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The Golden State Warriors have been working towards the 2020-21 season for some time now. They'll have their star guard duo in Steph Curry and Klay Thompson fit and firing. With the Dubs now getting hold of the second overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, things have become even more interesting with several NBA trade rumors also doing the rounds.
Most fans expect the Golden State Warriors to acquire James Wiseman, the best center in this draft class. That line of thinking is understandable when you consider the Warriors' starting five. They have Steph Curry and Klay as the guards while Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green fill up the small forward and power forward spots respectively. The center spot remains the one grey area and hence the Wiseman speculation.
However, that's not necessarily the case for the Golden State Warriors. Wes Goldberg of The Mercury News appeared on the Locked on Warriors Podcast and made the following revelation:
"My intel from people I talk to is that the Warriors aren’t high on Wiseman. I reported last week that the Warriors are much higher on this class’ guards and wings than they are on this class’ centers, and I still think that they’re going to go in that direction – even if Anthony Edwards is off the board."
Goldberg mentioned that Tyrese Haliburton and LaMelo Ball are the two guard prospects that the Warriors are looking at.
“Haliburton is a developed 3-point shooter and capable of guarding multiple wing positions. It’s easy to project him playing off the ball and making open jumpers alongside Curry and Thompson, or leading the Warriors’ second-unit offense. If Ball’s jumper doesn’t develop and isn’t a plus-defender right away, he may be limited to leading bench units for 15 minutes a game.”
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Golden State Warriors zero in on Nico Mannion if they move down as per NBA trade rumor
Paying heed to the NBA trade rumors, there's the obvious chance that the Golden State Warriors package their second pick in a deal to acquire a player and a lower pick instead. As per Henry Abbott, they could be looking to get point guard Nico Mannion instead.
Offering both playmaking and scoring, Mannion is currently at 21st on ESPN's Mock Draft. In the 32 games he played for the Arizona Wildcats, Mannion managed 14 points per game while shooting at nearly 33% from the field while dishing out five dimes.
He seems like a decent backup for Steph Curry off the bench. Considering that he's currently low on the boards, the Golden State Warriors could maximize the returns for their second overall pick if they indeed act accordingly to the several NBA trade rumors doing the rounds.
