The Athletic’s latest mock draft came with a twist: Analyst Sam Vecenie used Tankathon for a draft lottery, and then made selections based on that order.
The Golden State Warriors, after falling to the No. 5 spot despite having the worst record in the league, drafted Dayton forward/center Obi Toppin in the first round.
They took Oregon point guard Payton Pritchard and Mississippi State center Reggie Perry in the second round.
All three players Golden State picked in this mock draft won at least a share of their conference’s player of the year award, and two of them are finalists for Naismith Player of the Year.
Obi Toppin
Toppin averaged 20 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists with 1.2 blocks and one steal per game to lead Dayton to a 29-2 record, the best in program history.
He shot above 63% from the floor and shot 39% from 3, though it’s worth noting he only attempted 2.6 shots from deep per game.
Toppin was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and is a Naismith finalist.
Vecenie wrote:
His versatility on offense opened up everything for Dayton. His ability to run any action — from a fake dribble handoff into a dribble drive himself, or a short-roll into a pass, or things as simple as a pick-and-pop or a pick-and-roll — opened up everything for what finished as the No. 2 offense in all of college basketball this past season.
And while he’s not an elite defender, he’s good enough and helped Dayton maintain a top-40 defense this year.
The reason such a player is not in Vecenie’s top four is because of question marks about his positioning in the NBA. At 6-foot-9, it’s unclear how well Toppin would be able to play the five when needed.
Golden State is used to such lineups. Additionally, the team would like to compete for another title and Toppin is a player who can play immediately. He’s not a project.
Vecenie did say he expects the Warriors to “potentially” trade the pick, but Toppin “best fits” the team.
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Payton Pritchard
With the No. 48 pick, the Warriors selected another Naismith Player of the Year finalist in Pritchard.
The 22-year-old point guard was named Pac-12 Player of the Year over a handful of names that went above him in this mock draft. In fact, six Pac-12 players were selected in the first round, the highest of which was USC freshman center Onyeka Okongwu at No. 6.
Pritchard led the Pac-12 with 20.5 points and 5.5 assists. He shot 46.5% from the field and 41.5% from deep. His 2.8 made 3-pointers per game was the most in the conference.
But despite his leap as a senior, Pritchard is projected by many to be a backup point guard in the NBA. All six Pac-12 players taken in the first round were freshmen, giving a greater potential for untapped upside.
Vecenie writes,
He’s a terrific pull-up shooter, good distributor and has more shake and wiggle in his game than he gets credit for off the bounce. I think he has a real shot to stick as a backup point guard, as long as he can continue to get enough penetration into the paint.
Pritchard, at 6-foot-2, would fight for the second point guard spot behind Steph Curry if drafted by Golden State.
Reggie Perry
At No. 54, the Warriors got another player who was productive and won a conference award.
Reggie Perry was named the AP’s Co-SEC Player of the Year after averaging 17.4 points and 10.1 rebounds, 3.1 of which were offensive, per game this season, and shot 54% from 2.
He was named MVP of the 2019 U19 World Cup over summer.
From Vecenie:
So why isn’t he higher? There’s a real translation question here for NBA teams. He’s kind of a tweener. A bit too small to be a true center due to his lack of length, and not quite mobile enough on defense against 4s.
At 6-foot-10, the sophomore needs to gain quickness, strength or both to make up for that lack of length.
With Perry production he showed in college, though, Vecenie thinks a smart team could take a chance on him late in the draft and see dividends.
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