Golden State Warriors: Pass or draft these 6 NBA Draft prospects

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: Jordan Poole poses with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted with the 28th overall pick by the Golden State Warriors during the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

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Warriors potential NBA prospect — Pass: Jonathan Kuminga

Though I’m slightly lower on Kuminga than consensus, he’s still a top 7-8 talent in this draft by any metric. The Congolese national has an NBA-ready body at 18, explosive athleticism, and the ability to self-create and shoot the ball.

Defensively, Kuminga has shown the ability to get out on the perimeter and recover inside to use his strength, projecting as a switchable defensive tool if things go well.

The upside is a very subjective term but teams will be drafting Kuminga for what they think he can be, not what he is right now. Players who are 6-foot-8 with a plus-4 wingspan that are also 220 pounds are incredibly hard to find.

The issue is with what Kuminga can do right now.

His decision-making, ability to create easy looks, and defensive consistency are not present at the moment. “Raw” is a nice way to say he doesn’t look like he knows what he’s doing half the time, and that’s okay.

But after trying to shoehorn an inexperienced and raw James Wiseman into the lineup last season, the Warriors cannot use this pick on another project.

Too many unknowns in a rotation looking to contend right now is asking for trouble, and Kuminga is far and away the biggest unknown of players the Warriors could be selecting in the 4-8 range. If he goes on to thrive elsewhere, so be it.

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