Golden State Warriors’ 2020 draft will make or break franchise’s future

The Warriors have the 2nd pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. How they choose to use this valuable asset will have resounding effects on the future of the franchise.

When Steph Curry broke his hand on October 30, 2019, Warriors fans gave up hope on a Klay-less playoff run, instead shifting focus towards the 2020 draft.

Today the first domino fell into place when the Warriors were awarded the second pick in the upcoming draft. While Minnesota squeaked through with the top pick, the second pick still holds tremendous value and presents some crucial decisions for the Warriors’ front office to make.

Not having had a top-3 pick in the draft since 1995, 2020 will present an exceptionally rare opportunity for the Warriors, especially with the Splash Bros duo set to return to action.

The stakes could not be higher in how CEO Joe Lacob and GM Bob Myers decide to use this pick. They could make the right move and extend the dynastic run of the Curry, Thompson, Green core, or they could whiff on it a la Anthony Randolph, Epke Udoh or Ike Diogu.

(Sorry if that opened up some old wounds, Dubs fans.)

The options are endless, but essentially there are three basic roads the Dubs can go down:

Use the pick

Trade the pick for player(s)

Trade down in the draft

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If they decide to use the pick and strike gold, it could not only help the core-three in their 2021 title ambitions, but it could extend the franchise’s relevance long beyond the career of 32-year-old Steph Curry.

If the Warriors use the pick and end up with a disappointing Greg Oden type of player, not only will the player not help the team competitively, but the pick would eat up a large portion of the salary cap, and have reverberating financial effects that could hinder their ability to acquire players for years to come.

(For reference, in 2019-20 the 2nd pick in the draft got $7 million + per year.) The Dubs already have more money committed to salaries than any other team in the NBA in 2020-21.

The option that pundits have been saying they ‘hear’ the Warriors are looking to make is to trade the asset.

If they trade for a veteran, the strategy clearly would be to maximize the championship window for Steph Curry. I wouldn’t blame the front office for using this strategy. The Curry/Klay/Draymond core is a once-in-a-century type of group. Why not go all-in on them?

Perhaps the most likely outcome is that the Warriors trade down in the draft, acquiring a lower caliber role player who could still help the team and a lower draft pick.

This could turn out to be the genius move given the uncertainty of talent in this year’s draft. There certainly are some diamonds in the rough, possibly international players, who will fall later in the first round. Think about the Bucks snagging Giannis with the 15th pick in 2013.

Lacob and Myers have a lot of options to mull over before the draft on October 16. While the stakes are high, it certainly is a good problem to have – the opportunity to forever change your franchise.

However, whether things go bad or well, this certainly will be a pivotal moment that people will point to for years to come when talking about the resurgence or demise of the Warriors dynasty.