Golden State Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy didn’t mince his message about the NBA draft this year and the ways it can help his team improve. As he said on Friday at his annual season-ending news conference at Chase Center: “Having the 11th pick and the 54th pick are two ways we can definitely add to the roster, improve, and then we’ll roll into free agency and see what we can do there.”
The Warriors are positioned to acquire an impact player next month with their lottery pick, but Dunleavy the last three years mined the second round for rotational contributors. Trayce Jackson-Davis, Quinten Post and Will Richard the last three years have cracked the lineup as second-round picks selected 52nd or later.
Surely, Dunleavy has his sights on scoring again in a second round with a cap-sheet crunch caused by lucrative commitments to Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green. Their pre-draft workouts are underway with a fleet of seniors training Wednesday afternoon at Chase Center: Louisville guard Ryan Conwell, Tennessee guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Houston guard Emanuel Sharp, Florida State senior Robert McCray, Duke forward Maliq Brown and Miami center Ernest Udeh.
“Have a lot of experience,” Sharp said after his workout when asked about the benefits of a four-year career. “I’ve played in a lot of road games. A lot of packed out games. I’ve been in a lot of big moments. I’m a veteran player. I’ve played all types of players. I’ve competed at the highest level in college basketball. … I think that just prepares you for the next level because I’ve played with and against a lot of guys that are already in the NBA.”
Golden State’s pick in the lottery is likely to land multifaceted skill while second-round picks toward the end of the draft might typically target a trait or two. For Jackson-Davis, it was rebounding, for Post it was size and 3-point shooting, and for Richard his length and catch-and-cast shooting.
All three draftees also played four-plus years in college, easing their transition.
“Came in with a really strong fundamental base. They’re just ready to play in a lot of ways because they had so much experience beforehand,” head coach Steve Kerr said in November about the trio of second-round picks. “I do think the college experience, especially playing in big games … feeling all of that and learning to execute under pressure, it all matters.”
Golden State through the draft and free agency stands to add more positional size, 3-point shooting across the lineup, ballhandling and athleticism. The lottery pick will likely plug a few of those holes with a sizable role, but don’t count out Dunleavy scoring again in the second round.
He’s done it before, after all.
“We’ll just draft who we think is going to be the best player for us with our franchise moving forward,” Dunleavy said. “That’s what we’ve always done. Particularly the last few years, we were pretty good about it — whether it’s first or second round, whatever. We’re a little higher this year, but we’ll take the same approach.”