The Golden State Warriors drafted James Wiseman at No. 2 and then acquired Nico Mannion with the 48th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
This was a knock out of the park for the Golden State Warriors. It will be their first of two second-round picks.
Nico Mannion was ranked as the draft’s eighth-best point guard.
The Warriors have been targeting a backup point guard, and with Ky Bowman being consistent but not producing the numbers they’d like to see as the man operating the second unit, Mannion will be the perfect high-potential addition with Bowman serving as a consistent backup.
The opposite could be true with Mannion getting little time and potentially even starting on a two-way contract.
The Warriors have a plethora of options at the four and the two. They solved their issues with size by drafting Wiseman, and now they’ve absolutely crushed their first second-round pick by adding Mannion, who is coming out of Arizona.
Mannion played just one season at Arizona, averaging 14 points per game. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound point guard was a five-star recruit coming out of high school.
He was the No. 1 point guard prospect for the Class of 2020. Mannion’s downside comes from his inefficiency. He averaged under 40 percent from the field at Arizona. If he can’t get to be productive, he won’t be with the Warriors long.
His athleticism, his scoring, and his size give the Warriors hope that he can be something special. He’s proven that he has what it takes to compete at a high level, and the development infrastructure is there for the Warriors to get him to reach his potential.
Mannion is that good, and scouts at the high school level saw that. It’s not uncommon, especially with how the 2020 season went, for players to underperform at the collegiate level. Mannion will get his shot with the Warriors, and let’s hope he tasks advantage of it.