Warriors apply logical draft strategy with championship clock ticking originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – There are hundreds of examples in every major professional sport of misjudgments during the officiating, of flowery self-flattery that turns to regret within a few months and often of an executive losing his job.
So on Thursday, the Warriors used their limited options in the 2024 NBA Draft to make decisions that won’t light up social media but will make a statement about their sense of urgency.
They took steps that reaffirmed their commitment to maximizing the remaining years of the Stephen Curry era.
Golden State added three 20-somethings with resumes. Average age: 24.
“We’re not just sitting here trying to attract older guys,” general manager Mike Dunleavy said during a news conference at Chase Center. “We’re trying to recruit guys who are good basketball players. If it only takes a short time to evaluate that, or a longer period, we worry less about age.”
With no first-round pick and little chance of finding a future All-Star, Golden State rounded up players who defied the NBA draft trend to find teens with upside. Another logical trend in what was widely considered an unexceptional draft.
The Warriors traded their lone pick, 52nd overall, to Oklahoma City on Thursday morning for 26-year-old Lindy Waters III, a wing who has spent three years in pro hoops, the last three in the Thunder system.
“I don’t think we would have traded a player with a draft pick if we didn’t think (he could compete for a spot in the rotation),” Dunleavy said. “With his skills and the way he plays, it fits with how we play. We feel like he’s a player we can plug and play.”
On Thursday afternoon, they retook the No. 52 pick (which OKC had traded to Portland) and selected 24-year-old Ouinten Post, a 7-foot center who began his journey in the Netherlands before playing 124 games at two Division I colleges. in the United States.
“We identified him as a guy who can shoot the ball and stretch the floor, and he has really good size,” Dunleavy said. “We think he rebounds. He defended at the level at the rim that is NBA acceptable. Good passer. Fits a lot of things we’re looking for.”
Less than an hour later, the Warriors reached an agreement on a two-way contract with 22-year-old Reece Beekman, a 6-foot-1 point guard who started 121 of 126 games for the University of Virginia and was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year as a junior and senior.
We don’t know how much these three acquisitions will add to the Warriors, but the strategy of selecting “experienced” prospects makes perfect sense for a franchise that is investing more in 2025 than in 2030.
A franchise trying to fill the gaps between at least two decorated veterans, Draymond Green and Curry, and the four youngsters – Trayce Jackson-Davis, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski – that the front office is calling goalies.
That was the plan for the week. And it stayed that way until the end of the draft.
You may recall that the Warriors selected five teenagers from the three drafts ending in 2022. James Wiseman (2020), Patrick Baldwin Jr. (2022) and Ryan Rollins (2022) were traded. Only Kuminga and Moody remain.
Kuminga is now 21 and last season he showed enough visible improvement to get into the starting lineup. Moody turned 22 last month and proved he was capable of carving out a spot in the rotation.
But this draft was about finding players who may not be on the fast track to stardom but have a chance to contribute quickly. The three members of Golden State’s four-ring club are getting older. Curry is 36. Green is 34. Klay Thompson, if he returns, will be 34. Even then, the Warriors are maneuvering toward the possibility of adding another veteran.
They know what they want. And they know they need additional players with salaries that are easy to pay. This was a case of low-risk gambling, with the hope of high rewards yet to come. And fast.
“To me, as an evaluator, the more things a guy can do right, the more I like him,” Dunleavy said. “Unlike some of these guys who don’t do a lot of stuff, or have only done it for a short time.”
Waters, Post and Beekman provide a plethora of videos for review. Reduces the element of mystery, which is too much of a risk for these Warriors right now.
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