Aggregate Mock Draft sees Golden State Warriors take Son of 2x NBA Champion

The 2023 NBA Draft is less than a month away, with the Golden State Warriors owning the 19th overall pick as teams prepare to descend at Barclays Center on June 22.

With the Warriors already holding a raft of young talent on their roster, and still hoping to remain in championship contention despite a second-round playoff exit, there’s plenty of speculation that they could deal the pick as part of a move for win-now talent. But if not, the franchise will undoubtedly have their eye on someone they believe can be a core piece to the team in the future.

The Golden State Warriors could be looking at 6’8″ small-forward Jett Howard, son of 2x champion Juwan, with the 19th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Hoopshype’s Michael Scotto has cleverly compiled ten of the biggest mock drafts available, aggregating them to formulate a list that provides some consensus on where young talent may be headed.

This aggregated mock draft has the Warriors taking Jett Howard, a 6’8″ forward from Michigan, with the 19th overall pick. The son of 19-year NBA veteran Juwan, Jett impressed in his lone college season with the Wolverines.

Howard’s standing around Golden State’s first-round pick is nothing new, with the 19-year-old having been projected as a late pick in the teens over the last little while. Blue Man Hoop’s Rohan Borges ran his eye over Howard in a recent article outlining three potential prospects for the Warriors at 19.

"“While he mostly thrived in an off-ball role, Howard did showcase some creation chops of his own. He was decisive with the ball in his hands and more often than not, he made the right basketball play, Borges wrote. Howard boasts an impressive handle for somebody with his frame and he utilized it well, generating high-percentage looks for himself in the midrange and finding his teammates for open looks when the defense overcommitted.”"

Howard average 14.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and two assists in 31.7 minutes with Michigan across 29 games. He shot 41.4% from the field, 36.8% from three-point range, and 80.0% from the free-throw line, with his defense and rebounding seen as major improvement areas as he prepares for a career in his father’s footsteps.

The Warriors have taken four first-round picks in the previous three NBA drafts. However, the earliest of those, 2020 number two overall pick James Wiseman, has already departed the franchise less than three years into his career.