Tuyen's Blog

Posts for Tag: nba draft

Warriors pick Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli in the 1st Round of the NBA Draft

The first round is in and the Warriors may have gotten a gift at #7. Perhaps the Dion Waiters rumors were just a smoke screen to get Cleveland to pick him up at #4 because once that pick came in, it was almost a lock that Barnes would slide to #7. Outside of the Warriors getting Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, this has to be the best possible outcome. They fulfill their biggest need at SF and get an almost certain long time future NBA starter in Barnes. This leaves Dorell Wright on the outs but rumors have been swirling that they were looking to move him, anyway. As for their second pick, Festus Ezeli, not much to say here. Not a huge risk and they get a big body who can hopefully defend and rebound.

A starting five of Curry, Thompson, Barnes, Lee and Bogut has a ton of potential. Only question marks are the health of Curry and Bogut. I see Barnes coming off the bunch at the beginning of the year but towards the end should crack the start line up. Let's hope it's because he's improved his game so much to merit a spot there and not that the Warriors are so out of the running that they want to give him minutes like Klay Thompson last year.

NBA Draft today!

NBA Draft is today. Interesting draft for the Warriors in that it's the first draft with the new brain trust completely in place - Lacob, West and Myers. With two first rounders and two second rounders, the Warriors have options. Their biggest need is SF and there are rumors that they are looking to trade their picks for a veteran SF. Definitely a good deal if they can swing a Rudy Gay or Andre Iguodala. The Wilson Chandler rumors are just crazy talk...

But let's say they do keep the picks, who to get? Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Harrison Barnes are the top two SF's in this class and either one would make an immediate impact. But since they both look likely to be off the board at #7, the most likely option is a project big man in Drummond or there has been talk of trading down and getting Terrence Ross. Another possibility is Dion Waiters who Jerry West is very high on. Problem there is that you would most likely have to slide Klay Thompson over to SF which is not his natural position. Regardless of who they choose, this seems to be a deep draft so whoever they get won't be a totally dud. They may not a future all-star but they'll get a nice serviceable player. But then again, it could be another Anthony Randolph, as well.

Warriors win coin flip for 7th spot in lottery

An hour and 15 minutes after a coin was supposed to be flipped at the NBA’s New York office, the league announced that the Warriors won the toss for the lottery’s seventh slot and will have a 72.4 percent chance of keeping their 2012 draft choice.
via blog.sfgate.com

A bit of good news on the Warrior's part. Winning the coin flip allows them to have a greater chance to retain their 2012 draft pick. There still is a 27.6% chance that someone below them will jump up to the 1, 2 or 3 spot which will knock them to 8, 9 or 10 and their pick goes to Utah. I'll reserve judgement for when the lottery is done on May 30th before I get too excited about the possibilities for this pick.

Klay Thompson will be a good reserve next year

Everyone has been saying that Klay Thompson's drafting means that Monta Ellis is leaving. Here's a good article from BDL with a more measured take. Given that I don't think the Warriors can find a good C or SF in a trade, there's no point in trading Monta at this time. Thompson will play the SG/SF reserve role and give more rest to Monta and Wright who play close to 40+ minutes each night. If he can reduce their minutes to about 35 each night, that will help the W's in the long run by reducing injuries and allowing the starters to play more "peak" minutes than have stretches of being gassed on the court. Plus, I don't see a Curry/Thompson backcourt being any good next year. Monta may eventually go but not next year unless there's a blockbuster trade that brings in a significant upgrade to their front line.