Why Warriors should consider trading up in lackluster 2024 NBA Draft

Why Warriors should consider trading up in lackluster 2024 NBA Draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Mike Dunleavy’s first NBA draft as Warriors general manager had to have earned him trust within the front office, coaching staff, players and fans. Who he added – Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis – and where he selected them – No. 19 and No. 57 – gave Golden State its best draft class in more than a decade.

The Warriors in Dunleavy’s second go-around have one pick, No. 52 overall, in the 2024 NBA Draft. They also only owned one pick, No. 19, going into last year’s draft. To get Jackson-Davis with the second-to-last pick in the draft, the Warriors essentially sent Patrick Baldwin Jr. and cash to the Washington Wizards on draft night for the 57th pick.

Using a similar tactic this year would make sense, too. Only this strategy is one they’ve used more often to varying degrees.

Then-Warriors general manager Bob Myers in 2016 sent the Milwaukee Bucks $2.4 million for the No. 38 pick to take shooting guard Patrick McCaw out of UNLV. McCaw made his NBA debut on his 21st birthday. At that young age as a rookie, he had 18 points, five assists, three rebounds, three steals and was a plus-19 against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 of the 2016 Western Conference Finals.

There were flashes. There also was a contract snafu that shortened his time to two years with the Warriors. McCaw’s NBA career never took off.

The Warriors again moved up the next year in the 2017 draft. They sent the Chicago Bulls $3.4 million for the Oregon Duck Jordan Bell. Bell’s best season of his five-year NBA career was as a rookie, by far. He played 57 games and started 13. Bell averaged 14.2 minutes per game in the conference finals, and 13.5 minutes when the Warriors swept the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Bell averaged 5.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in the 2018 Finals. That’s a win.

Two years later, the Warriors made an infamous trade in the second round.

Their Alen Smailagic infatuation ended by giving the New Orleans Pelicans $1 million plus second-round picks in 2021 and 2023. Smiley played 29 games. The experiment, if…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-warriors-consider-trading-down-155129101.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-06-21 16:06:23

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.