The Golden State Warriors wound up with two picks late in the second-round of last year's draft, hitting emphatically on one with impressive wing Will Richard at 56th overall.
Yet their first selection -- Alex Toohey at 52 -- was off the roster by early December due to injury, and the Warriors may now be regretting not taking another 6'10" player who went undrafted and would likely be part of their rotation right now.
Warriors should have targeted Dylan Cardwell instead of Alex Toohey
After going undrafted following five years at Auburn, Dylan Cardwell signed a two-way contract with the Sacramento Kings. Thanks to the Kings' raft of injuries this season, including to star big man Domantas Sabonis, the 24-year-old has been given extensive opportunity and impressed in over 20 minutes per game.
Cardwell has averaged 5.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 blocks this season, earning the respect of Sacramento fans thanks to his energy, hustle and interior impact in an otherwise dismal season for the franchise.
His impact was also recognized by the Kings front office, with Cardwell having his two-way deal converted into a four-year standard contract in February after the franchise moved on from players at the trade deadline.
Make no mistake, Cardwell wouldn't have made any major difference to Golden State's current fate, having sunk to the 10th-seed in the Western Conference on the back of a spate of injuries themselves since Jimmy Butler's torn ACL in January.
However, those same injury issues which have impacted all three of the Warriors' current centers -- Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Quinten Post -- would have left Cardwell as a genuine rotation player for the Warriors.
Dylan Cardwell would be in the Warriors rotation given their injury crisis
Acquiring Porzingis at the trade deadline allowed Golden State to move on from third-year big man Trayce Jackson-Davis, but that left them without a more traditional big man who could run the floor and prioritize being an interior presence.
Instead of having to sign Omer Yurtseven to a pair of 10-day contracts and utilizing a player that seemingly has no future with the team beyond this season, Golden State could have had another young player developing and seeing significant minutes -- something that would have been more intriguing to fans during a difficult period.
While Cardwell may never develop into a bonafide starter or anything of that nature, he may still prove one that got away from the Warriors given he was available to them, and especially if Toohey never returns to the franchise in the future.