Without much trade traction, Golden State Warriors should plan to use both lottery picks

With the 2021 NBA Draft just hours away, it feels more and more likely that the Golden State Warriors aren’t going to find a suitable trade partner and should be preparing to use their two lottery picks.

The Warriors’ ideal trade would’ve been to bring in an All-Star caliber player to compete alongside five-time All-Star Klay Thompson and two-time MVP Stephen Curry. Washington’s Bradley Beal was the name that’s been getting the most attention, and it seems unlikely he’s dealt.

For the Golden State Warriors, a cooling trade market should have them prepared to use both picks No. 7 and No. 14 in the upcoming 2021 NBA Draft.

That said, both picks should have a plethora of high-potential prospects available for the Warriors.

At No. 7, players like Franz Wagner and Jonathan Kuminga, both of who have All-Star talent, could be available. That pick was originally brought to Golden State as the last piece of the Andrew Wiggins–D’Angelo Russell trade.

There’s also hope that Golden State could pass on Davion Mitchell and then select him at No. 14. The combination of Wagner and Mitchell could be a massive boost to Golden State’s roster. Both players have win-now potential with Wagner having more upside.

Given the talent in this draft and what Golden State gave up to get this pick, it’s surprising that they can’t get much of a market. It seems like teams are wanting to hang on to their All-Star caliber players instead of heading toward a full rebuild.

While the Warriors may have preferred a player like Myles Turner be added to help solve a couple of problems on their roster, there’s no reason for Golden State to overpay for a player that’s yet to make an All-Star appearance.

The trades, so far, just couldn’t find much middle ground, and it’s not that shocking considering how little traction teams have managed when targeting Sixers’ guard Ben Simmons. Many of the Warriors targets have that same misvaluation.

Regardless of how much they crave these prospects, Golden State seems to be on their way to adding the picks, and with the high-ceiling players going to be on the board, they’ll have several ways to improve their roster.

For many including myself, this was always preferred unless the player they were trading everything for was Bradley Beal, which never seemed overly likely.