Warriors implement logical NBA draft strategy as championship clock ticks – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

SAN FRANCISCO – There are hundreds of examples in every major professional sport of errors in judgment during the draft, of florid self-flattery that, within months, turns to regret and, often, by an executive who loses his job.

So the Warriors used their limited options in the 2024 NBA Draft on Thursday to make decisions that won’t set social media ablaze but that demonstrate 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 players in their 20s who have a resume. Average age: 24 years old.

“We’re not here to try to recruit older players,” general manager Mike Dunleavy said during a news conference at Chase Center. “We try to recruit players who are good basketball players. If it takes just a little time to assess this, or a longer period of time, we care less about age. »

Without a first-round pick and, therefore, little chance of finding a future All-Star, Golden State has assembled players who defy the NBA draft trend of looking for teenagers with “potential.” Another logical trend in what was widely considered an unexceptional project.

On Thursday morning, the Warriors traded their only pick, 52nd overall, to Oklahoma City for 26-year-old Lindy Waters III, a wing who has endured three years of professional hoops, the last three in the Thunder system.

“I don’t think we would have traded for a guy using a draft pick if we didn’t think (he can compete for a spot in the rotation),” Dunleavy said. “With his skills and the way he plays, it fits the way we play. We feel like he’s a guy we can plug and play.

On Thursday afternoon, they bought back that No. 52 pick (which OKC had traded to Portland) and selected 24-year-old Ouinten Post, a 7-foot center who began his career in the Netherlands before playing 124 games in two Division I colleges in the United States.

“We identified him as a player who can shoot and stretch the floor, and he has very good size,” Dunleavy said. “We think he rebounds. He defends at an NBA level. He’s a good passer. He fits a lot of the things we look for.”

Less than an hour later, the Warriors reached agreement on a two-way contract with 22-year-old Reece Beekman, a 6-foot-2 point guard who started 121 of 126 games at the University of Virginia and was voted in as a player ACC Defensive Player of the Year as a junior and as a senior.

It’s unclear how much value these three acquisitions will bring to the Warriors, but the strategy of drafting “experienced” prospects makes perfect sense for a franchise that’s more invested in 2025 than it was 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 management lists as guards.

That was the plan from the beginning of the week. And he remained that way until the end of the draft.

The Warriors, you may recall, selected five teenagers in 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 21 now and last season showed visible enough improvement to move into the starting lineup. Moody turned 22 last month and has shown himself capable of finding a spot in the rotation.

But this draft was about finding players who aren’t destined for stardom but have a chance to contribute quickly. All three members of Golden State’s four-ring club are getting older. Curry is 36, Green 34. Klay Thompson, if he returns, is 34. The Warriors are also looking for another accomplished veteran.

They know what they want. And they know they need additional players with easy-to-pay salaries. This was a case of low-risk play, with the hope of high rewards to come. And so on.

“For me, as an evaluator, the more things a guy can do well, the more I like a guy,” Dunleavy said. “As opposed to some of these guys who don’t do a lot of things, or they’ve only been doing it for a short time.”

Waters, Post, and Beekman provide an abundance of videos to evaluate. This reduces the element of mystery, which for these warriors, at this stage, represents too high a risk.

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