It was certainly a positive that the Golden State Warriors got a win in the play-in tournament and, at the very least, gave themselves a fair crack at moving on into the NBA playoffs. Alas, the Phoenix Suns ended that dream pretty quickly, setting into motion an offseason that figures to be wildly unpredictable, beginning with a question that Dubs have not had to consider in the last 12 years–who’s going to be the coach.
But for the long-term, the good news about the play-in loss is that the Warriors will not need to cough up their lottery pick in this year’s draft, and they will enter next week’s lottery festivities with the No. 11 pick and a 2.0% chance of winning the top overall pick, plus a 9.4% chance of landing in the Top 4.
AJ Dybantsa, anyone?
All right, that is a long shot, though if you are a believer in NBA conspiracy theories, you have to think that the league office would really, really, like to see Stephen Curry close up his career playing alongside the top overall pick in the draft. Even without that kind of chicanery, the Warriors could stand pat at No. 11 and still get a very productive player.
Warriors Seek Size in NBA Draft With Jayden Quaintance
In our latest mock draft, put together with the help of some personnel types around the NBA, the Warriors land an interesting prospect: Jayden Quaintance of Kentucky, the Arizona State transfer who played only four games last season because of ACL surgery. There was some thought that Quaintance could return to school, but he has declared for the draft.
Quaintance, according to some scouts, would be a Top 5 pick if he had been healthy. And at 6-foot-10 he has the kind of size-and-athleticism combo the team is seeking.
As we wrote, “Quaintance is the wildcard of this draft, athletic at 6-foot-10 but coming off ACL surgery this season. He went out again after a brief return this winter, an unfortunate bit of punctuation on a frustrating year. The knee is an obvious concern, but if healthy, Quaintance can be a defensive force inside. High risk, high reward, and maybe a gamble the Warriors can afford to take.”
Yaxel Lendeborg a Popular Option
Around the mock-draft universe, there is a variety of players landing with the Warriors outside of Jayden Quaintance. Athleticism is the common thread, and though we’ve heard the Warriors how to take advantage of the size in this draft, not everyone is pointing that way.
At ESPN, Jeremy Woo has the Warriors going with Karim Lopez, the prospect who played in Australia this season. The Aussie pipeline has not been all that successful in delivering NBA-ready players, and there are questions about how teams view Lopez.
At The Athletic, though, Sam Vecenie sees the Warriors going both big and experienced, with NCAA champ Yaxel Lendeborg as the pick. Vecenie pointed out that Lendeborg cemented his lottery status in the NCAA tournament and that, “The Warriors could use another big wing next to Stephen Curry and Draymond Green as they near the end of their careers.”
Zack Buckley of Bleacher Report sees Lendeborg as the pick, too. He writes, “Lendeborg looks like a plug-and-play source of length, athleticism and a versatile skill tree that branches out in a ton of interesting directions. But he’s also a late-bloomer, so he might have more growth potential than his age would indicate.”
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