The one consistency from the Golden State Warriors in regard to the 2020 NBA Draft has been their insistence on the top of the draft being weak relative to recent years. Multiple reports focused on multiple aspects of the draft centered around the Warriors have made that clear.
Given the fact the Warriors are odds-on favorites to secure the top draft pick, it’s a unique stance from the franchise. In most cases, to maintain leverage in potential trade discussions, teams will take a stance of building up the draft in hopes of teams looking to trade with them.
But Steve Kerr’s latest comments to The Mercury News furthered the Warriors stance.
“You just try to picture these players in the modern NBA and with our team. And that’s the trick, is to figure out which guys would make the biggest impact on our team and what we need.”
…
“It’s tricky because on the one hand you want to just take the best player. On the other hand, most drafts these days … it seems like the best player is not obvious.”
Given the Warriors lack of holes when fully healthy – something they haven’t been this season – the idea of taking the best player available makes sense and it’s the strategy Golden State should be using.
The Warriors, though, are not wrong in that no one has separated themselves as the clear cut top pick. The three most frontrunners all season in James Wiseman, Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball all have flaws they haven’t or weren’t able to improve upon.
Ball’s season started slow and ended abruptly after a foot injury ruled him out. Wiseman’s season barely got started before he was ruled ineligible and eventually left Memphis. Edwards played the full season for Georgia but his up-and-down play meant he was never able to establish himself as the best of the bunch. The poor play of those three allowed a player like Obi Toppin, who did have a strong season at Dayton, to soar up to the top of some draft boards.
As a result of all of that, everyone’s big boards look different and there is unlikely to be a consensus whenever the 2020 NBA Draft is held.
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