Golden State Warriors have one of NBA’s best young cores

The Golden State Warriors are fresh off of the best decade in franchise history, making the playoffs consistently from 2013-2019 and making the NBA Finals in five of those seasons. They won three of those championships.

The last two seasons tell a different story. They landed on of the worst records in the league in the 2019-2020 season and were eliminated by the Lakers and Grizzlies in the play-in tournament last season.

Although as many rough patches in the NBA there were some diamonds in the rough.

These seasons plagued by injury allowed the Warriors to develop young talent that may not have gotten much of a chance to play if they were healthy.

The Warriors managed to use d this rough stretch to focus on their young guard, Jordan Poole, who is now in his third NBA season. He struggled at first, which helped them get these higher picks, but has now exploded onto the scene with 16.6 points per game on around 45% from the field.

Poole is also leading the NBA in free throw percentage at 92.8% from the line. Pair that with Stephen Curry, the all-time leader in free throw percentage, and it makes close games that come down to free throw shooting much easier for the dubs.

Jordan Poole is a major reason the Warriors have had success this season and is also one of the key players in keeping the team above .500 since Draymond Green suffered his back injury.

The Golden State Warriors have made some great moves and draft selections and it has left them with a great roster with plenty of room left to grow.

The Warriors also used their poor record in both seasons, as well as a major trade, to draft new young talent to contribute to their young core.

In 2020 the Warriors landed the second overall pick. They used this pick on a center from Memphis, James Wiseman.

Wiseman started off his rookie season slow, struggling to get consistent minutes. He never really had an opportunity to grow into his own until just before the halfway point of the season. However, just as he was beginning to grow into the system, he had to be sidelined with a meniscus tear.

The seven-foot center is expected to make his NBA return in the coming weeks.

In 2021 the Golden State Warriors held both their first-round pick (14th overall) and also the Timberwolves pick (7th overall) via the Andrew Wiggins trade.

Those two picks became Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga. Both of which have started to blossom into good NBA players at 19 years old.

Kuminga has been on a tear since the new year began, averaging 12 points per game, only scoring single digits twice since the beginning of February (14.9 points per game in that time.)

In January, Kuminga also became the youngest player in Golden State Warriors history to record a double-double in a game.

Jonathan Kuminga is most notably a threat on defense, as he is often asked to defend the opposing team’s best player when Wiggins has sat.

Moses Moody has also started to blossom as well, against the Nuggets, he became the first teenager to score 30 points for the Warriors. He holds the franchise record for most points by a teenager, followed by teammates Jonathan Kuminga (26,) and James Wiseman (25.)

Over the last 10 games, Moody has increased his production to 10.3 points per game on 53.7% from the field and 45.2% from three.

Moody has also become a better defender during this time. He is fouling less and grabbing more steals and blocks as well.

Of the four players the Warriors have picked in the first round over the last 3 NBA Drafts, Jordan Poole is the oldest at 22 years old. He is followed by James Wiseman who is 20, Moses Moody at 19, and Jonathan Kuminga who is also 19.

As of right now, they are limited in what they can do, though they are all very young and have a lot of potential. Right now, all the signs point towards another future championship run.