The Warriors have the 52nd overall pick within the 2024 NBA Draft, giving Mike Dunleavy Jr. and his front office a likelihood so as to add an NBA-ready player to the roster.
Last 12 months, the Warriors did just that by choosing Trayce Jackson-Davis with the 57th overall pick, who is predicted to be a rotation center for years to come back.
A pick that low might be extremely helpful. Jackson-Davis' rookie deal, for instance, is value lower than $2 million per 12 months over 4 years. For a team that paid around $180 million in luxury tax last 12 months alone, finding key players on low cost contracts is crucial.
The Warriors have drafted over 30 young players, most of whom have played at the very least three years of faculty football. It's still very early in his tenure as general manager, nevertheless it looks like Dunleavy has a kind.
The Warriors could move up in what’s widely considered a weak draft, but at once any team except the Mavericks can strike ahead of them.
When you're picking this far down within the draft, nonetheless, it's pointless to project specific players. In the second round, teams often make backroom deals with players and their agents to ensure them specific roles, opportunities to make the team, or contract details. Players fall unexpectedly out of the primary round. Throw out the mock drafts.
Instead, it would make more sense to look at what varieties of players the Warriors should goal.
Perimeter shooting
Regardless of whether Klay Thompson returns, the Warriors must deal with 3-point shots.
Too often last 12 months, defensemen didn't should worry about multiple players on the perimeter and were capable of get in on Steph Curry. Especially if the Warriors let Jackson-Davis and Draymond Green play together, they'll be short on space. The problem will only worsen if Jonathan Kuminga's shot doesn't improve.
The Warriors made the second-most 3s per game last 12 months, hitting 38% of them—the seventh-highest rate within the league. But don't let the numbers distract you from reality.
When Curry or Thompson weren't shooting, the defense probably handled any Warrior shooting from distance pretty much. Andrew Wiggins? Go ahead. Kuminga from the corner? Let him go. Even Brandin Podziemski, who made 38.5% of his 3s, was hesitant to shoot at times.
Curry and Thompson combined for greater than half of the Warriors' 3-point shots, and so they could lose Thompson.
Surrounding Curry with 3-point shooters that defenses should respect will open up avenues for attack for everybody. No matter what style the Warriors decide to play going forward, they'll need shots from all positions — not only the Splash Bros — to search out that avenue.
The 52nd pick may not secure an NBA-ready sharpshooter, but when the young Warriors' long-range shooting stagnates — or if that group gets thinned out by offseason additions — it might be helpful to have another choice off the bench to shoot some threes from the corner.
Wing size
Just as there can never be enough starting pitchers in baseball, there can never be enough wings in the fashionable NBA.
The Warriors' wing lineup could look very different later within the offseason. Thompson's future is uncertain. Kuminga is the team's best trade piece. Moses Moody's role isn’t clear.
Curiously, Wiggins – because the only reliable attacking defender on the squad – is probably probably the most indispensable of all.
Regardless of who stays and who goes, the Warriors could use more players who can at the very least physically match the league's most dangerous forwards – Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Anthony Edwards, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard.
If a hypothetical 6'6″ to 6'1″ lean athlete also can throw, he's not going to fall into the second round. But possibly the Warriors may also help him learn to throw.
ISO creation
Other than Curry, the Warriors don't have a creative, aggressive shooter on the roster. It might be difficult to suit that kind of player into Steve Kerr's preferred read-and-react style, however the Warriors need more power a method or one other.
Wiggins has been that player for long stretches, but he can't be relied upon. Kuminga could possibly be that player someday, but his post and face-up touches often look clunky. Podziemski is working on playing more with the ball in his hands, but is viewed more as an all-around playmaker than a 20-point-per-game scorer.
The last on-ball creator the Warriors had besides Curry was Jordan Poole. At his peak, he worked wonders.
Finding a one-on-one scorer is far easier through a trade than within the late second round – think Zach LaVine, Brandon Ingram, Jimmy Butler or Paul George. It might still be value taking a shot at a scorer. The 52nd pick is a lucky break, in spite of everything.
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