percent of his minutes at center over the last five games. He looks the part of a natural four who could play at the big for small-ball lineups that the Warriors have made infamous.
Diving in a bit and it seems Golden State has done their early due diligence scouting Dayton; they have already visited their practices twice this season.
🚨 🚨 🚨 For the second time, the @warriors came by practice!
Thanks for coming in! 🤜 💥 🤛 #DoneAtDayton #JoinTheFight pic.twitter.com/XoFvm6WmiQ
— Dayton Basketball (@DaytonMBB) October 23, 2019
They were undoubtedly there to get a closer look at Toppin, who currently ranks Top 10 in Player of the Year ratings for both KenPom and BartTorvik.
Based on his play this year, he might not even be a reach assuming Golden State picks in the first half of the lottery. Recent mock drafts and big boards from NBADraft.Net (No. 4), CBS Sports (No. 5), 247 Sports (No. 5), Yahoo (No. 7), Rookie Wire (No. 8), Forbes (No. 9), The Athletic (No. 10) and even ESPN (No. 12) are all high on him.
It goes to reason as Toppin is averaging 1.19 points per possession this season, per Synergy, which ranks in the 97th percentile among all college basketball players.
He currently leads all players in the NCAA with 36 dunks this year and has connected on 11-of-12 (91.2 percent) putback attempts. This was recently displayed by the insane offensive rebound-turned-slam towards the end of regulation against Colorado.
He is also shooting 59-of-71 (83.1 percent) within four feet of the rim. That ranks No. 1 overall among all 141 players who have had at least 40 attempts in this zone.
But the 6-foot-9 prospect spreads the floor well, too, and has connected on 42.9 percent of his three-pointers during his two NCAA seasons thus far.
Shortly after the dunk against Colorado mentioned above, Toppin hit a clutch three-pointer as time expired to send the game into overtime.
His team simply players better when Tippin is on the floor considering that the big man currently ranks Top 10 among all underclassmen in Box Plus-Minus.
After the Maui Invitational Tournament, former NBA agent Matt Babcock spoke glowingly about Toppin (via Babcock Hoops):
“At 6-foot-9 with good length, possessing elite athleticism, Toppin not only has prototypical physical attributes, he has the skill set to match, as he does about everything you’d want from a modern day power forward. On the offensive end, he is a threat to score on the low block, and around the rim, he is a good shooter from outside, he runs the floor and is a high flyer — pick your poison. Defensively, he is able to utilize his athleticism and physical tools to defend multiple positions, grab rebounds, and protect the rim. To go along with these terrific skills, he has a high motor, an infectious presence on the floor, but almost as important as anything, he has a high basketball IQ — he doesn’t make many mistakes and plays within himself.”
The biggest concern for scouts might be that after redshirting, Toppin is already 21 years old. But for a win-now team like the Warriors, that is far from a problem and closer to a lovable attribute. Unlike other franchises selecting in the lottery, they need someone who can help right away and he can do that at the Chase Center.
For #warriors, this season is all about finding an impact player in draft. Obi Toppin putting on a show for Dayton in #MauiInvitational
— Larry Beil (@LarryBeilABC7) November 25, 2019
Another reason why he would fit for Golden State’s system is that they are not a team that calls many pick-and-roll sets for the roller. When looking at the regular season and playoffs last season, they finished just 3.5 percent of their offensive sets this way — last among all teams in the NBA.
Pick-and-roll has been the one and only area where Toppin has struggled in 2019-20, which would hurt his draft stock for virtually any other franchise looking to select someone who plays in the frontcourt. But for a team that does not make this a priority, his biggest weakness would not be exposed in a way that is too problematic.
Even with all this in mind, it would be foolish to think that the Warriors will select Toppin at No. 1 overall if that is where the lottery puts them. But if that is the player they want, which makes all the sense in the world, they could trade down and secure his rights and even get another asset in the process.
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