The talk around town is that the Golden State Warriors will trade their No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. That may not actually happen.
Last Thursday night, the Warriors “won” the lottery. While they may not have ended with the top-overall pick, they did far better than the Cleveland Cavaliers who also shared the top odds yet ended up with the fifth overall selection.
That said, the drama is set to start in the coming months.
With players like Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid already having rough exits in the playoffs, the Golden State Warriors may have a plethora of potential trade options, both veteran contributors needing a place to end their career with a ring and disgruntled superstars about to their prime.
While the smart play may be to deal the pick and using their trade exception to bring in a few highly-coveted assets, the Warriors are prepared to “select a player.” To be fair, this is exactly what Golden State needs to broadcast.
“Of course. The Warriors will listen to pitches for the No. 2 pick, but league sources indicate they are prepared to select a player no matter what the Timberwolves do at No. 1,” Mercury News’ Wes Goldberg wrote.
There’s no reason to go tell the whole world you’re selling a prized asset to the highest bidder. Golden State should want other franchises coming to them with their best offer, and they will, of course, hear them out.
It seems ridiculous to think Golden State already has the prospect they want and feel certain that at No. 2 they’ll get that player. Could it be a Tyrese Haliburton-type player that is almost guaranteed to not be the top overall selection?
The Warriors’ ultimate goal will be to build a championship-level team immediately while also trying to keep the future of their roster intact. Trading the pick does make sense, but if they view a Haliburton or Anthony Edwards as the next star of their franchise, so does keeping it.
Given that Golden State is expected to deal it, selecting a player would be a nice change of pace. However, we’re likely still months from the draft so quite a bit can still change between now and draft day.