Will the Golden State Warriors come to regret recent lottery pick?

Having had three lottery picks across the 2020 and 2021 drafts, including two in the top ten, the Golden State Warriors will continually come under review for the players they took with those selections.

The majority of criticism has surrounded the Warriors’ selection of James Wiseman with the number two pick in 2020. That’s through no fault of Wiseman himself who’s been cursed by injury in his two years to date.

However, there is intrigue about what the Warriors would look like with LaMelo Ball, the third pick in the draft who’s already developed into an All-Star. For what it’s worth, two things are true – Ball likely wouldn’t have developed as quickly with the Warriors, and Jordan Poole certainly wouldn’t have had the opportunity to thrive as he has.

With Golden State’s need for a center and Wiseman’s undoubted potential, it seemed a worthy pick at the time. Should we instead be looking at their top-ten pick from last year?

Jonathan Kuminga may have unlimited potential, but could the Golden State Warriors come to regret missing on another forward option?

The Warriors took Kuminga with the seventh overall pick, coming as a surprise to many given he was seen as a project at just 18 years of age. To be fair, his impact at times during the regular season was unexpected and impressive, often displaying his unrivaled athleticism among promising signs on both ends of the floor.

He was just one of many from last year’s draft class who impressed in their rookie season. Another who went above expectation was the man taken after Kuminga with the eighth overall pick – Franz Wagner.

Coming into the draft, the German was seen as a versatile player who lacked an absolute elite facet to his game. Through his rookie season, it’s become quickly apparent that he’s just really good at almost every major element.

Wagner is a capable three-point threat, knocking down 35.4% on 3.4 attempts per game during his rookie season. His ball-handling and length make him a threat from other areas on the floor, ultimately averaging 15.2 points on just under 47% from the field.

He’s also an adept playmaker, making him a nice foil as a secondary creator. At 6’9″ and with a seven-foot wingspan, Wagner is a disruptive defender when on the ball or in help situations.

If you’re asking who’s more likely to be the best player on a championship team, then Kuminga’s upside makes him that option. But there’s also little doubt that Wagner is the more known commodity at this stage, and that he’ll be a more impactful NBA player in the short term.

Wagner would provide the Warriors a much more flexible and consistent option, someone who can play three different positions in any given lineup. He’d also fit perfectly in the Warriors’ offensive system predicated on-ball and player movement — think of Moses Moody but taller and with greater playmaking and scoring creation.

This is a question to revisit at the end of the season. The Warriors ultimately didn’t need Kuminga to win the 2022 championship, eventually reverting to their veterans once they reached the Finals.

One suspects the Warriors will need Kuminga to make a genuine impact should they succeed in winning back-to-back championships. If he doesn’t provide that, and Wagner continues his ascent at the Magic, then some may come to query Golden State’s selection in last year’s draft.