The Golden State Warriors sat out the first round of the NBA Draft but finally got into the action on Thursday night. Heading into the second round with one selection, the Warriors traded down to pick up two late seconds, ultimately selecting two players instead of one: Australian wing Alex Toohey and Florida guard Will Riley. With the pick, the Warriors got to cash in their consolation prize from their disappointing trade for Dennis Schroder last season.
The tragedy of the 2024-25 season for the Warriors was De'Anthony Melton tearing his ACL after just six games with the Warriors. He was an ideal fit, a secondary ball-handler who excelled shooting off the catch and played high-end defense. Design a role player to start next to Stephen Curry and you land on something similar to De'Anthony Melton.
In the wake of Melton's injury, the Warriors were struggling mighty and in need of a change. That led them to trade Melton and three second-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for point guard Dennis Schroder and a 2025 second-round pick that belonged to the Miami Heat.
Warriors traded for Schroder and a pick
Scroder was largely ineffective in Golden State; some point guards struggle to adapt to Steve Kerr's system, and it has always been difficult to find such players to fit in around Stephen Curry and company. Schroder was then used as a part of the matching salary for Jimmy Butler, ultimately routed to the Detroit Pistons for the rest of the season.
The 2025 second from Miami was protected 31-37, so for the Warriors to end up with the 41st pick was nearly the best case scenario. They also played a hand in the Miami Heat's poor season, trading for Jimmy Butler while the left-behind Heat stumbled to the finish line of the season.
Now the Warriors are faced with the task of building out role players around their expensive stars, and second-round picks are an ideal way to do that given the tax savings they provide. It doesn't make up for the lack of success from the Schroder trade, but they got a solid second and were able to flip Schroder for a star; that's not a bad outcome for three second-round picks.
By trading down from pick No. 41 the Warriors also picked up two seconds, meaning they found their way to less expensive players and two for the price of one. It was a tidy piece of business from D'Angelo Russell.