Over the past few seasons, the Golden State Warriors have had their fair share of draft busts, failing to capitalize on the draft capital they've gained during Stephen Curry's tenure with the team.
They're paying the price for those failures now, and some are more prominent than others. Take James Wiseman for example, who was selected second overall in the 2020 NBA Draft only to play 60 total games with the organization before being traded.
A somewhat forgotten bust, however, lies in the 2022 NBA Draft. Golden State selected Patrick Baldwin Jr. 28th overall that year, and he played only one season with the Warriors before being moved in the Jordan Poole trade and ultimately fizzling out of the league.
This, in and of itself, is not a catastrophic disappointment. Picks at the end of the first round fail to pan out almost as often as they succeed.
Yet, with the breakout of Peyton Watson for the Denver Nuggets, this swing and miss hurts a little extra.
Peyton Watson's breakout makes the Warriors' Patrick Baldwin Jr. selection look much worse
Baldwin is a player that has been lost to this era of Warriors' history. For the most part, his draft selection is inconsequential.
In his lone season with Golden State, the sharpshooting wing averaged just 7.3 minutes per game, posting 3.9 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists while knocking down 38.1% of his attempts from 3-point range.
He then spent two seasons with the Washington Wizards before ultimately signing a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Clippers. He now plays in the G-League for the Clippers organization.
Yet Watson, who was drafted just two picks after Baldwin, is having a breakout season in Denver. With Nikola Jokic and Christian Braun out, he has made the most of his opportunity. Over his last 14 games, he's averaged 19.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while knocking down 42.6% of his shots from beyond the arc.
He's developing into a truly special 3-and-D wing and the exact type of player that Denver needs to contend for a championship.
Wouldn't that be nice to have in Golden State?
The Warriors' primary shortcoming this season has been the consistency of their role players. Even at just his 13.8-point season scoring average, Watson would still be Golden State's third-leading scorer.
He would fit perfectly into their system as well, serving a maximized version of Moses Moody's current role.
With the way the Warriors have drafted over the past few years, they're bound to be reminded of their misses every so often. Given the weaknesses of their roster this season, however, this one stings a little extra.