Warriors Draft Rumors: Team believes Anthony Edwards could be franchise player

The Golden State Warriors like Tyrese Haliburton. They like James Wiseman, and now they also like Georgia guard Anthony Edwards.

Before any of this really gets exciting, the NBA Draft Lottery must commence. The Warriors have a 14% shot at the No. 1 overall pick. With the league’s worst record, the Warriors are one of three teams with the highest odds at the top pick.

They’ve thrown some smoke at draft rumors with yet another one surfacing. This time, it’s a rumor about the Warriors and their interest in shooting guard Anthony Edwards, potentially the most prolific scorer in the draft.

“Golden State believes, per a league source, that Edwards is one of the few players available in this draft who can contribute immediately and develop into a face of the franchise within the next few seasons,” Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote.

There are two things the Warriors want to do this offseason.

They want to improve their roster enough to get back into Finals contention, and they’ll want to continue to plan for the long-term future. Apparently, Letourneau’s source believes Edwards could do both.

This isn’t the first time the Warriors have reportedly expressed interest in a pick. A few months ago the Warriors reportedly had James Wiseman atop their big board. After that, reports noted the Warriors had Haliburton over fellow guards LaMelo Ball and Killian Hayes.

Now, it may be Anthony Edwards that could potentially go No. 1 to Golden State.

It makes a ton of sense. Edwards has the most upside in the draft. While also having an extremely low floor, Edwards proved to be an absolutely dominant scorer. He’s also an incredible athlete, a trait that will undoubtedly translate well to the NBA.

Combine that and harness it into Golden State’s winning environment, and you may have the next superstar in the making. At Georgia, Edwards neared 20 points per game. The unanimous leader of the team, Edwards hoisted up almost 16 shots per game, shooting 40% from the field.

Golden State needs him to be more efficient, but Edwards, as a freshman, was shooting almost half of those attempts from downtown, shooting 30% from deep. He did manage over 50% from within the arc.

A pure scorer, it’d be understandable if the Warriors took Edwards, but it may require them winning the lottery and opting to keep their pick, one they’ll also consider trading.