© Brian Losness | 2018 Feb 3
The NBA Draft Lottery has been postponed, but it will happen at some point. When it does, the Warriors’ league-worst record will guarantee them a top five pick, and a 14 percent chance of landing the No. 1 overall spot.
Golden State has nailed some high picks over the last 10 years — Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson most notably — but have also had a number of high-profile whiffs over the years. The last time Golden State had the No. 1 pick was in 1995, when they selected Joe Smith, an NBA journeyman, who never made a single All-Star team despite a promising start to his career.
The bust potential is high once again, in what some are considering the weakest draft since Anthony Bennett was selected No. 1 overall in 2013. With little consensus on who the best player is, it’s anybody’s guess who Warriors GM Bob Myers — two-time Executive of the Year — has his eye on.
Well, unless you’re Warriors beat writer Connor Letourneau, who told Murph & Mac that sources around the team have informed him Golden State will select wing-scorer Anthony Edwards out of Georgia if they land the No. 1 pick.
“This is a draft where there isn’t a ton of certainty up high,” Letourneau began. “The top five picks are kind of in flux. There isn’t a Zion type talent, there isn’t a LeBron, so teams really have to do their research and be careful who they are picking.
“What I wrote a few days ago is that if the Warriors get the number one pick — they have the worst record in the NBA so they are on track to have a 14 percent chance at the No. 1 pick — and they keep it, my sources tell me that they would take Anthony Edwards out of Georgia, who is kind of emerging as a consensus No. 1 pick.”
This runs opposed to a Ric Bucher report that James Wiseman — the 7″ 1′ center who played just three games at Memphis — is at the top of the Warriors’ list. Edwards is hard to evaluate because he’s ideally an off the ball player who was forced to do everything on a weak Georgia team. Letourneau believes that the Warriors are enticed by his raw ability.
“He’s a guy who’s flawed. He shot 38 percent from the field, 29 percent from three, shot selection was questionable, effort was even questionable at times, but he’s just such a freak athlete. He has a lot of physical tools. People think he has a legitimate shot of being an All-Star which is not the case with many guys in this draft.”
Listen to the full interview below.