The NBA Draft is on June 22nd, and the World Champion Golden State Warriors are currently without a pick. But that soon may change, as ESPN’s Zach Lowe reports that the Warriors are once again trying to buy a second round pick.
Does it sound familiar? Last June Joe Lacob sent cash to the Milwaukee Bucks for the 38th pick overall and used it to select UNLV’s swingman Patrick McCaw, the same player who just played with incredible poise at crucial moments during the Finals. When Joe Lacob proclaimed that his franchise was “light years ahead” of the competition, he was ridiculed and painted as a big mouth, cocky owner. Joe’s comment may not have won him many friends or sounded very humble, but he was 100% right. Two championships in three seasons proves it, and his willingness to use his millions to buy additional draft picks may be the best example of his “ahead of the curve” brilliance.
There was a time that the NBA draft was very easy to handicap. The players in it were mostly known commodities — college juniors and seniors — and they often entered the league with skill sets that were already defined and developed. The current age requirement has created the “1 and done” world of college basketball, and the result is a bevy of under-developed freshmen prospects annually jump to the NBA draft, many before they are ready. The “1 and done” rules have made the current draft a chaotic mix of of super talented freshmen, upperclassmen prospects who have developed slowly over time and numerous international prospects of all skill sets and ages. Due to the draft being more about projecting players’ development, it rewards the more skilled GMs who possess vision.
Pundits will claim that Golden State bought their recent title with the free agent signing of Kevin Durant, but the truth is the Warriors were built through “getting lucky” in the draft. Getting Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green was likely more luck than skill, but successful people will tell you that you need good fortune to succeed.
In the 2009 draft the Sacramento Kings foolishly drafted Tyreke Evans at #4 and Minnesota Timberwolves’ GM David Kahn decided to end his personnel evaluation career by drafting Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn at #5 and #6 respectively, over Steph Curry. Larry Riley/Don Nelson then grabbed Curry at #7 despite the fact he would NOT work out for them. In many ways that was the night the loser Warriors became winners. Past Warriors regimes would have been scared off by Curry’s wishes, but Riley and Nelson had the courage of their personnel convictions and the franchise’s fortunes turned that night.
Fast forward to the 2011 Draft and Golden State got really lucky that Klay Thompson fell to them at #11. Some of the stiffs drafted in front of Klay that night include Derrick Williams, Jan Vesely, Bismack Biyombo, Brandon Knight and Jimmer Fredette. Klay has quietly emerged as a glue piece for this team and one of the best two-way players in the world.
The luckiest move was clearly landing Draymond Green with the 35th pick of round two in the 2012 Draft. The entire league, including the Warriors, missed on Green. The Warriors eventually used their third pick of the night on Green. If that draft were held today, Green would likely be the third pick behind Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard and ahead of Bradley Beal.
Alright, enough of the history lesson, let’s focus on the upcoming draft. Drafting cheap controllable players and owning their “Bird Rights” will be vital for the Warriors as the contracts for Steph, KD, Draymond, and Klay spiral upwards. I’m not the biggest college hoops fan, but I do watch the conference tournaments in February and the NCAA Tourney in March. After the season ends, I spend a lot of time watching the players who are eligible for the draft. Here are the eight players that I’d like to see Bob Myers target if Lacob buys another second-round pick: Ivan Rabb-California, Jordan Bell-Oregon, Caleb Swanigan-Purdue, Semi Ojeleye-SMU, Mathias Lessort-France, Cam Oliver-Nevada, Peter Jok-Iowa, and Damyean Dotson-Houston.
I find it hard to believe that Rabb will fall to round two, but I’ve seen him projected in the 30s in some mocks. The 6′ 10″, 220-pound sophmore is a mobile big man with a 7′ 2″ wingspan. Rabb can really rebound. He had 19 double-digit rebounding games and averaged 12.8 rebounds per 40 minutes. Rabb needs to get stronger and improve his offensive game, both facing up and on the post. He has significant upside and if he falls all the way to round two, he’d be an absolute steal. His highlight reel shows he has soft hands and some intriguing skils
Jordan Bell has been compared by scouts to a young Dennis Rodman on the court. Bell played his HS ball at Long Beach Poly and is an undersized power forward at 6′ 8″ and 225-pounds. Bell has underdeveloped offensive skills but he’s an incredibly explosive athlete who excels as a leaper, runner, rim protector/shot blocker, rebounder, and defender. He improved his free throw percentage from 50 percent to 70 percent as a junior. He has major limitations offensively, but he’s an exceptional athlete who could have an impact for the Warriors as a LeBron stopper. Check out Bell’s eight blocks versus Kansas in the tourney. What an athlete!
I see an awful lot of Draymond Green in Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan, the 6′ 9″ 250-pound power forward from Purdue. He’s been described as a Zack Randolph clone. If you watch him, you immediately see that he’s a great rebounder and passer. He has soft hands, a 7′ 3″ wingspan, and a high basketball IQ. If you read Swanigan’s story, you understand how hard he’s worked. He had severe weight issues as a teen in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He improved his 3-point percentage from 29 percent as a freshman to 45 percen t as a sophomore. He’s a 78 percent foul shooter and, like Draymond, he excelled in the Big-10 as the Conference POY. Swanigan will continue to improve as his conditioning improves. Check out his skills.
Semi Ojeleye is a very exciting, multi-skilled combo forward who’s outstanding character and work ethic would fit in perfectly with these Warriors. Ojeleye is a 6′ 6″ 240-pound chiseled athlete from Ottawa, Kansas who began his career at Duke. He possesses strength and mobility, and excels as an offensive rebounder who can finish above the rim. Ojeleye was the POY in his conference last year and he showed with his 42 percent on 3’s that he has potential as a stretch four. His highlight reel is similar to Celtics’ Jae Crowder.
Mathias Lessort is another freaky athlete with tremendous upside as a player. Lessort was born in Martinique, and his role model is Ronny Turiaf. He currently plays professionally in France. He is 6′ 9″ and 235-pounds with a 7′ 1″ wingspan. He averaged 17 PPG/12 RPG/2 BPG last year. He’s an uber athletic rim runner, explosive leaper, shot blocker. He still needs a lot of skill development offensively but what he has can’t be taught.
Cam Oliver is a Sacramento native who helped lead Eric Musselmann’s Nevada Wolfpack into the NCAA Tourney. Oliver is an undersized power forward at 6′ 8″, 240-pounds. Oliver is an explosive dunker who plays with great intensity. He was a terrific rim protector/shot blocker and he plays above the rim. He could be a versatile forward off the bench for the Warriors.
Peter Jok is an insane outside shooter from Iowa. He’s a 6′ 6″ SG from The Sudan. He was first team All-Big-10 this year after leading the conference in scoring at 19.9 PPG. Jok also won the 3 point shootout contest at the 2017 Final Four. He has a Klay-like pretty stroke.
My favorite prospect to watch is Houston SG-Damyean Dotson, a 6′ 6″ swingman who transferred to Houston from Oregon. He was an All-Pac-12 Freshman. Dotson is a 44 percent 3-point shooter who was the MVP of the Portsmouth Invitational Pre-draft Camp. Dotson is a lights out shooter, and an underrated rebounder and defender, but he also has 6′ 9″ wingspan, excellent foot speed and 38″ vertical. He could be a great replacement for Andre Iguodala if he bolts via free agency.