The Golden State Warriors are putting together one of the oldest teams in recent memory to chase one last championship, but the front office is also building this team with an eye on the future.
The Warriors have managed, without a ton of very high picks in the NBA Draft, to stock the cupboards with a good chunk of prospects worthy of some extra attention.
There are two young players (excluding the obvious in first-round pick Yaxel Lendeborg) that Golden State needs to continue working on, though that could come at the expense of some other youngsters.
2 Young players the Warriors must develop and 2 to dump
Develop: Will Richard
Richard is continuing to exceed expectations as a late second-round pick, as the Florida product is continuing to show that he has all the traits needed to be a lethal gunner off the bench when the Warriors get younger. Richard's 47/40/100 shooting splits in Summer League are just about all the front office wanted to see from him.
Dump: Lachlan Olbrich
While Olbrich, a former second-round pick of the Chicago Bulls, had some impressive moments in Summer League while fighting to secure one of Golden State's final two-way spots. The overall body of work, however, has not been worth writing home about.
In Las Vegas Summer League, Olbrich's 37.5% field goal percentage and 2.3 rebounds per game are not numbers that will set him apart from the rest of the common rabble.
Develop: Gui Santos
Santos came out of nowhere and has gradually forced his way into the Warriors' rotation. While the addition of Lendeborg seems like it would serve as direct competition for Santos, there is a world where Steve Kerr can develop both of them at the same time.
Now that his finishing on offense is matching his passing and energy, Santos' next step is becoming more of a creative scorer who can gradually eat up more offensive responsibility.
Dump: Brandin Podziemski
The Warriors have tried to give Podziemski as long a developmental leash as they can, and he doesn't seem to be taking that next step forward. While he is by no means a bad player, Golden State is likely smart enough to realize he is not worth keeping around for when the inevitable rebuilding comes.
Podziemski's next extension could take him well into eight figures per season. Trading him for some picks and/or cheaper rotation players might be the way to go, even though the third-year player continues to have some flashes of brilliance.
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