The Warriors know a thing or two about finding high-value forwards in the second round of the NBA Draft.
This year, they selected Trayce Jackson-Davis with the 57th overall pick after taking Santa Clara’s Brandin Podziemski 19th overall.
Marcus Thompson of The Athletic thinks that Jackson-Davis — voted by some coaches as the best-value second-round selection — might be better than Podziemski. He also thinks he could rub off on Jonathan Kuminga in a unique way.
The Indiana product was an imposing force in college, averaging 20.9 points and 10.8 rebounds per game while frequently attacking the rim. Thompson’s liked what he’s seen and thinks Steve Kerr will, too.
“He is something that the Warriors haven’t had,” Thompson said. “I can’t wait to see him play because he’s a good passer which Steve loves. Steve loves big men who can pass, but good passers normally don’t attack the rim like he does.”
It’s that last part that Thompson thinks could rub off on Kuminga.
If he’s the roll man, he’s going to try to dunk on you. And I’m interested not only to see what he can do, but if that mindset rubs off on Kuminga. Because that dude, Trace, is going to dunk the ball. He’s going to be at the dotted line, gonna catch the pass and where we see Looney like struggle to finish those, Trace is gonna try to dunk. And then he’s gonna get that positive reinforcement from everybody for trying to dunk it.
Because I’m thinking, this is where Kuminga’s like, ‘Yo, I can do that.’ Because that’s what they need. They don’t have somebody, when it’s Anthony Davis, go try and dunk on that dude, don’t just let him sit here and stand in the middle. So I like Trace. I actually like Trace more than the first-round pick.
If Jackson-Davis is anything like Dale Davis, the one-time All-Star Thompson likened him to — with a career average of 8.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game — the Warriors will have themselves a steal.
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