The Golden State Warriors front office must be ecstatic with the form of the No. 7 overall NBA Draft pick, Jonathan Kuminga, during the Las Vegas Summer League. He has looked much more polished than previously thought and everyone is excited to see the type of impact Kuminga can have with the team.
But although Kuminga was the obvious selection once the Warriors were on the clock, they were likely to have taken another player if not for the Oklahoma City Thunder’s surprise selection at No. six.
While Jonathan Kuminga seemed like an obvious choice — the Golden State Warriors actually had their eyes elsewhere on NBA Draft night.
The Thunder took Australian Josh Giddey, a 6 ft 8 playmaking guard who shot up draft boards in the final fortnight before the draft. His selection, along with the Raptors taking Scottie Barnes at four, were considered the two major surprises within the top seven.
It’s now been revealed the Warriors would have taken Giddey at seven were he available, at least according to Josh’s Dad Warrick, a former player and coach spanning over three decades in Australia’s NBL.
‘Wazza’, as he is affectionately known in Australian basketball, joined The Star and Scrub NBA Podcast and gave a rare insight into his son’s draft process.
"“Strategically he did a couple of workouts, one with Golden State… Talking to Josh he couldn’t have shot the ball any better, he was amazed…About four days before the draft, Oklahoma came down and put him through a private workout session…The two workouts he did he just couldn’t have shot the ball any better, he was amazed with himself. I think that workout with OKC was really the sealer. They (OKC) went a bit underground, they wouldn’t take the agent’s call on the day of the draft. Golden State had more or less indicated they would take him with their seventh pick.”Via The Star and Scrub Podcast"
Although in hindsight it means very little, it’s still interesting to hear about the Warriors’ firm interest in Giddey, a player many would have expected to still be on the board for the Warriors selection.
Warriors fans and the front office will be hoping it’s a stroke of good fortune and that Kuminga becomes just as good, if not a better player than Giddey in the future.