The coronavirus may have prevented teams from doing the usual type of draft prep, but the Golden State Warriors front office is spending more time than ever as a group preparing for it, owner Joe Lacob told The Athletic.
Added importance to a draft is not unexpected when a team goes from a perennial powerhouse to the top of the lottery.
“We’ve never spent more time as a group on the draft as we have this year,” Lacob told Tim Kawakami on the TK Show podcast.
The Warriors, with the worst record in the league, will have one of the best picks in the draft.
That alone makes getting this pick right more important than when they’re at the bottom of the first round, but this draft is different than most recently.
Over the past several years, the top couple choices were obvious: Zion Williamson was clearly the No. 1 in 2019 and Ja Morant as No. 2. The year before, Luka Doncic and Deandre Ayton were widely considered the top two prospects. In 2017, the Philadelphia 76ers traded up to No. 1 to draft Markelle Fultz, and it was seen as a generally smart move at the time.
But the 2020 draft doesn’t yet have a consensus No. 1 pick. The last time there was this much uncertainty about the No. 1 pick was 2013 when the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Anthony Bennett.
Golden State isn’t looking for a project player. With stars Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green on closing windows, they need a player that can contribute immediately.
Lacob was asked by Kawakami if there are guys they’ve seen who can make an impact next year.
“I think there are some players that are more ready than others, obviously, whether they’ve played maybe more than one year in college, some haven’t even done that that will be in the draft,” Lacob said.
It’s not clear how much the Warriors will weigh college experience, NBA readiness and future potential.
Prospects widely considered potential top-five picks can be split into three groups: those with less than one year of college experience, those with at least one year, and those who did not go to college.
- Less than one year: Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman, Isaac Okoro, Onyeka Okongwu
- More than one year: Obi Toppin, Tyrese Haliburton
- No college: LaMelo Ball, Deni Avidja, Killian Hayes
“I think that there are some out there that could be a little more helpful,” Lacob said. “Whether they are the right guys to fit into our longterm plan is something we’ll have to evaluate.”
That evaluation process is going to be different than usual. With no March Madness, there’s not as much footage to go through.
Without being allowed to meet prospects at this time, it’s tougher for teams to get to know and work out the players.
The draft might not even take place on its regularly-scheduled date. Many NBA teams reportedly are hoping to push the draft pack to at least August.
“We have a lot of time to do it. We don’t even know when the draft is going to be, that’s still up in the air a little bit,” Lacob said. “We’ve got no excuse in terms of not having enough time.”
In general, much like the rest of the world inside the basketball community and out: The Warriors aren’t sure what to do at this point in time.
“We’re going to look at drafting someone at our position. We’re going to look at, maybe we trade down, that’s a possibility, I’m not saying it’s preferred or not preferred,” Lacob said.
“We’re going to look at all options and we’re going to figure out a way to have our team be the best possible team that it could be for this year but still with an eye toward building for the future.”
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